Where Do Your Lost Clients Go?

When an owner decides to leave, whether through selling, reoccupying, self managing or transferring the management to another agent, what happens to that client?  

• Is it good riddance for them to never be seen again? 
• Do we close the file and never think of them again? 
• Even worse do we bungle up the exit as we don’t care so much what happens to them now that they are considered lost?

Next time a client walks out the door, instead of saying goodbye, why can’t we say, see you again soon. Why can’t we simply move them into a category of what Real Plus likes to call an “inactive client” and push them back into the prospecting pool. We may be cutting off future new business opportunities if we don’t better manage this process.

Whist their current circumstances may be that they no longer need or desire our services, we need to remember that people’s circumstances change and there may come a time when they wish to rent, lease out, buy or sell a property in the future.  Wouldn't you, as the agent, like to at least be on their shopping list?  Wouldn't it be great is they referred people to us if they may know someone who needs one of our services, so we really do not want to be severing this relationship for good.

I have been able to retrieve several managements over the years that owners have decided to self manage, move to another agent and even move into. When the first home buyer grant rush happened I kept in contact with a lot of those purchasers who were owner occupiers and was able to recover many of them as managements down the track by simply keeping in contact and keeping them educated.

• Allocate & diarise follow-up calls - It's important to try and keep the relationship with the agency alive and burning.  No matter how long after the owner has taken back the property, you just never know when they may be thinking, or know of someone thinking of buying, selling or renting.  There is always the possibility they will become an active client again!

• Learn the exact reasons they are exiting.  Knowing the reasons helps you to continue to improve, upgrade your internal procedures and systems, and minimise risk for future avoidable loss.  Feedback can be a very powerful tool for improvement. The exiting client should always be contacted by management to discuss the real reasons they are leaving. Imagine a few weeks later the exiting landlord receiving an update that a whole new procedure had been put in place to overcome the issue they had.

• Never give up!  Of course there will be some disgruntled clients who are leaving (for whatever reason), but I also encourage you not to give up on repairing the relationship and leaving things on a good note, even if they chose not to stay with you at the end of the day.

• Can another property manager or contact point better service this client?Another idea may be to offer the disgruntled client a choice of new property manager or contact point. Sometimes a management can be saved for the agency if it was managed by another person in the office. Sometimes however, we may be better off without the client at all, in which case we will be divorcing that client – still remembering to keep face for the agency’s public image.

In order to ensure an exiting client is dealt with effectively and ensure the best possible chance for either them to return to us, or perhaps someone they know to be referred to us, we use an exiting landlord checklist which is commenced as soon as an owner gives notice.

For your free copy of this checklist please click here!

6 tips to get your customer ready to move

To help make your customer’s move as enjoyable and exciting as it should be, we have the time to find out what things 'movers' most commonly forget . These oft-forgot items are listed in this article, to help minimise the stress of moving and for renters will ensure they get their bond back. You could also visit us at Direct Connect for full list of Moving Checklist.

Before Moving Day:

• Write a Checklist - Yes, write a checklist! This may be the simplest task to complete, but it?s commonly forgotten because of that simplicity. This is the most important part of organising your move, as it allows you to ensure everything is planned for before, during and after the move. This can then eliminate any concern of leaving behind belongings, or not planning ahead.
  
  When writing a checklist, be sure to add specific details. For example; don't just write boxes as a checklist point; estimate or determine how many boxes you may want or need. You can then mark down how many boxes you use so that there is no risk in losing any of your personal items or belongings.
• Protective Materials - The first protective material everyone thinks of is bubble wrap. However, this isn't always the most appropriate protection material when moving. Items such as moving blankets or rags have more flexibility and are better suited for larger items such as dining tables, coffee tables and couches etc. They allow you to shape the material better to protect the edges of your larger furniture items.
  
  On top of this, when you're transporting furniture or fragile items, you want to ensure that these won't move around and damage one another. Simple materials such as ocky straps, rope or ties are ideal for packing your belongings for travel.
  
  Last but not least, tape. Whether it's masking or regular tape, this is an essential for not only securing boxes but for holding the blankets and rags in place when transporting your belongings.
• Label by location and contents - Labeling your boxes is something that everyone does; however after the large number of boxes you will pack it's easy to forget what contents are in each box. When labeling each box, simply include more detail than just the room or location. For example: label the box 'Kitchen, Bowls'.  This way when you're packing, you save yourself a great deal of time.

