The Smart Way To Manage Your
Investment Property
Our promise to you Since 1988 we have strived to provide the very best real estate service in Sydney to the many property buyers, sellers, investors and tenants who call on us for help and advice each week. This booklet and the advice it contains is part of that promise. We hope you enjoy the content and profit from the experience. Remember, our offices are open 7 days a week to help you with any real estate matter so be sure to call us if you think we can help. You’ll find contact details for your nearest Prudential Real Estate office on the back page of this booklet.
What type of property management services do Prudential Real Estate offer? 1. We professionally assess the maximum rent level for your property. Our staff have extensive experience in the accurate assessment of rental values in the Macarthur district. You will be made aware of all market changes that may affect the amount of rent you can expect for your property. 2. We market your property to ensure the widest choice of prospective tenants. When you are faced with an upcoming vacancy we employ 7 different marketing strategies to ensure your property is rented by the best available tenant in the shortest possible timeframe. 3. We personally escort every prospective tenant through your property. It is the policy of our company that all prospective tenants are personally escorted through your property, often at open homes. We actively sell the advantages of your property to tenants - we do not accept key deposits and then, simply, “hope for the best�. 4. We locate the best available tenants for your property. Our marketing programme aims to find the best available tenant for your property. In many cases we are able to offer you a choice of tenants rather than recommend the first tenant that comes along.
5. We check and double-check every application for tenancy. Every application is thoroughly checked and double-checked for accuracy. Once this is completed we will report our findings, recommend either acceptance or rejection, and leave the final decision to you. 6. We allow you the final choice as to the successful tenant. In all cases we allow you the final choice regarding all applications for tenancy at your property. Yes, we will recommend either acceptance or rejection, but the final decision always rests with you. 7. We prepare all the documents required to commence your tenancy All necessary documents required to commence the tenancy are prepared by Prudential Real Estate. These include the Residential Tenancy Agreement and the bond lodgement form. 8. We prepare a statement of all income and costs each and every month. Our easy-to-read monthly statement is posted to you on the first business day of every month - without fail. For clients who require payment twice each month a corresponding statement can also be prepared.
What type of property management services do Prudential Real Estate offer? 9. We bank your money prior to the first working day of every month - without fail. Your money can be banked into your personal bank account every month this means that you can access the money as “cleared funds” immediately, no more waiting for cheques to clear. Some of our clients require payment twice each month and for that reason we can arrange electronic payment after the second and the last Wednesday of each month. 10. We supervise and control the frequency of rent payments on your behalf. We closely monitor the rent payments of every tenant. Should any tenant fall behind with their rent payments our rent control measures are immediately put into place to ensure that both your cashflow and the continuity of your tenancy is protected. 11. We look after all aspects of maintenance at your property. Every time your tenant reports a maintenance problem you will be advised. If you wish, our team of tradesmen will correct the problem swiftly. On the same day we will post you a copy of the work order and a confirmation of your instructions. 12. We pay all outgoings on your behalf. Should you wish, we can attend to the payment of water rates, council rates, strata levies, insurance premiums, maintenance costs, mortgage payments etc - all at no extra cost.
13. We ensure the collection of water usage charges. We have a collection system especially designed for water usage charges. This system ensures the collection of 95% of all water usage charges within 21 days of their issue. 14. We inspect your property to ensure that it is being properly maintained. Our company has a system of property inspections second-tonone. We guarantee an internal inspection of your property within the first 90 days of each tenancy (followed immediately with a written report of our findings) – after that we will inspect the property as often as you choose, up to maximum of 4 times every 12 months. 15. We act swiftly to prevent loss if a tenant falls behind with their rent. Our rent control system acts automatically should your tenant ever fall behind with their rent payments. Because of the way the Residential Tenancies Act in this state is written it is imperative that an agent act without delay in cases such as this - every delay could cause a property owner enormous financial hardship - our system is designed to eliminate losses.
