Property Management Booklet

Management of Your Property

Our step by step guide to successful property management

8264 2223

taylorsrealestate.net.au

Business Profile

Taylor’s First National Real Estate is a member of the First National Real Estate group of independent Real Estate agents. The group comprises in excess of 500 offices throughout Australasia, with affiliates in the

United States via the prudential referral services.

Our prominent character office is centrally located to service the north and north east suburbs of Adelaide. Developers recognized the region as an area with growth potential which has resulted in a number of major developments in recent years such as Mawson Lakes, Walkley Heights, Golden Grove, Gulfview Heights and Hawkesbury Park. These developments have resulted in escalating buyer activity, awareness and a significant increase in property prices. All categories of buyers from the interstate investor right through to the third and

fourth home owner now look to purchase throughout the region.

We specialize in residential sales and rental management. Our sales department has an exceptional high listing to sales success rate, while our property management department manages one of the largest rental portfolios and can confidently boast one of the lowest vacancy rates in rental management. Our First Priority service provides assistance to prospective buyers and tenants looking for accommodation, while adding an extra

benefit for our vendors and landlords.

We receive a high number of referrals from past clients who recommend our service which is an indication of their satisfaction in their dealings with our company. We understand the importance of first impressions and the saying “You don’t get a second chance to make a good first impression”. Consequently everything we do is

with that in mind.

Our office is located in a high visual and traffic area, is tastefully decorated and impeccably presented with banners periodically erected to create continued consumer awareness of our business. Our marketing product is to an extremely high standard in comparison to our immediate competitor agents. We are equipped with the latest forms of technology which allows us to produce most of our marketing material in house. This enables us to adapt very quickly, continually introduce new products and keep costs down to our clients while

increasing their properties exposure.

The First National Quality System, called “Best Practice” is unique to the industry, and in our area. Our documented procedures leave nothing to chance – everything we do is planned to get the best result for the lowest investment. These documented procedures mean our systems are reliable and we don’t waste time

re-inventing the wheel, or covering mistakes.

Our dedicated reliable team of real estate professionals undertakes regular personal development and training. They are well groomed, polite and helpful, and believe in the philosophy of “treating people the way you would

like to be treated yourself”.

If you intend selling or renting your property, you can be assured of receiving the highest

standard of service from Taylor’s First National.

WE GUARANTEE IT!

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT PROCEDURES

TAYLOR’S FIRST NATIONAL are recipients of a

“Best Prac�ce Gold award Cer�fica�on”

We can proudly boast as being recognized as one of the few Real Estate offices who have

implemented a quality assurance system that is aligned to ISO 9000 interna3onal standards.

Generally clients may not be fully aware that they are dealing with a Gold Awarded company. But

they do recognize and praise the good service, effec3ve communica3on, correctly organized

marke3ng campaigns and careful a8en3on to detail.

This might not seem much in itself unless you have previously dealt with other real estate offices

who cannot guarantee these service levels.

But it is the confidence in knowing that you are dealing with a company with a dedicated

customer focus and a system that is driven by con3nuous improvement.

If you need a quality property manager to handle your investment property, you can be assured

of receiving the highest possible standard from TAYLOR’S FIRST NATIONAL.

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MARKETING YOUR PROPERTY

PRIOR TO RENTING YOUR HOME

SELECTING A SUITABLE TENANT

THE TENANCY AGREEMENT

PROPERTY INSPECTIONS

RENT CONTROL POLICY

REPAIRS AND MAINTENANCE

Taylor’s First

Na�onal Gold

Award and Best

Prac�ce Procedures

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RENT COLLECTION AND PAYING THE OWNER

INSURANCE - MANAGING THE RISK

SELLING YOUR RENTAL PROPERTY

BEST PRACTICE SERVICE GUARANTEE

COMPANY POLICIES

MARKETING YOUR PROPERTY WHAT WE NEED FOR YOUR

PROPERTY IS A STRATEGY

THAT WILL MAKE IT STAND

OUT FROM THE CROWD

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News Review Messenger

(Photographic Advert)

First Priority Tenant Database - Email/SMS Alerts

Taylor’s First Na3onal

Weekly Property Guide

The Rental market is no different from any financial market in that it is driven by supply & demand.