Organising Utility Connections:

• Disconnect & Reconnect your current utilities - When it comes to moving home these two tips are constantly forgotten and can quickly become the biggest problem you'll have before moving day. Organising your phone connections, TV connections and other utilities with your provider is essential and needs to be done as early as possible. It's is important to give them as much notice as you can as this will help you have a seamless transition when turning off and turning on your connections.
  
  It's a pain to be charged for a connection when you're no longer living in that household as well as not having a connection to any utilities once you?ve moved into your new place.

Moving Day:

• Give yourself twice as much time - It is very common to underestimate the time that it takes to move. There is an extensive list of jobs and tasks that you need to do prior to the move and on moving day in particular. It's always better to overestimate your time to ensure everything is complete during the time period you've hired a moving company, or for the time you've set yourself to move.
• Don't forget the Small Things - These are the smaller items that are usually of less value, however are commonly forgotten or left behind. Items such as:
• General Items
• Phone/iPod/iPad/Computer chargers and cables
• Power boards
• Door hanging mirrors/hooks
• Any storage items from under the house, storage cupboards or in the garage
• Kitchen Items
• Cutlery trays from your cupboard
• Food from the pantry or kitchen
• Bathroom Items
• Shampoo & Conditioner
• Toilet Cleaners
• Bins
• Cupboard items

If your customer follows these tips, they’ll get into their new place with ease and hopefully without any panic calls to the property manager. 

Article provided by Direct Connect.

Please contact 1300 664 715 or visit http://www.directconnect.com.au/ for an Australia-wide service.

A lease break doesn't have to be a headache

Hearing the words “I want to break my lease” can bring fear and terror into even the most experienced property manager. These words can almost always predict a headache in one way, shape or form and it can become a stressful situation for the tenant, landlord and of course us as the property manager.
It seems that tenants, and even landlords, breaking their leases are becoming far more common these days. The break of lease situation is not something we are immediately taught to handle, and has traditionally been left unspoken about as nobody wants a client to break their lease.
I learnt very quickly from some mistakes I made when dealing with a lease break, so this week I ran a webinar on this exact topic to share everything I have learned to make the situation the least stressful as possible. In preparation for my webinar session I delved down into how to best handle a break of lease situation, create a procedure and communicate this effectively to your tenants and landlords to reduce stress for all parties involved. 
Beyond the legislation side of things, a few of the main points to take away included:

• A strong procedure – Your break lease procedure needs to be set in stone and consistent across all staff in the business. I need to be able to walk into your business and sit in the property managers seat and know exactly how to deal with it at every step of the way. When you know the procedure it makes it much easier to train on it, communicate it to your clients and leaves less room for grey area.
• Transparency – Being transparent to all parties on their obligations and risks is key, ensuring the person breaking the lease agrees to all the terms in advance in writing and is aware of any risks. Why not even provide the tenant with a break lease form from the sign up meeting (along with a normal vacate form) so the tenant knows exactly what they need to do if a situation does arise. This also keeps communication lines open and hopefully they will be open to talking to you ahead of a potential lease break, and know that you have a process to deal with it.
• Communication – You may think you communicate well normally, however in a break of lease situation you need to step this up even further. Lease breaks are one situation where you need to over-communicate with both parties. Remember to keep both the landlord AND the tenant updated across the leasing process.
• Understanding – Remembering that generally speaking, no one has started their lease planning to break it. There are some really difficult and challenging situations that cause people to have to break a lease - financial, relationships, relocations and more. We need to put ourselves in their shoes and do what we can to make it less stressful. When they are getting fired up, remember where they are coming from and it will help you respond in a better way.
• Keep good records - Keep records of everything from copies of notices down to the number of enquiries received each week, price reductions, reasons for applications not being accepted, comparable properties and more. Keep everything in one place (for a free copy of my checklist on what evidence to keep in-case the break lease escalates click here)
•  Mitigating Loss - Our main duty in the break of lease situation is to minimise any potential loss to landlord and mitigate the tenants potential loss. This means that the methods we usually rely on to get a property leased may not be sufficient. What more can we be doing to assist in finding a replacement tenant? Additional marketing? Rent reduction with the tenant paying the shortfall? 

Got a property that won't lease?

Tearing out your hair with a property that won’t lease? Freaking out at the days on market creeping up? Having trouble convincing an owner to reduce their prices? You are not alone. Many of our members and clients around the country are experiencing some tougher times in leasing at the moment and are frustrated in getting their owners to reduce their rents to meet market conditions.