What type of property management services do Prudential Real Estate offer? 16. We represent your interests at the Residential Tenancies Tribunal whenever required. Our staff are highly trained practitioners, able to present your case with convincing authority should we be required to attend at the Residential Tenancies Tribunal. 17. We enforce decisions made at the Residential Tenancies Tribunal. Once a decision has been determined by the Residential Tenancies Tribunal our staff will enforce the decision - ensuring that arrangements to pay rent or to restore damage are fulfilled within the allocated time-frame. 18. We guarantee our work and we stand by our word. We are so confident of the quality of our work that we guarantee our service to you. Should we fail to deliver on a promise or should we accidentally fail in our delivery of service we guarantee one month free of professional charges.
19. End of financial year statement every July. At the end of every financial year we will prepare and issue an end-ofyear summary for each of your properties. These reports are designed so that your accountant can easily prepare any personal taxation documentation that may be required at this time of the year. 20. Always available. Our team members are available 6 days a week by phoning them at our office on 4628 0033. After hours our senior property manager is available on her mobile phone. You need never worry about your property again when we are available 24hours a day.
What do Prudential clients say? “I am writing to congratulate you and your team on (a) most professional service. My husband and I moved to your company because we were dissatisfied with the service at (agents name withheld) and we have never looked back” B. O’Grady “Over the past years I have found . . . everyone in the property management department to be both enthusiastic and helpful. I would have no problems in recommending Prudential to anyone looking for a managing agent.” T. Balaskas “I wish to compliment your office . . . on your ongoing commitment to service. . . an expertise in property management to be proud of . . . (one that) quickly responds to any query I may have. I
find that all your office members are approachable and eager to help.” G. Gohari “ . . . I have dealt with Prudential Real Estate Campbelltown NSW since they began business there in Queen Street. I have always found them honest, reliable and professional . . I have no hesitation in recommending them to prospective clients . . .” G. M. Galloway “I have found the team at Prudential honest, reliable and helpful. The dealings with my previous real estate were unsatisfactory to say the least. In a short time they found us a tenant without any problems, also helping with a few small problems. I would highly recommend them to anyone in need of property management.” E. Joannidies
What do Prudential clients say? “Prudential Real Estate has managed our investment property for 5 years ; I think that shows we are impressed with their service” M. Smith “As this is our first investment property we can highly recommend Prudential Real Estate and all of the staff for their help and advice to any investor wishing to purchase a property”
“I am very happy with the property management section of Prudential. I appreciate the correspondence that is sent to me when something is happening concerning my property.” L. Anastasio “We have been with you a long time and feel extremely pleased with your service and professionalism.” A & L Rizk
R. Di Stefano “I find Prudential Real Estate Campbelltown very good property managers - Thank You” B. Dowey “Since we changed and are now with Prudential we have found them to be extremely professional and helpful in all aspects relating to our needs. Being with Prudential has made things a lot easier on both of us as they have kept us informed about everything we have needed to know. We have no hesitation in recommending them.”
“Both the selling and management of real estate properties is carried out in a professional manner with a genuine attempt to keep the client informed.” J. Simpson “We appreciate the information we get from you and the service is good. All in all - a good job without any hassles.” R & C Tasker “We are very happy with the way you are managing our property. Thanks and keep up the good work.” R. Miller
Mr and Mrs Allen “During the period that Prudential has managed our property we have received excellent service and always found that our property was well looked after.” E. DeLeur Azzopardi
“It’s great to see an agent who keeps us up to speed with all events regarding our property. It’s nice to be promptly informed - Thank you.” Mr & Mrs S. Mashford
What’s the first thing we should do if we want to rent our property? Firstly, one of our senior staff will inspect your property. During the inspection of your property we will assess the likely rent level for your property and provide advice as to the maximum amount of rent you might expect for your property. In addition, we will determine whether any minor work to the property might increase the expected weekly rent. Once you have advised our property management team of the date your property will be available to rent we can then begin our work. We start with the production of a detailed marketing plan - a plan designed not just to find a tenant for your property but a plan designed to find the very best tenant for your property.
Our existing clients have told us that most property investors want only a few simple things; 1. A good tenant who will pay their rent on time. 2. A tenant who will care for their property; and, 3. A tenant who will leave the property in a clean and tidy state at the end of their stay. This, too, is our aim - to find, for you, the very best tenant available at a rent level that maximises your invested funds. All you need do now is let us know when your property will be available and we can begin. Start now by phoning our property management department on 4628 0033.
