Are you confident at Tribunal?

Attendance at Tribunal can be stressful to even the hardest property manager. It is important to ensure that you are well prepared, with as much information as possible so that you know what you are heading into whilst attempting to achieve the best possible outcome for your client.

How prepared are you when it comes to Tribunal and are you ready to tackle any challenge? Let’s look at a few key steps that you can implement to ensure that you are ready to aim for the best possible outcome.

•          When it comes to applying, always have landlord’s approval and determine  what their ideal outcome may be and pre agree under what conditions you may withdraw application

•          Check that the Court has the jurisdiction for orders you are making and ensure you apply against correct individual/s or business. Carefully specify which orders you request and give factual reasons

•          Always keep a copy of your application and prepare your documentation straight away

•          When issuing termination notices, ensure that the notice is in writing and states the full address of the rented premises and the full names of all parties

•          Ensure that the grounds & details of breaches are explained  and it is signed and dated by the Landlord or agent

•          Refer to management agency agreement and the residential tenancy agreement for required information, check service dates and check the rent arrears

•          When it comes to preparing for the hearing, prepare a chronology of events and write down all issues relating to the case

•          Gather your evidence with updated copies of ledgers and the tenant’s status as well as any information. It is also helpful to know what you want to say to support your case

•          Have a checklist handy to help you organise your documents. The team at Real + have a great one on hand. Click here to find out more.

•          Practice your case, remembering that practice makes perfect! If you need help don’t forget to refer to the fact sheets and online videos

•          Prepare your hearing notes for the member before the hearing and take a calculator, phone, pen, pad

•          Ensure your Landlord is on standby

Above all remain calm, be thorough with your information and if you are ever at all unsure about the person you are up against, take someone with you for backup and good luck!

Heidi Walkinshaw 

Real+

0411 747 520 / heidi@realplus.com.au

Privacy and the Internet Do Not Mix

Remember when back in 2007 Facebook jumped onto the scene and we all enthusiastically set up our new profiles and started connecting with friends, excited that there was now a fun platform on which to connect and share with our select friends in a private closed group?

Then remember how we quickly realised that actually, it wasn’t that private because we were getting friend requests from the snotty nosed kid in our kindergarten class that we never liked?

But then Facebook came up with a solution – they gave us the option to make our profile private!

Hooray! Thank goodness that we can still all post photos of the *wild (*not so wild in hindsight) parties we attended without our parents seeing! (Yes, I am part of the Y-Gen).

Fast forward nearly a decade, and as grownups we now realise that actually the privacy settings aren’t so private and, shock horror, the internet is not the safe and secure playground we thought it to be.

Or rather, most of us have realised.

Too often I see really talented and suitable candidates miss out on opportunities all because of what they have decided to share on social media.

You can be 100% sure that when you apply for a role, or are put forward to a business, the FIRST thing that will happen is a google search.  They are going to scroll through all of your photos, have a look at the kind of comments your friends have made on your photos and from this, can quite accurately put together an idea of what your life looks like, and potentially, what kind of person you are.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, whichever way you choose to look at it, we live in a world where our private lives and our professional lives have now overlapped so much, that the distinction between the two is not recognisable.

It will not matter how many awards you have won or how many new managements you brought on last month, if you have inappropriate photos or content on your Facebook/Instagram /Pinterest/twitter/LinkedIn page, you WILL miss out.

Whether you’re a business owner (yes, the social media stalking occurs in the reverse too!), someone looking for a new job, or you already have a job that you’d like to keep, my advice would be to proceed with caution with regards to what you post or comment on, on social media.

My rule?  If I wouldn’t want my Grandfather/Grandmother/Father/Mother/Boss/client seeing my post, I will not post it. 

Alison McGavin

Recruitment Team Leader
0434 014 012

Real+

BMT Tax Depreciation - Help investor clients to claim deductions correctly

Repairs and maintenance are a fact of life for Property Managers. While the costs associated with the upkeep of investment properties can be a source of concern for owners, Property Managers are able to address this by advising them of the deductions they can claim when completing their annual tax return.

Australian Tax Office (ATO) legislation can have a significant impact on the deductions a property owner is able to claim for work completed on their property. In order for a Property Manager to accurately advise their clients it is important to understand what types of works constitute repairs, maintenance and capital improvements.

Repairs and maintenance

Repairs relate to work completed to fix damage or deterioration of a property. Common examples of repairs include: 

• Fixing part of a damaged fence
• Replacing part of the guttering or windows damaged in a storm

Maintenance is defined as any work completed to prevent deterioration to a property. Common examples include: 

• Painting a rental property
• Oiling, brushing or cleaning something that is otherwise in good working condition
• Plumbing maintenance
• Servicing an air conditioner

Any expense incurred for repairs or maintenance of an investment property is deductible within the current financial year.