If the property is in good condition, marketed correctly, and available to be shown, as agents we usually know it’s the price that needs to shift. Price adjustments typically aren’t easy and often you will feel like you’re fighting against your owner at this stage of the property management process (despite the fact that effectively you are both on the same team, both wanting to get the best possible rent in the least amount of time).The important word to note here is “possible”.  Securing the best possible rent doesn’t always mean the highest rent the property has ever received. What this means is securing the best possible rent for that particular point in time, given market conditions, tenant options and situation.

The first problem is that often landlords have an assumption that the rent should continually be going upwards. There is a lack of education to these clients surrounding the time of year, market conditions, recent data, and a realistic comparison of their property to others on the market.

The second issue is that because the rental market moves so quickly, the price from a few weeks ago may not be accurate today - but we aren’t educating them along the way so they know this, we assume they know what we know, and it’s usually weeks into marketing the property before we start to speak to the owner about reducing the price to meet market conditions.

In markets like this it’s often not enough to rely on your normal renting tactics – list property online, take enquiry, show apartment, receive application, hey presto -  apartment rented!
You may need to use a few new tactics to communicate smarter with the owner to ensure you can get faster results:

1. Use your data – There is a plethora of data available to you in the property management world that is underutilised at all stages of the leasing process. Days on market, vacancy rates, registered tenants, properties leased by your agent, properties leased by other agents, number of comparable properties currently on the market, properties leased by agency each week, applications, enquiries, property visits. Data doesn’t lie and can be used to paint a very effective picture to your client from the get go, sharing this data means they can go on the journey with you & be more prepared to agree on price adjustments. Most of us have access to this information, but it’s how you use it that will make a difference.

2. Know your numbers – Know exactly what it will cost the owner to wait one more week for a tenancy. Being able to explain the cost of having no rent coming in versus dropping a few dollars a week over the course of a 6 or 12 month tenancy may help them see how important it is to get a tenant in rather than wait for the top dollar in rent. One of my favourite pieces of dialogue surrounding this comes from Andrew Reece of Inspect Real Estate “Mr Landlord – your property is currently rented for $0 per week..” that should get them thinking...

3. Preset your adjustment dates In relationships we all hate to hear the words “we need to talk”. And the same negative emotion can surround the discussion with the owner around “we need to reduce the price”, especially framed weeks into the marketing campaign. Explain to the owner from the initial stages of leasing that you conduct regular reviews of the market and WILL be recommending price adjustments along the way to ensure we achieve the best possible rent for you in this market in the least amount of time. Using the words adjustment, rather than reduction should help your cause too.
These are some points you can use to improve your process surrounding price adjustments in order to get a faster result, but there are many more great ways to think outside of the box to get your properties leased faster. We have a handy checklist guide to give away to you this week.

Click here to get your free copy of the “It Won’t Lease Checklist” and good luck! 

Why PMs need to have the tough talk about landlord insurance

Congratulations! You’ve added a new property to your rent roll. You and the landlord are at the start of a relationship which will, hopefully, be long and mutually rewarding.

As we all know, that relationship can also be a challenge, with property managers potentially straddling the gulf between tenant and landlord when a tenancy goes pear-shaped.

Many landlords are under the happy illusion that having a quality property manager guarantees them no tenant-related problems.

It’s in your interest to set them straight and open their eyes to the benefits of a good landlord insurance policy, which covers accidental as well as malicious tenant damage, like RentCover from EBM Insurance Brokers.

Sometimes drama strikes even the most carefully-selected tenants. Burglars break in.  They accidentally drive into the mailbox. Their washing machine overflows...

And, of course, tenants’ circumstances can change –  if they fall ill or lose a job and end up behind on the rent.

Some landlords also believe they don’t need their own insurance because the body corporate has cover.

This isn’t correct.  Insurance taken out by the body corporate won’t cover anything that happens inside the four walls of the landlord’s own unit, including potential liability.

Property managers often avoid discussing landlord insurance with clients for fear of overstepping boundaries or complicating the situation.

However, industry professionals who sidestep the issue risk exposing their own business to legal claims.

These days, there’s a real risk of a lawsuit when something goes wrong. If you fail to make sure your landlords have liability cover in place, it’s not only the landlord left exposed but also you and your company.