The experienced property investor understands that a cost effec3ve but quality marke3ng program

will more likely generate a higher level of tenant enquiry, provide a greater selec3on and higher

quality of poten3al tenant, and assist in maximizing the rental income by minimizing the vacancy

3me.

Our exper3se in marke3ng investment proper3es enables us to make them stand out from the

myriad of other rental proper3es that are available.

Internet (Including the following websites)

www.taylorsrealestate.net.au

www.realestate.com.au

www.myhome.com.au

www.rent.com.au

Colour Window Display in our

High Profile Office

For Lease Sign

Saturday Adver3ser Advert

PRIOR TO RENTING YOUR HOME

Prior to ren3ng your property we suggest you consider a8ending to any minor

maintenance issues that may need a8en3on.

The be8er your property is presented the easier it will be to

rent, and you are more likely to a8ract be8er quality tenants.

As part of our pre leasing procedure our property

management department inspect all proper3es and then

discuss with landlords any areas of maintenance we feel may need

a8en3on prior to ren3ng.

Par3cularly with health and safety issues we believe it to be

wise to rec3fy any of these poten3al hazards.

HOW YOU PRESENT

YOUR PROPERTY PLAYS

A LARGE PART IN THE

TYPE OF TENANT THAT

IT WILL ATTRACT

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PRE-LEASING MAINTENANCE CHECKLIST

♦ Are gardens neat & 3dy

♦ Fix leaking taps & toilets

♦ Fix s3cking doors

♦ Floors must be mopped & clean through out

♦ Have cupboards been cleaned

♦ Bathroom & kitchen thoroughly clean & free of mould

♦ Have carpets been professionally cleaned

♦ Remove & dump all rubbish

♦ Are their any liEing floor coverings that

could be a tripping hazards

♦ Are the smoke alarms compliant

♦ Is a safety switch fi8ed

♦ Are there any other poten3al health &

safety issues

SELECTING A SUITABLE TENANT

WE ENSURE THAT A

SUITABLE TENANT IS

CHOSEN FOR YOUR

PROPERTY

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Selec3ng a suitable tenant for your property is possibly the most

important aspect of property management.

Get it right and you will enjoy the long term benefits that owning

investment proper3es can provide. However, selec3ng the wrong

tenant can cause hardship, frustra3on and have you ques3oning the

validity of owning investment proper3es.

As such we require all poten3al tenants to complete a detailed

applica3on form, provide proof of iden3ty along with details of their

past and present employment history, current income to debt levels,

and previous rental history with contact details for those landlords.

If an applicant doesn’t meet our stringent leasing criteria our

recommenda3on is not to enter into a lease agreement with them.

INDICATORS TO HELP SELECT THE RIGHT TENANT

♦ Check employment history

♦ Verify employment income level

♦ Look at debt level (can they afford to pay the rent)

♦ Check the bad tenant register for previous defaults

♦ Photocopy of drivers license to verify iden3ty

♦ Contact previous landlords seeking honest reference

♦ Note how they are dressed (well groomed or un3dy)

♦ Is their motor vehicle clean & well maintained

♦ Are they polite and well mannered

♦ Google search of applicant and past rental property

THE TENANCY AGREEMENT

WE ENSURE TO FULLY

EXPLAIN THE TENANCY

AGREEMENT AND TERMS &

CONDITIONS WITH YOUR

TENANT

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A wri8en tenancy agreement between the landlord and the tenant is essen3al when leasing a

property and specifies the rights and obliga3ons of both par3es.

It is a legally binding document but can be open to interpreta3on and it is therefore vitally

important to have a good working knowledge of the “Residen3al Tenancies Act”.

