Accentuate the Positive

As the daily grind of Property Management ticks on, we can find that Property Managers sometimes become very busy for a myriad of reasons. It could be the general tasks, the clients you are dealing with or even something like straying off course and not following your preferred week.

It is important for your own mental health and productivity that you take a moment once in a while to refocus and reconnect with both yourself and the tasks at hand so that you don’t become overwhelmed.

This industry, like most, can bring out the best in people or it can bring out the worst and in people. In our travels, we often have to contend with a variety of sources of conflict, whether it be from the clients or even worse, at the hands of ours competitors. Let’s face it, we live in a country where the wildlife is often trying to kill or maim us, let’s not also turn on each other. It’s good to remember that in the end, we are all running our own race and in Property Management, we all share similar challenges.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said that for every minute you are angry, you lose sixty seconds of happiness. It can be very difficult sometimes to focus on the positive when there can be so many challenges that are thrown our way, so we are going to look at five steps to keep as many of those 60 seconds of happiness as you can.

• Choose to be PositiveEvery day something goes on in the world that is much bigger than what may be happening where you are, it’s all a matter of perspective. Every day when you get up, you can choose whether to grab life with both hands and run with it, or sink into a puddle. It’s up to you to decide how you will do this, and look, there are some days that you may only have the strength to have a shower and change your pj’s. That’s ok too.

• Remove negativity from your lifeAs much as possible. Of course, you cannot completely control every aspect of your life and you will still have to deal with the yucky stuff from time to time, but it’s a good idea to deal with it, let it go and move on.

• Find the positive in your dayI have recently been shown something getting around the pages of Etsy called a gratitude jar. Now, I’m not saying that you need to go with all of that popping a note in the jar each day for something that you’re grateful for, but it is good for the soul, no matter how bad your day might get, to try and find the silver lining.

• Share your positivityPositivity can be infectious, so throw that stuff around like glitter. Everyone loves a shower in glitter and things that sparkle, right? Even if it’s just sharing a smile with a stranger in the street or checking in with your ship mates who may be having a rough day, to see if they are ok.

• Don’t assumeYou know the old saying about assumptions? It has something to do with a donkey? It’s not productive to assume that you know what is going on in someone else’s life. Kindness goes much further than idle gossip and the next time you expand your lungs to express something negative about a person, stop to consider if it is actually doing your own wellbeing any good. Focus on running your own race.

Remember that there will always be those who want to bring you down. Take a moment and a breath and remember the good things. Pull up your comrades in arms and remind them that when they are down, we are all on the same path to creating something great in this industry. Once we can achieve the positive and the great together, the negative nancies will fade into the background.

My grandmother always told me that no matter what life throws at you, tomorrow is a new day and a chance to start again. So, what will your tomorrow bring?

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Heidi Walkinshaw
Real+

What’s Your Plan?

With the wildest weather buffeting the east coast and record rainfall and weather unlike anything witnessed since the 60’s and 70’s, it brings to the fore that it may be a good time to consider if your office has an action plan in place for emergencies such as storms, floods and fires.

Most offices may not plan for the worst until it is too late and it is essential to be prepared and have an action plan in place for when an adverse event may occur.

Some steps that you may take in preparing your action plan:

• Complete a  risk management assessment table with your risks, impact to your business, mitigation strategies and contingency plans.
• Identify any areas in your business that you cannot operate without should something happen.
• Complete an emergency management and recovery plan and communicate that plan to all staff so that they are aware of the procedure.
• Include in any plans a list of emergency contacts such as trades, state emergency services, police, fire and ambulance. This list is also handy to provide to tenants who won’t always know what to do when it comes to these matters.
• Develop an evacuation plan and ensure you have covered any additional procedures required under likely emergency scenarios.
• Prepare an emergency kit and include items such as key documents, phone numbers, torches, first aid kits, portable radios, plastic bags, spare batteries and water. Place these in a prominent location and ensure that staff are well informed.
• Appoint an emergency action team, rehearse your action plan and most importantly, keep your plan up to date.
• Check that your insurance covers for risks associate with your business.
• Store all important documents in a secure location and ensure that you have regular backups of your digital data and secure offsite storage for those backups.
• Research the virtual office services that could be useful in an emergency (such as a telephone answering service, mail forwarding, or a remote secretarial service).