In the absence of landlord insurance, lawyers can recommend suing an agency or property manager in addition to, or instead of, the property owner.

There’s also potential for owners to sue agents for failing to inform them of the protection available and the need for insurance – or to claim an agent was indirectly responsible for the problem.

It can be uncomfortable having the tough conversation with clients but, remember, they will be the first to thank you if disaster strikes and they find themselves protected because of your care and good advice.

Article provided by EBM Insurance. 

Sharon Fox-Slater is the General Manager of EBM Insurance's RentCover

Please contact 1800 661 662 or visit www.ebminsurance.com.au for an Australia-wide service.

What is property depreciation and how can it help you?

Properties and the plant and equipment assets contained within them all go through a process of wear and tear.The Australian Tax Office (ATO) allows property investors to claim tax deductions based on this wear and tear. This claim is called property depreciation.

Depreciation deductions will significantly improve a property investor’s cash flow. Research shows the average investor can expect between $5,000 and $10,000 in deductions in their first year’s claim alone. Despite the potential returns, research shows 80% of property investors fail to claim depreciation.

Investors can claim two types of property depreciation. Capital works deductions are available for the structural elements of a building; such as roofs, windows and doors. These deductions can be claimed against the building’s historical construction cost at a rate of 2.5% each year for up to forty years.

There are some restrictions however. Capital works deductions only apply to residential buildings constructed after 15^th of September 1987. Despite this fact, the owners of older buildings are eligible to claim depreciation deductions for the plant and equipment items contained within the property as well as for any more recent renovations completed.

Plant and equipment depreciation can be claimed for mechanical or removable assets. Examples include carpets, hot water systems, blinds and light fittings.  These deductions are calculated based on an individual effective life assigned to each asset by the ATO. A dishwasher for example has an effective life of ten years and will be depreciated at a rate of 20% each year.

By educating your clients about property depreciation, not only will you assist their cash flow, but you will also add value to your own service. In turn, investors will be more likely to use your service again when expanding their investment portfolio.

BMT Tax Depreciation offers a complete range of complimentary services for property professionals including training, educational material, webinars, estimates and articles. To find out more visit the BMT Property Professionals page by clicking here. Alternative you can contact one of our friendly staff on 1300 728 726.

Article provided by BMT Tax Depreciation. 
Bradley Beer (B. Con. Mgt, AAIQS, MRICS) is the Managing Director of BMT Tax Depreciation.  

Please contact 1800 661 662 or visit www.bmtqs.com.au for an Australia-wide service.

Changes to the NSW Residential Tenancies Act 2010

Under the RTA 2010, when an owner decided to place the property on the market for sale, a tenant was able to terminate a fixed-term agreement without compensation to the landlord (even if the landlord did not intend to sell before the agreement was entered into, but subsequently decided to do so)

The revised changes to the act this month will allow the tenant to terminate a fixed term agreement if the landlord notifies them of their intention to sell – unless the landlord disclosed the proposed sale of the property before entering into the agreement as required by section 26, then tenants will be unable to terminate the fixed term agreement.

As a reminder section 26(2) requires a landlord or landlord’s agent to disclose to a tenant, prior to the tenant entering into a residential tenancy agreement, any proposal to sell the premises but only if a Contract for Sale has been prepared.

We recommend that you include as part of your process when signing a new lease that the question is asked of the landlord if they are considering selling the premises during the fixed term. In which case it is necessary to disclose this information to the tenant to ensure that they cannot give notice should the landlord go ahead with the sale during the fixed term.

Real Plus have added a step on their New Tenancy Procedure template to ensure this step is added to your new tenancy process and we would suggest you do the same on your internal checklists and procedures.

Any queries on this don’t hesitate to call us on 02 8355 4999

Why do relationships fall apart at the vacate?

One area where relationships fall apart time and time again is at the end of the tenancy. Across all of the agencies we work with, this is one area of property management that whilst a company might have a great internal system, the system fails when it’s not communicated to the tenant or landlord thoroughly.

As a result, much time is spend to-ing and fro-ing between the landlord and tenant arranging the vacate inspection, finalising payments, reporting on the inspection and finalising the bond.  A lot of client frustration and misunderstanding, and hence conflict comes from a lack of communication of the process. Often we know that things are under control, or what the next steps are but we are not communicating this to our tenants and landlords.

