Tips for choosing the best Property Manager

 

A: If you’re looking to invest in property and appoint a property manager to manage your investment, then see below – our LJ Hooker Property Investment experts will equip you with the right questions to ask to ensure you make the right decision. Choosing the property investment manager who will properly manage your rental property should not be difficult,  here are our top questions to help you make an informed choice.

Q: Can you outline for me your experience in property management and your knowledge of the local rental market?

A: The Property Manager should have sufficient experience in the industry and with the agency or local area to give you confidence. Ask for referees and about the database they may have of potential renters for your property.

Q: How familiar are you with the various legislations and policies around owning and leasing investment property, and how do you keep up-to-date with changes to these?

A: Ask for evidence of professional development, ongoing training and membership of appropriate bodies. Your property manager should also have a good grasp of taxation matters and a working knowledge of all legislation relating to property management as well as a basic understanding of taxation and investment property. NOTE: taxation matters should be referred to your accountant for any financial advice.

Q: How do you determine my needs and requirements as the owner of an investment property and a landlord?

A: It’s very important from the start of the working relationship between you and your property manager, that you fully discuss all aspects of the management process. For example, when will the property manager contact you if there is a maintenance request or if the tenant should have a problem paying their rent.

Q: How and how often do you communicate with your investment property owners?

A: Your property manager should be in regular communication through an agreed process – with a range of communications from monthly statements and property inspection reports to general market information. It is also necessary for your property manager to keep you informed on anything that happens with your investment property e.g. maintenance issues, rent reviews, lease renewals and when a tenant is vacating.

Q: What is your strategy in attracting best tenant for my property?

A: This is really an important one – the how your property is marketed is a vital part of your game plan. A good property manager would consider which demographic would be attracted to your property and focus their marketing accordingly. But this would be only part of the overall game plan. The Internet is used by approximately 75% of prospective tenants so it’s extremely important that your property is appropriately advertised through this medium. That means having quality internal and external photos of the property, providing a good description of the features and benefits of the property – and most of all, no spelling mistakes or poor grammar – ask to see other ads to give you an idea of their production quality and marketing methods.

Q: How are the financial aspects managed?

A: The property manager should clearly explain such matters as when rents are collected and when your money should be in your bank account. You should also fully comprehend what the management fee you pay entails. These items should be included in any management agreement before you sign the document.

Q: How do I know I will have a reliable income stream and that my property is in the best position for capital growth?

A: A good property manager has good relationships with their tenants, who should be treated like another customer. Happy tenants can save you money. Choose a property manager who cares; it will increase your property’s return. For a landlord, up-to-date information about market-driven rental returns is as important as what the property might be worth in a sale situation. The real estate team should keep you constantly informed by drawing on its sales, property management and finance specialists’ expertise.

Q: How often will you inspect my property?

A: Your property manager’s role is to look after look after your asset. Also, they can make recommendations that will increase your overall return while improving the property. They should make sure that your property always stays competitive in the rental market. How often a property manager can inspect your property is dictated by legislation. You should make sure that your property manager will conduct routine inspections according to that legislation and the items mentioned above would all be covered during those regular inspections.

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The History and Appeal of Balmain

Having touched on Balmain East and Birchgrove over the last 2 weeks, this week my attention moves to what we call Balmain.

 

It’s hard to believe that only four or five decades ago Balmain was very much a working class neighbourhood built around the local docks.  In those days, Balmain had a reputation as a rough, working-class area of Sydney. However, the steady industrialisation of Balmain created a demand for cheap housing which was satisfied by the dock owners selling small blocks of land to entrepreneurs who then built tiny cottages and rented them to the workers and pubs to entertain them. Many of these original buildings still exist today and are now heritage listed buildings. These buildings certainly add to the charm and the desirability of this neighbourhood of Balmain.

 

Beautiful view from Balmain

In the early days, Balmain’s central pocket near Darling Street had only a few basic shops. Now, Balmain central’s main attraction is its easy access to the convenience and colour of Darling Street. For locals, it’s just a short walk to this thriving hub of stores, boutiques, cafes, restaurants, pubs and supermarkets. Buses, schools, parklands and the ferry are also easily accessible and the Dawn Fraser Baths are another popular attraction in the area.

 

Interestingly, people are often strongly divided about which side of Darling Street they want to live in – east or west – and they’re often quite passionate about specific streets in Balmain, buying and selling only within this radius.