How does Prudential go about checking the references of prospective tenants? Our unique Tenancy Checking System starts with our thorough and comprehensive 4-page Tenancy Application form and checklist. This process ensures our team members check on the tenants current employment, previous employment, current rental history, previous rental history and all personal references. In addition we check the tenants history with the TENANTS REFERENCE ASSOCIATION which maintains a database of many thousands of tenants in Australia and can often identify a tenant with a poor
rental history before they take occupation of your property. At the conclusion of this process we are able to offer you a properly researched recommendation regarding the proposed tenant, their ability to pay the required rent and their likelihood of correctly maintaining your valuable investment property. The last step in this process is to allow you, our client, the final say. You decide, based on your circumstances and those of the prospective tenant revealed by our Tenancy Checking System whether the tenant’s application will be successful.
How does Prudential keep an eye on the condition of a property? Prudential Real Estate has a unique system of property inspections that ensures you stay in control of your property. We will conduct a thorough internal inspection of your property within the first 90 days of each tenancy. Naturally, you are welcome to attend when we conduct this (and any future) inspection of your property. After this initial inspection we can assess how your tenant is maintaining your property. If they are not keeping the property as you would want we will issue a letter to the tenant and reinspect the property within a short period to ensure our directions have
been undertaken. If, on the other hand, the property is being well maintained we may recommend that a reinspection not occur again for, perhaps, 3, 6 or 9 months. After each internal inspection you will initially receive a complete verbal report together with our recommendation as to when the next inspection should occur. In addition you will receive a written report on our findings. In this way, with regular updates by phone and mail, you will be kept fully informed as to the condition of your property and you can choose how often we inspect your property based on the performance of the tenant. PLEASE NOTE: Current legislation in NSW prevents us from conducting more than 4 internal inspections per year.
What about all those horror stories we have heard about? CHOOSING THE RIGHT AGENT Investing your money in any venture has its risks. But a wise investor ensures that their risks are minimised as much as possible. When investing in property the easiest way to minimise your risks is to place your property into the hands of a thorough and conscientious real estate agent, one who will look after your property as if it were their own. The only way to decide on the best agent is to ask yourself the following questions; 1. Does the agent publish a comprehensive and detailed list of their services? 2. Does the agent offer a guarantee of service? 3. Does the agent have existing and proven systems designed to minimise loss and/or damage at your property and can they describe those systems to you. No matter what happens, even the best agent cannot control the actions of
some tenants - occasionally there will be problems. But the wise selection of the best agent at the very beginning will ensure that these problems are kept to an absolute minimum. At Prudential Real Estate we believe you shouldn’t have to experience a “horror story” with your property - and we go out of our way to ensure that this is the case. LANDLORD INSURANCE These days you can insure against loss of rent and property damage inflicted by a malicious tenant through an insurance product called Landlord Insurance. We can recommend several insurers to you and the cost can be as little as $400.00 per year – a very small price to pay for peace of mind. We recommend Landlord Insurance to our clients for all properties and in all circumstances. Simply ask one of our staff and they will provide a range of explanatory brochures detailing the coverage of these various insurance products.
How will Prudential keep us up-to-date? Investing in property can be a worrying experience for many people.
•
Many property investors live a great distance from their investment and so it can be a great comfort to know that your agent has a system that ensures a high level of communication between the property owner and the agent.
When we are required to attend the residential tenancy tribunal to recover lost rent or to request an eviction.
•
After we have appeared at the residential tenancy tribunal. This letter will include the decision of the tribunal and the effects on your tenancy.
•
When we receive a request for a repair or other work to be done at your property. This letter will include a summary of the actions we have taken in accordance with your instructions.
•
When we perform a periodic internal inspection of your property. This letter includes a summary of our findings together with any recommendations. In addition to this report you will receive a phone call from our property manager a few days later to go over the contents of the report and decide upon any action that may be required.