Clients are more likely to get frustrated with us when they feel like they don’t know what is going on or when delivery expectations haven’t been set. We know from our end that things are being taken care of and a system is being followed.  However, from the outside looking in, the clients don’t know what we do every day that makes up the process and may feel that areas that have not been communicated to them are areas that are not in control.

To lift your success and avoid stress in the vacate process:

• Automate – automate how your vacate process is communicated. Instead of just sending a letter confirmation, give the tenant a step by step guide of how the vacate process will run.
• Systemise – firm up your internal procedures for the vacate, when was the last time they had a review and you looked at how you can streamline the process?
• Over-communicate – Quick messages to the landlord and the tenant to tell them where things are up to, even if you know they are under control, will stop them chasing you for an update on things, saving you time and stress.

We’ll have many more tips on vacating and communication during our next educational webinar on Creating the Ideal Vacate – click here to register. 

If you are Real+ member, click here to visit Real TV where you can watch the webinar, 'Creating the Ideal Vacate'

When do I get my bond back?

When do I get my bond back?

At Real+ we often like to take a moment to think about things from the tenants perspective. This allows us to not only improve the property management process to make things as streamlined and easy for us as possible, but also gain a greater perspective of understanding when communicating and dealing with tenants.

This week I took a moment to think about things from the tenants perspective at the time of vacate, final inspection and bond refund.  I took a moment to think back to the times I have myself vacated from a property, what my expectations were compared to what happened, and then put that into perspective as to how I had handled vacating tenants as a property manager. This vacate stage seems to be one property management function that is handled quite differently from agent to agent.

Some questions I felt went unanswered as a tenant (despite my own property management knowledge, and the receipt of a generic vacate letter) were around when they planned to show prospective tenants through the property, whether I was supposed to drop the keys to their office, when I would be meeting them for the vacate inspection, and most importantly (the most common frustration of tenants and hardest things for a property manager to guarantee):

• How long would it be until my bond was refunded?

Most tenants are relying on and budgeting on that money for some purpose so understandably they get frustrated when it’s not as easy as keys back, bond back. As a property manager, I know I couldn’t guarantee a time frame for the tenant as to when they would get their bond back, it depended on whether they’d returned the property in good condition, if it was clean, if extra work was required, if all the keys were returned, how quickly the landlord confirmed it wass okay to release the bond etc. So many variables.

If we can’t 100% guarantee the time frame, what can we control? How can we avoid an angry tenant at the vacate inspection? Well not only can we control how we communicate the process, but also how we provide expectations to the tenant across the vacate process. This will help alleviate some frustrations. Often we know what the process is and what the tenant can do to ensure they have the best chance of a speedy bond refund, however we are not communicating this to them each time.

Next time instead of sending out the generic vacate letter, why not provide the tenant with an outline of the process and what steps they can take to ensure their bond is refunded as quickly as possible! We have created a handy checklist you can provide to your tenants when they are vacating called the “How to ensure a Speedy Bond Refund Tenant Checklist,” click here for your copy.

If you are Real+ member, click here to visit Real TV where you can watch our webinar on Condition Reports!

Time to Turn Complaints into Compliments?

I’m sure many of us in property management have noticed that our landlords and tenants are becoming more educated and demanding than ever. The skills of a property manager now need to extend to far beyond a collector of rent or a coordinator or repairs with expectations of a property manager higher than ever. This is partly because our client’s are easily educated by the internet, are persuaded by stories in the media, and are able to communicate both positive and negative experiences far easier amongst their community through social media.

Thanks to this, those we perceive to be “difficult clients” are far more prevalent in our day to day dealings and situations with potential for conflict are arising more often. At Real Plus our most common request for training is on communication and conflict resolution. What we see is that even experienced property managers in general are not always equipped with the communication and conflict resolution skills needed to cope with these increased demands, expectations and knowledge.

The most successful agencies we work have ongoing training plans into place to grow and develop their teams and business to both educate themselves, but also find ways to educate their clients, therefore becoming the expert in their field. Ongoing training will also enable them to add an array of communication techniques and training into place to help their teams avoid conflict and turn potential complaints into compliments. Some tips for ensuring you are staying one step ahead include:

• Stay educated – Ensure you know what your clients know so that you can proactively tackle any potential issues
• Keep training – Undertake ongoing internal and external training so that skills are continually being developed to deal with ever increasing client needs/demands 
• Peek out of industry – some other industries such as retail and hospitality can bring some great communication, conflict resolution and customer service skills to the table
• Look to improve – don’t assume that because it’s been done a certain way for a long time that it’s the best way to do it
• Listen – the best advice anyone working in property management can take on board, often we don’t actually listen and this is the root of most potential issues

If you are Real+ member, click here to visit Real+TV where you can watch our webinar Communication Concepts: From Complaints to Compliments

From the Eyes of a Prospective Tenant

I have recently been in the market for a rental property. Whilst conducting my own rental search, I have been taking note of my consumer experience as a prospective tenant in order to be able to deliver live customer feedback, information and training to our property management clients.

