When self-managing your property, it’s important to consider your management approach to ensure you stay on top of things.

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It may seem daunting at first, but one of the most exciting parts of renting out your own property is the ability to control expenses and ultimately the return on your investment.

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There are a number of other items like insurance, depreciation schedules and tax to consider. 

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This article will help you navigate this the first time.

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What is my Management Approach?

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When managing a property it is not just the structure of the property that you are managing, but also personal relationships between you and the tenant, trades, as well as some of the government bodies you may engage along the way. 

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With this in mind, it pays to have the right mindset for managing, and here are some golden rules we have found useful over time.

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Communicate

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Be clear and concise and specific about dates, times, costs and expectations. No one can read your mind, so if you haven’t stated it clearly there is room for misinterpretation.

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Listen

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Be fair and listen. Not every situation is simple, and many tenants and trades are trying to do the right thing. Don’t jump to conclusions and try to be fair and listen before judging.

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Be Open

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Encourage your tenants to tell you when there are problems. You want to know as soon as possible, so thank them for reporting them to you.

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What do I do when something breaks? 

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Like most things in life, the first time you deal with something it can be tricky, but the second, third and fourth time it will be ‘no big deal’. Maintenance for your property is much the same... 

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It’s most likely that you will not be the one directly fixing the problem, and so identifying the right person to help solve it is the first step. Typically an electrician and plumber are able to cover the most critical maintenance tasks, or at least those that are likely to cause an emergency. 

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Once you have found reliable tradies in this area, it’s worth developing a relationship and going back to them for future work so that they are familiar with your property and can solve any problems quickly. 

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If you have not been able to find a reliable or trustworthy person, we suggest asking family and friends for recommendations, or alternatively there are a number of online websites like serviceseeking.com.au with vetted trades, where you can post a job and receive quotes directly. 

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This can be an effective way to build a network of trusted professionals. 

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Once you have direct contact with the right people, we recommend responding to tenant requests as quickly as possible so they immediately see how much you care about their wellbeing and your property. 

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One of the biggest complaints about traditional property managers is that they are slow to react which creates unnecessary friction with tenants for the duration of the lease. 

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Act quickly and you will see the benefits.

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How to know if you’re doing a good job?

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The million dollar question for anyone considering taking on a challenge or task themselves. Traditionally agents manage a property’s maintenance and other tasks on behalf of the owner, and as a result there was an incentive for one party to make things sound a lot more difficult and complicated than they perhaps need to be.

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Taking on the challenge of managing a property yourself can be incredibly rewarding and you’ll notice it immediately.

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So how do you tell if you’re doing it well? 

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1. Your tenants will respond to you promptly and respectfully. 

2. You’ll know ahead of time when things need to happen, so there will be fewer surprises.

3. Finally, you’ll feel that you’re in control.

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Sometimes you need a bit of help

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To prevent maintenance requests from creeping up to you, it is important to conduct regular rental inspections of your rental property during the term of a tenancy. 

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Identifying small issues early on can save major headaches later on. It can also be a good opportunity for your tenant to raise any concerns they might have or to show you things that need to be fixed. 

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We have created a rental inspection checklist and guide for landlord property inspections.

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Nonetheless, there will be times where the routine inspection won't catch the problem, and you'll be dealing with incoming maintenance requests from tenants. 

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Luckily, RentBetter have set up a platform to help you manage these requests. 

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How it works

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Upload the request

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When something goes wrong, the tenant will upload a maintenance request through the RentBetter Management Platform.

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Notify the Landlord

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Once a request has been lodged by the tenant, you will receive a notification of the maintenance request.

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Action and Resolve

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Handle the maintenance request & get the job done! Compile a list of professionals in your area to ensure you can respond to requests ASAP!

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Get Insured

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We’ll deal with rental payments in the following chapter, so we thought it would be worth taking a moment to discuss insurance. 

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Although for many people this is a boring topic that seems like a cost, we think it’s a critical layer of protection for any property owner, and you should be excited about the value for money available when you find the right product. 

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It can cover you when the tenants do not pay, or if something happens to your property.

There are a range of different products at different costs in the market. You do need to do some research, but one thing we can say for certain, is that you should look into this for both peace of mind, and as a way to reduce risk the with your property.

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Key Takeaways

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Develop your own management approach, but remember to:

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 I. Communicate.

II. Be fair and listen.

III. Be open.

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Stay on top of maintenance. Find a reliable plumber and electrician, and develop an ongoing

relationship with them.

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RentBetter will help you stay on top of maintenance requests. Respond and manage requests efficiently. The tenant will upload the request, you'll be notified and resolve it ASAP.

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Download the Self-Management eBook.

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Want to understand how to rent out and self-manage your property? Start here - Your step-by-step guide to renting out your own property will include:

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• How to rent out your property - Six simple steps from advertising your property through to signing a lease and managing rental payments.

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• How to start your lease - State-by-state guide for setting up you lease, collecting bond, conducting a condition report & more.

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• Inspection checklist - Everything you need to do to organise and manage inspections.

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• What to do if a tenant doesn’t pay? - What to do next and which state-based laws apply.

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• How to advertise your property - What to include in your property ad to make it stand out.

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• How to select a tenant - What questions to ask and background checks to make.

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• How to collect rent - Payment schedules, rental ledgers, receipts & more.

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