Above all, when it comes to any kind of emergency situation, stay safe, don’t put yourself at risk and leave what you can up to the emergency services who are well trained in dealing with these matters.

Smart Investors Claim Thousands In Depreciation Deductions

A Word From Our Real+ Partners: 

Help your clients to boost cash flow by ordering depreciation education letters

Investors are always looking for ways to boost the cash flow received from their investment property. That’s why BMT Tax Depreciation provides additional information to help educate property professionals about property depreciation.

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) allows the owner of any income producing property to claim depreciation deductions for the wear and tear of the building structure and the plant and equipment assets contained within the property.

On average, property investors can claim between $5,000 and $10,000 in deductions in their first full financial year. This is no small amount, especially for investor’s who are juggling the costs of mortgage repayments, rates, repairs and property management fee’s as well as other expenses related to holding the property.

For a limited time, BMT Tax Depreciation is offering investors even more to help them save. The BMT Tax Depreciation Education Letter offers Real Plus staff and their clients a reduced fee of $715 including GST if they order a tax depreciation schedule prior to June 30. In addition to this discount, property investors will receive a free six month subscription to a magazine of their choice.

By arranging a depreciation schedule prior to June 30, property investors can also claim the tax deductible fee for the schedule back in this financial year when they complete their annual income tax assessment.

Property professionals can click here to order copies of the BMT Tax Depreciation Education Letter.

Article Provided by BMT Tax Depreciation.
Bradley Beer (B. Con. Mgt, AAIQS, MRICS) is the Managing Director of BMT Tax Depreciation. 
Please contact 1300 728 726 or visit www.bmtqs.com.au for an Australia-wide service.

The Best Sight in my Office

As I sit here to write today I am met with a sight in my office, one which throws me into a different train of thought, one which fills me with a sense of pride, a hint of jealousy, and a load of excitement. It is the early stages in the passing of the baton. So what have I found?

I decided to sit out on the office floor today, come out of the cave that I inhabit on the days I am here called “Fiona’s Office” and hit the desks with the team, across from me right now stands with great pride a card, adorned on its cover is an image of a trophy with the words “No.1 Coach”. As I read the carefully crafted words, the message relates to a story of success and achievement and within its lines, the words are offering thanks and praise for the coach who was there supporting and guiding to ensure it happened.   

Pride is an interesting word, and can really mean and relate to so many different things. In this instance I am proud of the business we have. Being able to offer such a service, of the knowledge and skill that has formed over the past 23 years which we impart every day, of the care and dedication my team portray when dealing with peoples lives and the realistic approach we take when identifying what is possible, setting the goals at the right level and then supporting in just the right way.

That momentary flicker of jealousy, has not been derived due to “someone else getting a card”, its from the feeling you get when you know you have made such a difference in someone’s world.

As a business owner who has been at the cold face of my business since inception, creating and offering every service we have today, it’s hard to let go and let others take the reins of an area of your business that is so close to your heart, and one that you enjoy so very much.

The reality is, though the jealousy subsides as quickly as it arrived as it is I as a leader who has the greatest gift of all. Passing the baton to passionate people, watching them develop into capable practitioners is the ultimate for a coach, coaching the coaches. Helping people help people – what a gift.

As we continue to grow, and we bring more people into our family, the dynamic of my role will continue to change. As for most business owners, this has its own challenges, but my role is to be at the front of the trail, blazing away so that the team continue to have a strong leader to follow. It’s important that you keep at the front of yours!

Plus … I’m not ready to let go of the baton just yet, I decided that I’m living till I am 120, so that’s another 100 years to go ;)

Fiona Blayney

Director

Real+