Certainly, we will telephone you when and if there is a change in circumstances at your property, but in addition we have a comprehensive written reporting system that keeps you up-to-date at all times. When you are a client of Prudential you will receive written notification either in the traditional fashion (enclosed in an envelope) or by email . . •
If your tenant becomes 7 days in arrears. This letter will also describe what action we have taken and what may happen if your tenant continues to fail to pay rent.
•
If your tenant becomes 14 days in arrears. This letter will also describe what action we have taken and what may happen should your tenant continue to fail to pay rent.
How will Prudential keep us up-to-date? •
When we receive written notice from your tenant of their intention to vacate your property. This letter will include our recommendations as to the current market rent for your property together with a summary of the actions we will initiate to find and secure a tenant for your property.
•
When your tenant has vacated you will receive a copy of the outgoing inspection report plus a bond disbursement report.
•
When your property is advertised. This letter will include a copy of our advertisement.
•
When we enter into a new Residential Tenancy Agreement on your behalf. This letter will include a copy of the tenants
application form, the results of all checks we performed to qualify the tenant, a copy of the residential tenancy agreement executed by the tenant, a copy of the ingoing property condition report and a copy of our checklist detailing all those aspects of property tenancy which we explained to the tenant at the time they executed the lease. In addition to telephone calls and written reports our staff are available at any time to discuss any aspect of your tenancy.
What happens if we want to sell our property? Prudential Real Estate operates four real estate offices in addition to our largest office at Campbelltown. These other offices are located at Macquarie Fields, Ingleburn and Liverpool. Every year these offices sell more than 500 local homes with a combined value in excess of 160 million dollars. If you would like to sell your investment property our combined team of 20 salespeople and support staff would be pleased to take on the responsibility of ensuring a sale for you at the highest possible price. Our consistently high number of property sales throughout the district is caused primarily by our unique marketing programme which produces more than 750 buyer enquiries each and every month of the year. With this constant level of buyer enquiry we probably have a number of “ready, willing and able” buyers who would
genuinely love to inspect your property right now . . . no matter the value or the location of your property. If you decide that you would like to sell your property simply call our office at any time and ask to speak with Michael O’Sullivan, our Managing Director. He will personally supervise the sale of your property. No matter what you need, we are here to help. Simply phone 4628 0033.
A few matters to consider when comparing fees from several different agents 1. If you are comparing fees from several different agents be sure to get a detailed list of services from each agent. Be sure to obtain the cost of each service item so that you can compare “apples with apples”. If an agent will provide you with an accurate list of services and their respective costs you will find that Prudential is the best value-formoney agent in the district. 2. In this day and age it’s not enough to compare the cost of services provided by a managing agent. You also need to ask the agent a few questions to ensure that the service you are promised will continue into the future. After all, you don’t want to appoint an agent, be disappointed with the result and then have to change again. Try these questions . . . a.
What is the ratio of properties to (active) staff working in the property management department of your office ? (At Prudential we have a ratio of one staff member for every 120 properties – the lowest in the district. This means more time and attention spent on you and your property)
b. What is your current vacancy rate. (At Prudential our rate is generally less than 1% meaning your property will be vacant for less time than it would be with any other agent.) c.
What steps do you take to recover arrears of rent and water usage. (At Prudential we have a 5-step plan for the recovery of arrears and an orchestrated system for the elimination of rent losses)
3. All of our costs are tax deductible. The Australian Taxation Office encourages property investors to use the services of a professional property manager, such as Prudential Real Estate, by making our fees a tax deductible item. By making our costs tax deductible the Federal Government is effectively paying our costs rather than you.