All our property management staff are familiar with the various sec3ons of this act. They

regularly prepare lease agreements on behalf of landlords and note all the relevant terms and

condi3ons of that rental agreements. These terms and condi3ons along with our other

expecta3ons are then discussed in depth with the tenant at the point of signing the agreement.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS CHECKLIST

♦ The rental amount & ini3al payment dates

♦ The lease term

♦ The bond amount

♦ Water usage payment arrangements

♦ Lawn & garden maintenance expecta3ons

♦ Carpet cleaning requirements

♦ End of tenancy requirements

♦ Lost or misplaced keys

♦ Maintenance request procedure

♦ Rental payment methods

♦ Our ZERO tolerance to rent arrears policy

♦ Inspec3on frequency & access arrangements

♦ Prior approval is required for

keeping of pets

♦ Considera3on to noise levels for

adjoining neighbors

♦ Home business ac3vi3es are not

permi8ed

♦ Our expecta3ons on how the

property is to be maintained

PROPERTY INSPECTIONS MAINTAINING THE

STANDARD OF

YOUR HOME

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To maintain a level of control over how a tenant keeps the condi3on of a rental property, it is

essen3al that regular property inspec3ons are conducted.

Our property management department conducts three types of property inspec3ons to help

minimize any problems that may arise during the course of the lease.

♦ INITIAL PROPERTY CONDITION REPORT

♦ ROUTINE/PERIODIC INSPECTION

♦ FINAL (BOND RELEASE) INSPECTION

INITIAL PROPERTY CONDITION REPORT

Our property officers and inspectors complete this report prior to the commencement of the

tenancy. It is a legal requirement and a condi3on of all tenancies that this report be conducted.

It must be accurate, correctly detail the condi3on of the property at the commencement of the

lease, and a copy must be issued to the tenant. Relevant property photos are also taken and

a8ached to this report.

ROUTINE/PERIODIC INSPECTION

These inspec3ons are designed to provide a means of checking that the tenant is maintaining the

property to an acceptable standard, to report any maintenance or repairs that may be required,

and to be able to provide landlords with regular informa3on on the condi3on of their property.

Our property officers and inspectors conduct these inspec3ons every four months on all

proper3es, and forward a wri8en report supported by digital photos to the landlord.

The tenant must be advised at lease seven days in advance of conduc3ng these inspec3ons.

FINAL (BOND RELEASE) INSPECTION

Our property officers and inspectors conduct this report once the tenant has vacated the

property.

The ini3al property condi3on report is taken to the property and the current condi3on of the

property is compared to that on the original report. If the tenant has damaged the property, a

landlord can charge the tenant a reasonable amount of compensa3on for that damage.

Considera3on needs to be given to fair wear and tear, along with the depreciated value of the

damaged item when determining the amount of compensa3on being charged.

ZERO RENT ARREARS POLICY Our property management department takes their responsibility to ensure tenants pay their rent on time very seriously.

Our ZERO RENT ARREARS POLICY is discussed with all tenants at the time when they sign the lease, and as such we expect that policy to be adhered to.

Legally a property manager or landlord cannot take steps to evict a tenant for non payment of rent until the rent is 15 days in arrears. This means on the 16th day we may issue the tenant with a “FORM 2 - NOTICE TO REMEDY BREACH OF AGREEMENT” which allows them a further 7 days to remedy the rent arrears breach from receipt of the Form 2 notice.

Should the tenant fail to pay the full rent owing by this deadline a “FORM 7 – APPLICATION TO TENANCIES TRIBUNAL” is sent to the Residential Tenancies Tribunal applying for an order to have the tenant evicted from the property and balance of all rent money owing paid in full to the landlord.

Prior to the issue of these notices our property management department will have attempted to contact the tenant on a number of occasions by sending reminder SMS messages along with the posting of a variety of letters in an attempt to try and ascertain why, and how they intend to remedy the breach.