Capital improvements

Any improvement made to the original condition of an item is classified as capital improvements. The ATO allows capital improvements to be claimed by property investors as either capital works deductions or plant and equipment depreciation.

Capital works deductions include structural additions and renovations as well as fixed items which cannot be easily removed from the property.

Examples of depreciating plant and equipment items which could qualify for deductions when improved upon are carpeting, hot water systems, stoves, lights and light fittings. The deductions which can be claimed will depend on the individual effective life the ATO set for each individual asset.


How to maximise deductions

To ensure investor clients are able to claim the maximum deductions available, encouraging them to contact a Quantity Surveyor specialising in tax depreciation is key.

By working with an investor’s Accountant, a Quantity Surveyor such as BMT Tax Depreciation is able to produce a tax depreciation schedule outlining all capital works deductions and plant and equipment items considered to be capital improvements. This schedule will also outline all available deductions for the lifetime of the property (forty years), claimable when completing an annual tax return.

Owners who are planning any renovations to their investment property should also request a Quantity Surveyor to complete both a pre and post renovation depreciation schedule, as items removed during this process may also entitle the owner to additional deductions when the items are scrapped and written off.

If you have any clients who would like more information on claiming depreciation for any investment property, speak with one of the expert staff at BMT Tax Depreciation on 1300 728 726.


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

The importance of the first impression

It is a truth universally acknowledged that it takes around 7 seconds to make a first impression. This first impression can determine how someone else will perceive you and make assumptions of your personality and if they can like, trust and respect you.

Have you thought about how you come across to someone else in those first 7 seconds and the type of first impression that you make?

In an industry where first impressions are the order of the day, it is important that you are aware of the impression that you give to others as it could be the deal maker or deal breaker when it comes to something as important as beginning a relationship with a client and gaining a new listing.

There are two ways in which your message is delivered and these are through either verbal or non-verbal cues. Research has also found that non-verbal cues are four times more likely to influence a first impression than verbal cues.

When we are using verbal cues, it is a great tool to train yourself in the mind to mouth filter, the one where you think about what you are going to say before you actually say it. This filter can save you more often than not in a social situation.

In honing your non-verbal think about a few keys factors:

·         Posture and attitude – standing straight and tall and making eye contact can signal confidence and form a connection, while hunching your shoulders and looking down at the ground constantly can signal lack of self confidence. Also consider your attitude and how that may come across in those first moments. Are you confrontational or do you stand back a little and fall back into yourself?

·         Smile! – never underestimate the power of a smile. Smiling can signal that you are friendly and approachable and also helps to boost endorphins which is why we can often feel great when we really smile or even laugh. So why not pass that on!

·         Shake hands – this is one of the fastest ways that you can gain rapport with someone. Although it’s an idea to practice those handshaking skills! There is nothing worse than having your little hand crushed in a vice like grip of death or being given the “limp fish shake”. Your hand shake will also reflect your personality so it’s worthwhile thinking about what type of shaker you are.

When you are analysing your first impression style, ask your friends or co-workers their impression of you to gain some feedback on where you may be able to improve and, you might even like to use them as guinea pigs when you are trialling and testing how you connect with others and perfect your first impression skills.

Heidi Walkinshaw

It was over a coffee...

It was over a coffee, croissant and some fruit this week that I chatted with our team during a team meeting about the little things that make up a culture. I found myself recounting to them my infatuation with the bathrooms of businesses for which we are conducting an analysis.

Now of course to the novice you’d think that was pretty weird, my being so intrigued by a bathroom, perhaps you’d go so far as to call me weird. Across my time with the team and this discussion, they humoured me as I recounted the story, or stories of what I find upon closer inspection of this part of an office.

Ok, now I don’t have the white glove out and am checking for cleanliness, what I am talking about is the general aesthetics of the bathroom, and what it tells me about the company as a whole, and how it feels about its people, and how the team feel about each other.

Spending time in a bathroom, well you could say that it’s a pretty personal time, you want to feel comfortable whether its 3, 5 or 10 minutes. Let’s leave the details there shall we.

The surprising thing is the life that becomes to bathroom in offices we visit. To paint a picture. A bathroom can become a storage facility, for mops, sign boards, pointer boards, we’ve even seen files, last year’s Christmas cards, and heaven forbid the bathroom wash basin doubles up as the water facility (and yes I mean a basin that’s in the same four walls as the toilet), I don’t think anyone wants to make a cup of tea whilst smelling harpic flush.