I’ve almost felt like a mystery shopper at times, secretly taking note of the quality of advertising & photos, accuracy of descriptions and photos, response times from agents, presentation of the agent and presentation of the property. Along the way I also reviewed the application process across several agencies and in particular - how I have been treated as a prospective tenant and ultimately how this affected my decision in choosing which properties to visit and ultimately lease!

There were definitely some property inspections and agent response times that left me feeling bad for the landlord that the agent’s actions had turned me off renting their property! And even further still that if I was a prospective landlord that I would not be choosing that agent to lease my property.

Don’t get me wrong, many of the agents were doing a great job, however my experience was very interesting and eye opening which has helped me identify some key areas that leasing agents need to work on at the leasing stage of their property management process. (Without meaning to toot our own horns, I was very pleased to see that one of the best experiences I had was with an agency who is a Real+ Member undergoing regular training across their property management team – the proof is in the pudding).

So, want to know more? Well next week I’ll be hosting a webinar on leasing – in which we’ll be talking about ways to get properties leased faster, reduce vacancy and ways to make your lives easier. I can tell you now that what I’ve learnt from being a prospective tenant will be going into this session so be sure not to miss this one if you want to know how to improve your leasing process!

If you are Real+ member, click here to visit Real+TV where you can watch our webinar Just Leased! Leasing made Faster, Smarter & Easier.

Property Investment Tips to Assist Your Landlords

There is a common perception that in order to own an investment property, you must be a wealthy investor with money to burn. The reality is that the opposite is more likely to be true, with many landlords overwhelmed by the actual cost of owning an investment property, which leaves many property managers wondering why the landlord was un-obliging over agreeing to a $100 repair.

As a property manager, it is essential to fully understand how much it costs an owner to own an investment property, and the type of investor they are in order to meet their needs, expectations and build the relationship (and of course provide better understanding and advice when convincing them to agree to the $100 repair).

There is fantastic 60 minute webinar within the Real+ membership called “Walking in the shoes of your investor” (presented by Fiona Blayney) to assist in training yourself and your property management teams on this important subject.

In this Real+ training webinar Fiona Blayney refers to the property management concept of Intentional landlords vs Accidental landlords.

• An intentional landlord made a decision to invest in property and has likely worked hard to own property, therefore has purpose and a plan.
• An accidental landlord may be one that has inherited property, has influence from parents, was unable to sell, someone who may be combining a household, or couldn’t afford mortgage.

Can you see that not only the needs of that landlord, but the financial motivations and challenges of the two will be very different? One group will understand the costs of investment much better, whereas the latter will not like or understand a lot of expenses.

We get amazing feedback from property managers on this training webinar – helping them to finally understand what it costs a landlord and see things from their perspective, making their lives easier not only in day to day dealings but also boosting their long term relationships with the client.

As a property manager it is important to understand what it actually costs the landlord to maintain an investment property, and the type of investor you are dealing with in order to build the relationship and have them trust in your service. But don’t try to figure it out on your own, next week, Real+ presents another property management live webinar on the topic. 

If you are Real+ member, click here to visit Real+TV where you can watch our webinar with special guest expert Chris Gray: Wealth Creation for Your Landlords.

The 7 Don'ts of Creating Strong Client Relationships with your Landlords

Working in property management means we have to wear many hats and play many different roles for our clients. It can be a demanding yet rewarding job. There are several minor mistakes than can happen on a daily basis but generally these mistakes can be rectified without damaging the client relationship.

Sadly there are a few more significant relationship mistakes that we can all easily make that will potentially damage a bond with a client. Once a relationship with a client is damaged or doubted it can make even the simplest tasks moving forward, difficult to deal with, let alone keeping that client on board for life.

To ensure you keep your client relationships strong from the start (and not to mention make your life easier,) here are 7 tips from the experts of what not to do.