OUR ZERO TOLERANCE PROCEDURE

DAILY

- Print all rent arrears report

DAY 5

- First reminder letter

DAY 10

- Reminder call to tenant advising of their rental status

- Post letter if unable to contact them

DAY 16

- Prepare and serve FORM 2 Notice on tenant by post

DAY 27

- Prepare Form 7 and apply to Residential Tenancies

Tribunal seeking eviction and a full

payment of rent order

- Advise Landlord of status

- Send letter to tenant “Eviction Pending” your

immediate attention required

DAY OF HEARING

- Prepare and attend hearing

RTT DECISION ADVISE

- Advise landlord

WE TAKE THE

PAYMENT OF YOUR

TENANTS RENT VERY

SERIOUSLY

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REPAIRS AND MAINTENANCE WE CARE FOR YOUR

TENANT AND FOR

YOUR PROPERTY

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Possibly one of the most difficult aspect of property management is the handling of maintenance

issues.

Property managers can spend considerable 3me trying to co-ordinate the various types of

maintenance and repairs that are required to rental proper3es during the course of a tenancy. They

need a clearly defined and structured procedure in place to ensure tasks are a8ended to in a 3mely

fashion, and to avoid the possibili3es of a tenant taking legal ac3on against a landlord for breach of

agreement.

Firstly they need to be able to determine the nature of maintenance problem. Is it an:

♦ Emergency problem

♦ General problem

♦ Health & Safety problem

Next is to determine whether the responsibility to repair lies with:

♦ Landlord

♦ Tenant

♦ Strata or Community manager

♦ Insurance Company

From there it’s contac3ng the relevant party responsible for the repairs and seeking their approval

to a8end to the repair work.

Then it is to determine, contact and book for the work to be conducted by a suitable tradesman.

Does the job need a:

♦ Licensed tradesman (Electrician, plumber etc)

♦ Specialist tradesman

♦ General handyman

Finally it’s contac3ng the tenant to advise the day and 3me that the work will be carried out, or

details of the tradesman who will contact them direct to book a suitable 3me.

Here at Taylor’s First Na�onal we have developed our systems and procedures over the last fiEeen

years. We now employ a designated maintenance officer who a8ends to all repair issues, and have

developed our own maintenance division “Combined Home Maintenance Services”.

This has enabled our Property Management Department the ability to quickly a8end to

maintenance issues. It also has provide us with more control over the important aspect of

minimizing the poten�al risk to landlords in rela3on to property maintenance and health and

safety issues.

COLLECTING RENT - PAYING THE OWNER CASH FLOW

MANAGEMENT

AND REPORTING

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All money received by us in rela3on to managed rental proper3es is paid directly into our trust

account. This account has strict guidelines in how it is to be managed, and we have an obliga3on

to ensure we distribute those funds in the appropriate way.

Our policy is to reconcile our trust account on a daily basis to ensure it balances correctly, and all

deposited funds are allocated to the correct landlord ledgers.

HOW DO WE COLLECT THE TENANTS RENT

♦ When the tenant signs the lease they are given four rent payment op3ons:

♦ They are provided with a “Direct Bank Deposit Book” and can pay their rent at any Bank

SA branch

♦ They can make payment at our office by Money Order or Cheque

♦ They can have their own bank directly debit their account and make payment directly to

our trust account

♦ They can transfer funds over the internet directly into our trust account

As part of our Best Prac3ce Accredita3on & for security reasons we do not accept or hold cash at

our office.

WHEN DO OWNERS RECEIVE THEIR MONEY

Funds in our trust account are paid to landlords at the end of each month by “Electronic Funds

Transfer” directly into their nominated bank account.

If these funds are being paid directly to a mortgage account it is a good idea to have that account

paid several months in advance, in case the tenant is late with their payment, or the property

becomes vacant.

MONTHLY STATEMENTS

Monthly rental summary statements are posted to landlords at the beginning of each month.

These detail:

♦ Landlords name and postal address

♦ Date and 3me the statement was printed

♦ Details of all monthly income & expense

♦ Address of the property

♦ Tenants name

♦ Weekly rent amount

♦ Date to where the rent is paid up to

♦ Date the lease is due to expire

ANNUAL STATEMENTS

At the end of June each year, and to assist landlords with their end of financial year taxa3on

repor3ng requirements, we provide all landlords with an itemized statement detailing total rent

collected and expenses incurred through-out the year.