Our best kept secret One of the biggest headaches in any real estate office is managing to keep rent payments up-to-date. The traditional, old-fashioned method involved the tenant coming into our office whenever they could spare the time and paying their weekly rent over the counter. Unfortunately, for some tenants the payment of rent is not always at the top of their list of priorities. The result was that we were always chasing late payers, our clients were always annoyed that their monthly cheque was less than they expected and we spent several days each week in the Residential Tenancies Tribunal obtaining orders against late-paying tenants. We seemed to be continually chasing our tails - and some of our landlord clients were understandably concerned. Then, back in 1998, we took a fresh look at the problem - and came up with an innovative solution which has not only solved our problems but has made life much easier for both our tenants and our landlords. Our solution was to arrange for the payment of rent by direct debit from our tenant's bank account on the same day every week. You probably pay your health or property insurance this way right now. In 1998 this was an industry first and a breakthrough for real estate agency practice generally. This solution was great for our clients the problem of late payment of both rent and water usage charges became
almost non-existent. Monthly rent cheques in the majority of cases contained 4 (or 5) weeks rent - every month. This was also good news for our tenants. Once we had a direct debit arrangement with them they never had to think about paying rent ever again. Every week our computer debited a weeks rent from their account and put the money into our trust account. And it was great for us. Now, we very rarely need to attend at the Tribunal which means we have more time to attend to the many other needs of our clients and to their properties. Prudential Real Estate Campbelltown remains one of the few real estate offices in the district that offer this service. Direct Debit has been great for our existing clients and it will be great for you too !
About Prudential Real Estate Michael and Josephine first opened their Campbelltown real estate practice in 1988. When the new office opened there was only 3 employees (including Michael), no listings, no buyers and absolutely no profile with the public they were about to serve. To suggest that it was going to be an uphill battle would have been something of an understatement – especially considering there were already 14 other real estate offices in town, many of whom had been operating for several years. From the beginning Michael’s goal was to deliver an exceptional level of service to the community. His thinking was that if he and he and his staff produced a better service the public would beat a path to their door. And he was right ! Today Prudential Real Estate Campbelltown employs more than 25 local people and commands the largest market share of any real estate office in the district. Michael's aim of producing the very finest real estate service in the district has paid off – both for Prudential and for the community we serve. Over more than 20 years there have many highlights including the opening of 3 additional Prudential Real Estate offices. In 1999 Michael, together with his wife Josephine, was awarded the prestigious "Best Real Estate Agent" award at the annual Macarthur Small Business Awards.
In 2002 and again in 2003 Prudential Real Estate received the Highly Commended Award for “Innovation In Industry” at the Macarthur Industry Awards. In 2004 Prudential Real Estate Campbelltown received the “Elite Performance By A Property Management Team” award at the Australasian Real Estate Agency Best Practice Awards held in Melbourne. In 2010 Prudential Real Estate Campbelltown was awarded full Best Practice accreditation and became a finalist in the Business Achiever Awards Programme Also in 2010 Michael O'Sullivan was named the Australasian Real Estate Agency Best Practice award winner for 2010 In 2010 Michael, Josephine and Kerrie Meldrum (Snr Property Manager) featured on the cover of LEASED magazine distributed nationally Prudential Real Estate Campbelltown has become the pre-eminent property services company in the district over the past 23 years through sheer hard work, perseverance and a singleminded commitment to assist their clients reach their goals. Michael O’Sullivan is currently the managing director of Prudential Real Estate Campbelltown and 5 other real estate companies. You can call him at anytime for advice on any real estate related matter on 4628 0033.
What’s next? If you are ready to rent your property simply call us at any time on 4628 0033 and we will immediately arrange an appraisal of your property’s maximum rent potential. Call now, we’d love to help you.
CAMPBELLTOWN Serving the local community since 1988 47 Queen Street, Campbelltown Phone 4628 0033 INGLEBURN Serving the local community since 2000 31-33 Oxford Road, Ingleburn Phone 9605 5000 LIVERPOOL Serving the local community since 1994 3/52-58 Memorial Avenue, Liverpool Phone 9822 5999 MACQUARIE FIELDS Serving the local community since 1994 Cnr Saywell & Fields Roads, Macquarie Fields Phone 9605 5333
prudential.com.au
PLEASE NOTE : 1. Recipients of this report are reminded that, although due care has been taken in the preparation of the within contained material, prospective property buyers, sellers and investors are always best served by making their own independent inquiries before entering into any real estate transaction. 2. This report has been prepared for the sole and exclusive use of Prudential Real Estate clients and customers. The whole of the contents and design are protected by copyright. COPYRIGHT Š Michael O’Sullivan 2001-2011