Of course we can delve further and discuss the amenities, such as, toilet paper, towels, soap, freshener, etc. and the often lack of all of the above.

Each and every time I come across a bathroom that is so unappealing I’d rather go to the local park (ok that’s overkill but you get what I mean), I think about the team and wonder how they interpret these facilities and what it means about the relationship between business and employee, and team mates. Let me tell you, it’s less than favourable.

In these same businesses, you can feel a wave of discord, complacency, it’s not unusual for the office appearance to be lacking, the people are less engaged, and everything just feels that little bit sloppy.

 I challenge you today to go take a look at your bathroom, see what message it’s delivering to your people. How would it really make them feel?  I’m not asking for you to win bathroom week on the block, but appreciate the impact the small things have on your business.

We took a look around our bathroom, and the rest of our office house, we revisited our family rules, our values. Fortunately there was not much to change.  At its core I was reminded how important it is to provide the service to your people, and them to each other, that we all want provided to our customers and clients.

Fiona Blayney 

Avoid the email ping pong game

Technology is a wonderful tool that has allowed us to become smarter about how we work and has the potential to save us time in our day. However, we still hear the comments of “I cannot believe that it is this month already” and wondering where the year has gone.

While technology is perhaps contributing to the faster pace of our lives, it is important to remember that correlation doesn’t necessarily mean causation and it can become all too easy to rely on the traps of modern technology and lead us to become a little less conversational with our clients and peers.

Have we become too reliant on technology? We see what often occurs in offices is that we can fall into the trap of email ping pong which can lead to conflict should a message be misconstrued by the recipient.  We are highly social species and should never underestimate the power of physical or emotional contact. So how can we encourage our teams to incorporate more effective communication into their roles?

While email is fantastic, our entire client base is not necessarily up to date with technology and would much prefer a phone call. It also can easier to bury our heads in the sand when it comes to emails and try and ignore the fact that it was there. Not to mention that it’s so very easy to become lazy and send back a one line answer to a question that may require further detail.

In many cases, one email can turn into a much longer trail as both the sender and receiver fight for supremacy to get the last word in. This can sometimes result in having to up the phone and make the call anyway resulting in potentially lost time.

It is a great tool to encourage teams to also talk to each other or raise issues in meetings rather than emailing the whole team for trivial matters. There are also some great in office chat apps like asana which can help to streamline office conversations.

Should you pick up the phone and make the call don’t forget to record comments from the conversation in your software. This one is a non-negotiable. If you like, as an extra this call can then be followed up with an email to confirm with the client what was discussed.

The next time you are about to hit send on that email question if it could be dealt with via a  Could a phone call to save both the time and potential angst.

Heidi Walkinshaw

How Tough is your Arrears Process?

Arrears is often an area that can raise those stress levels and as the rental market becomes tighter in finding tenants and those vacancies rise, you can sometimes find that as a Property Manager, you are reluctant to issue a termination notice to a tenant or you may even find the Owner objecting to evicting a Tenant albeit a bad one for fear the property may be vacant for a lengthy period of time.

While it is tempting to stick with the devil that you know, it is important to ensure that you maintain a strict arrears process to cover yourself should something go awry and maintain regular Owner contact throughout.

Let’s take a look at some tips to ensure your process is on track.

·      Prepare an arrears list. The frequency of how often and when you produce this list will depend on payment frequencies of your tenants, the type of payment system you have and how challenging your market may be in relation to late payers.

·      Adopt a zero tolerance policy.  You can guarantee that when it comes to late payments, while there are those that will be genuine; you will hear every excuse imaginable. These become extra colourful sometimes with your habitual late payers. Explain your arrears policy at the lease signing to begin on the right foot.

·      Don’t forget to communicate throughout the arrears process. Keep in contact with your Owners to advise them when the tenant falls into arrears to inform them and ensure that they don’t receive a nasty surprise on their monthly statement. It’s also great to give them a call when the rent has been paid up to date.

·      Calling or even sending an sms to a late payer is more likely to receive a response rather than a letter and even talk with your Tenants about payment plans where they are really struggling.

·      Always record notes, even phone conversations in your software which can then be printed out should you need to go down the tribunal path. Following up the conversation with an email can assist your records.

·      Check your state’s legislative requirements and issue notices on the dates required. If you have Owners who are determined not to allow you to issue those notices, then follow it up in an email, just to cover your office.

Having strict arrears processes in place will assist in saving you time and reducing your stress levels in the long run. 

Heidi Walkinshaw