This statement along with each monthly statement should be forwarded to your accountant.

INSURANCE - MANAGING THE RISK

RISK MANAGEMENT

STRATEGY SHOULD

ALWAYS BE

CONSIDERED

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With most investments there is always a level of risk – the greater the return the greater the risk. Owning investment property is no different.

More than ever, landlords are at the risk of financial loss attributable to the actions of tenants, even when the property is professionally managed.

As such we strongly recommend all landlords take out both building and a landlord protection policy in order to manage this risk.

As we do not hold a Australian Financial Services License we are not able to provide you with advice on insurance, however we are able to provide you with general brochure information about the service available to you.

If you would like to receive a brochure about these types of insurance please contact our office.

SELLING YOUR RENTAL PROPERTY

MANAGING THE

SALES PROCESS

OF RENTED

PROPERTIES

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Unfortunately selling and ren3ng your property at the same 3me is not always a happy marriage.

The fact is we are all protec3ve of our individual rights and quite oEen unsure of exactly what they

are.

Basically, you are en3tled to have prospec3ve purchasers view the premises at a reasonable 3me

of the day and on a reasonable number of occasions upon supplying the tenant reasonable no3ce.

The tenants also en3tled to reasonable peace, comfort and privacy or the quite enjoyment of the

premises.

Of course the ques3on arises just “what is reasonable”.

TAYLOR’S FIRST NATIONAL are experts when it comes to selling and ren3ng your home. So, what

could make more sense than have us look aEer both for you.

The fine balance between the rights of both par3es will be thoroughly observed and at the end of

the day you’ll have achieved the highest sale price possible in the shortest possible 3me whilst

enjoying the benefits of a total property management package.

SERVICE GUARANTEE

TAYLORS FIRST

NATIONAL BEST

PRACTICE

GUARANTEE

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Everyone gives guarantees, but what do they really mean? In some cases very little.

That’s where TAYLOR’S FIRST NATIONAL is different. Being a Best Practice accredited office means we can guarantee our service to a pre-determined and written standard for every part of our real es-tate business.

Only by establishing Best Practice standards can we guarantee to meet and exceed your expectations in the leasing and man-agement of your investment property.

Should a problem arise, it will be corrected quickly and to your satisfaction.

Few real estate companies can genuinely guarantee this level of service. However you can be confident in knowing that you are dealing with a company that not only has a proven commitment to customer service, but a system that is driven by continuous improvement.

COMPANY POLICIES

It is Policy of Taylor’s First Na�onal Real Estate that:

We treat people the way we would like to be treated ourselves

We constantly strive to achieve expecta3ons.

We always act in the best interests of our clients

We maintain our Quality Systems to First Na3onal Gold standard.

We recruit, develop and endeavor to retain the best people.

We expect everyone to strive for improvement.

We incorporate quality into everything we do.

We constantly review and update all of our systems.

We meet all statutory, legal and industry requirements.

We record and analyze all non conformance to drive improvement.

The privacy of clients and customers is of paramount importance, informa3on

is only provided to those par3es involved in or poten3ally involved in a

transac3on with our company.

Our privacy statement and individual client and customer data is available to

the individual upon request.

Paul Taylor

Managing Director

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THE TAYLOR’S FIRST NATIONAL TEAM

OUR DEDICATED AND RELIABLE TEAM

OF REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS

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SALES DEPARTMENT

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT

ADMINISTRATION

MANAGING DIRECTOR

Paul Taylor

Jakub Ratajczak Tim Schwarz Ken LoE

Tamika Roper Rhonda O’Callaghan Tammy Taylor Kylie Po8er Dave Pavy

Debbie O’Bryan Sarah-Jane O’Bryan Renee Goulding

Senior Property Manager Property Inspector Maintenance Coordinator Rental Administrator Maintenance Tradesperson

Sales Consultant Sales Consultant Sales Consultant

Principal

Accounts/Office Manager Recep3onist/Marke3ng

Coordinator Administra3on

Gavin ArmStrong

Sales Consultant