1.       Don’t think it’s just a job – Passion is palpable, if you don’t care about your job it shows. Not feeling passionate? Take a moment to make a connection between what you do and the bigger picture. Constantly seek out ways to grow, learn and develop. Would you prefer to have an agent who is passionate about what they do? Or doesn’t care? What breeds more trust?

2.       Don’t be too sure of yourself – Keep a healthy perspective of yourself, remember it’s not about you and stay client focused. Clients do not like someone who comes across as patronising, knows it all, or constantly sings their own praises. Show me how good you are, don’t tell me.

3.       Don’t tell ‘white lies’ – This includes exaggerating. We can usually tell when others are doing this so why wouldn’t clients be able to pick up on it?  “When you create a reputation for honesty, for laying out all your cards even when it doesn’t benefit you, for telling the whole truth – you’ll gain customer loyalty that money can’t buy. Clients will trust, respect and refer you and your own life will become easier” - Joseph Callaway

4.       Don’t be too professional – Remember to stay human and be real to your clients, being too robotic and professional will give off the impression to the client that they are just another number. Don’t be afraid to make a personal connection - give a little something about yourself, find out more about your client and see them as more than an ATM machine.

5.       Don’t think you’re always right – Being the expert in the relationship it’s easy to automatically think you are right, but that doesn’t mean their opinion doesn’t matter. Try to put yourself in the clients shoes and see things from their perspective, you might find a new way of looking at things or at least a better viewpoint and attitude to exhibit in those tough conversations.

6.       Don’t be tight with your time – We all know our time is valuable and so do your clients. Wrapping up that conversation to get to the next one is noticeable and will not show that their relationship is important to you. Sharing your time, taking that extra minute to explain, educate, re-clarify or seek input, can become the most valuable relationship maker. “Imagine everyone you meet is wearing a sign around their neck which says - make me feel important” – Mary Kay.

7.       Don’t fail to express gratitude –We all want to feel valued, there are many ways to say thank you other than the usual verbal way.  It’s easy to take clients for granted or make them feel as though they aren’t valued. “Find ways in your everyday discussions to make them feel valued through getting to know them personally, forgiving occasional bad behaviour, and staying up-to-date in your field so you can give them the highest level of service," Joseph Callaway says.

If you are Real+ member, click here to visit Real+TV where you can watch our webinar with special guest expert Kirsty Spraggon: How to Create a Client for Life.

How Would You Rate Your Rent Review Process?

We all know an essential part of our property management process is the rent review. At this stage we are generally finding out what the tenants plans are and if they want to stay on, then letting the landlord know the current rental value. But what if we took this simple rent review s step further and conducted a complete tenancy review with the landlord?

What if next time the rent review comes up we conduct the tenancy review as if we were sitting at a new listing presentation with them to discuss their needs by asking questions such as:

• “Paul, before we review the rental value on your property I just wanted to have a chat about you. What are your plans for the next 12-24 months?
• How have you found the tenancy so far? What do you think of the tenants?
• What is going to be most important to you in reviewing this tenancy? Increased rental value? Or tenant security?
• When would you like us to next review the rent?
• Do you have any plans to move back in or sell in the foreseeable future? As we can work on a plan towards that together.

Perhaps the landlords wants, needs and expectations have changed since you appraised their property 12 or more months ago. Things change so quickly in all of our lives, we need to remember that our landlords are people like us and things change in their lives too, therefore we need to consider their needs which are constantly changing just as our own are.

Originally your landlord wanted a family in their property, but are quickly realising that perhaps that professional group would have been better. Perhaps they were planning to stay away for 3 or more years but now plan to return home in six months time. Perhaps they are thinking of selling in a year but may not realise increasing the rent now risks the tenants vacating closer to the sale time.

This new process of reviewing not just the rent, but the tenancy itself will enable you to best recommend options to the landlords based on their needs (and not what we assume their needs are based on our process). Most importantly, just by opening up this whole new world of communication you are improving the relationship between yourself and the landlord by showing you actually care about their wants and needs. Imagine the possibilities.

If you are Real+ member, click here to visit Real+TV where you can watch our webinar: Systemise for Success - Rent Reviews.

Need Advice on Landlord Relationship Management?

Don't just woo them - win them over long term!

The first stages of the landlord relationship are kind of like a new romance. We are trying our best to woo the client during our first date with them (the appraisal), showing them all our best features and tricks (during the leasing process) and securing them as yours (negotiating the tenancy).