Darling Street Markets in Balmain

Today, most of the working class properties have been renovated and vacant land is very rare.  The area now includes a mix of cottages and terraces (mostly renovated now) with comparatively few free standing houses. There are however a good supply of apartments and townhouses.

 

As with the other areas in the Leichhardt municipality, the council is protecting the local character with stricter planning codes. For this reason finding a house you can knock down is as difficult as finding vacant land. Today, brand new homes are a lot more valuable simply because there are such limited opportunities to build brand new. Instead investors and owners have engaged in a renovation blitz over the past few years with some exceptionally well planned interiors. However, there are still many opportunities to renovate properties especially modernising earlier renovations.

 

Downtown Leichhardt

While there aren’t as many older style apartments around, a huge cluster of new Meriton apartments were built on the White Bay foreshore 10 to 15 years ago. These apartments offer strong investment opportunities as they are hugely appealing to young professionals who love the location’s easy access to the buzz of Balmain’s main strip, as well as its close proximity to public transport and the city.  These blocks are characterised with resort-style facilities with manicured lawns, common areas, a pool, gym, sauna and spa.  While these facilities do mean strata fees are required, the apartments have experienced very good growth, rent easily and offer investors high yields.

 

That’s all for this week, next week I will walk you through beautiful Rozelle.

Spoil Yourself in Balmain

Sometimes a girl just needs to spoil herself. No occasion. It’s just nice to have a relaxing hour or two all to myself. What’s even better is if this hour or two is local.

Luckily, there is a plethora of options in my own backyard.

Threading

A friend of mine just returned from a trip to the Middle East. While she was there she was in dire need to get her eyebrows shaped. She told me they used a method called threading. It uses just a piece of thread to shape and tidy your eyebrows, and its less painful than tweezing or waxing! It is popular in the USA and UK but not many places in Sydney do it, but I did find one place called Arissa Beauty in Rozelle that does it. They also have a great range of 100% natural treatments.

Body Treatments

If you are after a whole body pampering treatment Phyt’s Beauty and Spa in Drummoyne is definitely for you. This place does massages, facial, waxing, beauty treatments and the piece de resistance, body wraps! There is no better way to get ready for a new season than a full body exfoliation and massage.

Phyt's Beauty Salon and Spa

 

Day Spa

The Endota Day Spa in Rozelle is a reputable franchise, which has outlets all over Australia. They have body treatments, spa facials, treatment facials, massage, manicures and pedicures, spray tanning, waxing and beauty therapy. They also have spa treatments for men, which I hear are becoming more and more popular.

 

Endota Day Spa

Natural Therapies

Natures Energy started out in Glebe and a few years later set up shop in Balmain. The Balmain location has recently been transformed into The Balmain Bath House. This venue offers access to a hot spa, cold spa,sauna, steam room and also a scrub room.They do all sorts of natural treatments from head to toe. You could spend the whole day here just relaxing. They also make all their own products. I love that!

Who knows what I will get up to this week, until next time…

Dress up your home

I can’t deny that after buying shoes and clothes, my next biggest guilty pleasure is home wares. And yet again, I am amazed at Darling St and its ability to have everything I need on my doorstep.

Going back in time

Quintessential duckeggBLUE is my absolute favourite furniture and home wares store. With inspirational merchandising, I would live in this store if I could. It is so eclectic and old school, you feel like you are buying a part of someone else’s history with each and every piece telling a story.

Quintessential duckeggBLUE

Innovative Designs

Stem boutique stocks an extensive range of timeless pieces that don’t need to be replaced every season. They stock a range of local and international designers, which all have clean lines and innovative design in common.  They have something for every room of the house. They also stock some beautiful jewellery and clothing.

Stem

Smoke and Mirrors

Every room in my house has a mirror in it. I love mirrors, I love the way they make a room look larger and I especially love how the right frame came make the mirror look like it is a porthole into another world.  Inside Traders & co have beautiful mirrors. They also have some of the striking lamps that are reminiscent of the 1900’s Edwardian era.

 
Kitchen Capers

Plenty Kitchen & Tableware have an array of functional and quirky home wares. They have everything from kitchen hardware’s (as I like to call my cake mixer) to some of the best cookbooks around. This place inspires me to put on my apron and get in the kitchen and produce something amazing.

And that is exactly what I am off to do, until next time…

The Beautiful Area of Birchgrove

This week I thought I would share with you some of my knowledge of the beautiful area of Birchgrove.