But what happens once this honeymoon period is over? Does the ongoing relationship burn strong with confidence that they have made the right choice in you?

Or is this the part where attention to that client quickly fades as other tasks take priority, and the client is left wondering why they made the decision to go with you in the first place? Are they thinking “None of those amazing promises they first made are being met!”

Perhaps the problem doesn’t lie in there being other tasks to do (there will always be other tasks to do) but potentially, in the rush to woo the client over: 

1. The needs of those clients hasn’t been effectively listened to, recorded, or passed onto the property management team. How are they best contactable? What level of involvement do they wish to have in the ongoing management? At what stage do they need to be advised about certain issues?

Or 2. That we haven’t done a thorough job in educating our new clients as to exactly how the ongoing management process will move forwards after the initial honeymoon period. Do they know what the property management service includes? How we communicate with them, how is best to contact us, expected response times, how unforeseen issues will be dealt with, when they receive their funds and more.

Of course first impressions are important to establish the relationship with the client - the initial impression can set the tone for the entire customer experience! However it is increasingly more important to spend more time in discussing the needs and requirements of the ongoing relationship, to ensure that you’re passing over the baton smoothly beyond the initial stages of leasing. 

If you are Real+ member, click here to visit Real+TV where you can watch our webinar: Starting the Landlord Relationship Right.

Are You Demonstrating Value?

A Facebook conversation caught my eye yesterday. There was a quickly developing chain of comments on the back of one friend’s status. The status was regarding her extreme disappointment with her property manager and asking around for an opinion as to whether she should self-manage.

People that I didn’t even know were owners of investment property were suddenly coming out of the woodwork to express their disappointment with their property managers too.

The conversation revealed complaints of lack of customer service, no response or communication, comments around not seeing value in having a property manager (to put it nicely) and comments around it being better to manage their properties themselves.

After 10 years working in property management, these kind of comments really disappoint and concern me. The fact that we are not seen to be the professionals we should be seen as, that people do not see value in what we do, and that there is a notion that property managers are “useless” means that something is not working.

We know how tough and demanding property management can be. We know the flack PMs can cop whilst working long and hard to navigate the complexities between keeping landlords, tenants, and contractors happy, whilst acting within office procedures and the legislation of your state. And we know how hard it can be to get back to everyone in a timely manner.

We are further challenged now than ever before as we are now expected to be experts in so many areas and wear many different ‘hats’ for our now well-educated 'Google generation' of landlords and tenants. Unfortunately now, even 20 years' property management experience sadly doesn’t mean we have all of the skills to deal with the expectations those educated clients of 2014 have of us.

In saying all of this, research shows that this notion of 'useless' being perceived from the outside often comes down to a basic lack of communication.

There is no doubt that ever-mounting inbox can become overwhelming. Top that with the clients phoning to see if you got the email that is sitting in your inbox and it can start to feel like there is a big monkey sitting on your shoulders.

What we need are additional techniques, skills and systems to overcome these challenges, and to fulfil our roles. Ongoing training and continual learning (for both property managers and their managers) is going to be the only way to deal with this.

There are a few (seemingly simple) communication techniques that you can use to better deal with these clients and mirror the level of customer service that they are expecting:

• Set expectations from the start of the relationship (such as your expected response times to phone/email/texts). Also seek out their preferred method of communication. It's no use waiting on a response to emails if they are a phone person.
• Set expectations on the whole property management process from the start - i.e. how often routines take place, what is an urgent vs non-urgent issue, how does the invoicing and statement process work
• Readjusting expectations if external factors mean you cannot deliver a result
• Have an auto response on your email account that thanks the client for their email, and gives them an expected response time. Also indicate response time on your voicemail (and of course deliver on that expectation)
• Update your client – even update them before they ask for an update, even update them if there is no update

Of course, all of these tips will only work if you do what you say you will, when you say you will do it. If you are prone to forget, diarise call backs in your outlook calendar at the end of the conversation. Utilise modern technology to assist with 'to do' lists and managing your time. 

Having your time more efficiently managed, (i.e. using blocking techniques) will make sticking to your own communication program easier. If you are unsure of how to implement and manage any of this, seek additional training.

If we start to use tips like these, and ensure we are constantly training and developing ourselves, perhaps we can start to change the notion of property managers being “invaluable” to being worth every cent of management fees. And that next time someone asks if they should self-manage – that the responses might look a lot different.