Birchgrove is located on the north-west slope of the Balmain peninsula, overlooking Sydney Harbour, and includes Yurulbin and Ballast Points. Balmain is the only adjacent suburb. The long waterfront provides views of the Parramatta River with Cockatoo Island dominating the foreground. It is one of the wealthier suburbs of Sydney thanks to its harbour frontages. Birchgrove was originally named after Birchgrove House, built by Lieutenant John Birch. He added ‘grove’ to his surname when naming the house because of the large number of orange trees growing on the original site.

 

In the present day, most residents of this sparkling seafront section of Balmain, say they live in ‘Birchgrove’ rather than the suburb of Balmain, such is their pride in calling this area home. In Birchgrove waterfront properties dominate and it’s the place you’ll find some very expensive, substantially-sized waterfront homes with killer views of sea and city.

However, away from the waterfront and the waterfront parks, houses, cottages and terraces are the main types of property and although most of these weatherboard homes have already been renovated over the years, it is still possible to find the odd original place, or the older style renovations ready for an upgrade. Because Birchgrove is an old area, with a cherished (and now legislated) heritage charm, it doesn’t have many of the newer apartment blocks that have sprung up in other parts of Balmain.  However, there are still a scattering of one-bedroom and studios apartments available which are much sought after by younger professional singles and couples that are drawn to the area because of its parks, restaurants, pubs and easy access to the city.

There are several schools within easy reach of the area, but with Birchgrove falling within the Birchgrove Public School catchment, the neighbourhood is considered highly attractive to young families. With over 125 years of history, this school has become a landmark in the community with consistently high standards of education and community programs.

 

Public transport is easily accessible; the ferry to Circular Quay is just a short stroll away, while regular buses weave through the area collecting city-bound workers and depositing them all the way to the QVB from Birchgrove Oval.

Birchgrove Oval, with its stunning views of the Harbour Bridge and the city is another popular attraction and houses local tennis and soccer facilities, but caters for all sports from cricket to extreme Frisbee, Ballast Bay and Mort Bay parks are also fantastic for families, kids and pets.

Birchgrove’s sense of history also lends itself to a village feel, which is enhanced by niche of local convenience stores, a café and pubs. As with other Balmain neighbourhoods, this sense of history is maintained by Leichardt Council with tight planning codes (which Chris can help explain) so weatherboard cottages and two storey freestanding houses, are very common. Again, many have been beautifully renovated with experienced investors who have had their interiors professionally styled, have seen excellent returns.  Similar opportunities still exist with this area still being highly sought after, and for this reason, the area offers potential to renovate with investors having a fair chance of a good return.

 

 

Balmain Breakfast

My breakfasts usually consist of throwing some cereal in a bowl for the kids and eating a piece of fruit standing up while I pack their lunches. Glamorous, I know. So when friends tell me they will meet me for breakfast or brunch on the weekend, I leave the kids with Mr Penny and dig in to a much-deserved Balmain brekkie.

Here are my top picks for the best breakfast places in my area:

Middle Eastern Feast

Kazbah http://www.kazbah.com.au/default.htm  is best known for their middle-eastern cuisine and breakfast banquet. For $20 a head you get an unbelievable amount of amazing food and you definitely leave full. The only catch is that you have to book a minimum table of 8. But you can get a breakfast tagine any day of the week. My favourite is the Lamb Mince, Sucuk, Spinach, Roast Capsicum, Roast Tomato, Caramelised Onion, Feta, Eggs and Lebanese Bread. This is why I love Kazbah.

Bonza Brekkie

Our Place http://www.ourplaceondarling.com.au/ on Darling St is right next door to the Balmain markets, so this place gets regular visits from me. If you are lucky enough, you can get a table in the courtyard upstairs overlooking the church; it makes you forget all the hustle and bustle of the busy little street below. The green eggs and ham is what I have when I want a savoury dish, but if I want something a bit sweet, I can’t go past the bircher museli with candied walnuts and vanilla yoghurt. It’s also kid friendly, which is always a bonus, as Mr Penny and I like to take the kids for a treat once in a while.

Tastebuds

Rosebud http://www.rosebudsydney.com.au/food1.html has a seasonal menu, which is great if you are like me and always order the same thing, it forces me to branch out and try the amazing new inventions on their menu. All I know is, the produce is always fresh and the simplest breakfast is ever so satisfying.  Its location isn’t too bad either, being right across the road from the Rozelle markets you can sit and people watch for hours.

Until next week….