Empowering Property Management
Secure your Growth Day Ticket & Go into the Draw to Win 1 of 30 KEYWHERE Panels!
Watch the KEYWHERE video to find out more about InspectRealEstate’s key management system.
Two nights accommodation for 4 people in a lovely modern apartment in picturesque Mapua, Nelson Bays is up for grabs!
Booking the accommodation will have to be organised with Hamish Turner & Associates.
Grow your property management business and take it to the next level.
Gain insights and advice from experts on how to grow your property management business and take it to the next level. Listen to the stories and experiences of owners who have grown businesses.
Enjoy some networking with fellow colleagues in the property management sector and let our exhibitors keep you up to date on ways their products can help you to grow!
The conference will be held at Rutherford Hotel in sunny Nelson, New Zealand. It is a premier Conference Hotel in the centre of New Zealand with easy access to some of the country’s most stunning sites and activities.
The impacts of Covid-19 on health and business are evolving fast. It is essential that every business has a plan for dealing with the fallout from this pandemic.
A plan will give you peace of mind and clarity for decision-making for the future of your business, and ensure you access Government support entitlements and maximise opportunities to preserve your cashflow and profitability. In the worst-case scenario, we want you to have certainty about whether your business can continue and plan around that.
We’ve created some practical content to help you build your Business Continuity Plan. You can download our Business Continuity Template from our website.
There are a number of new risks for your business because of COVID-19. Here is a list to consider:
1) Increased arrears
2) Increase in vacant properties
3) Inability to complete maintenance and repairs
4) Increase in accidental damage and wear and tear
5) The risk of insurance claims not being accepted due to lack of inspections
6) reduction in fees and no fees due to rent holidays
There are probably a number more however, the primary risk that we need to assess is the risk of arrears. The change in legislation allowing up to 60 days in arrears before termination could have a serious impact on rent rolls at this time.
One way to measure the risk is to go through your tenant list in your property management software and label them by the risk of arrears: HIGH, MED, LOW. The categories might look like this:
High – works in tourism, hospitality, importing or exporting business, in an airline or airport-related job
Medium – works in all other sectors
Low – works in the health, food, courier, beneficiary
Each property management software will do it slightly differently but most will have a way to tag or label your tenants so that you can create a report on them. For example, PropertyMe use labels. By labelling your tenants you can assess firstly, how many of your tenants are high risk versus low and medium and then that can be factored into your continuity plan.
Your risk exposure should drive your strategy for the coming 24 months. If you have 25% of tenants labelled as high risk then you should probably adjust your budget for the coming year to manage the potentially worst case scenario. On the other hand if you have 95% low risk then you may want to take an aggressive growth strategy to take advantage of your strong position versus your competitors.
Originally published 2020/04/06 at 4:57 pm, updated 17/03/2021
Since COVID-19 became a Pandemic on March 12 we have been trying to keep the property management sector informed and up to date as news is related and things change. As you know it’s been a fast moving beast that has effected Property Management in a number of ways. The sector has had to react quickly and adapt for the changing requirements of the job.
During the past three weeks we written a number of blogs and provided a number of free downloads as problems have come up. We have also answered a number of questions from Property Managers across the country and for our coaching groups.
We thought it might be valuable to the entire sector to see some of these questions and the issues that they have raised. Below are the Top 5 Frequently Asked Questions from the past three weeks. To answer these questions we did a brief interview with HTA Associate and Property Management Consultant David Turnout.
David: It’s important to carry out any discussion around rent arrears with a tenant in a calm, compassionate and professional manner. Any requests from the tenant around rent payments should be made in writing and where possible backed up with some relevant documentation. The tenant should also check with Work and Income as they may find that they receive financial assistance to pay rent arrears. After the Property Manager has facilitated an agreement with both the tenant and landlord, a written agreement should be formed with clear details around timelines for repayment and amounts needed to be paid in order to remedy the rent arrears.
David: A Property Management’s business income is directly related to how much rent is received. Essentially when less rent is received, there is less income and cash flow to pay staff and run a business. Although a rent holiday will mean that the tenant eventually pays the rent arrears, Property Management businesses will need to carefully monitor this area so that they can forecast future income / cash flow accurately. I would recommend obtaining further advice from your accountant with regard to this question.
David: Regardless of when a termination notice was served, tenancies can not be terminated during the lockdown period. A tenancy can be terminated if both parties agree, or under some special circumstances. Tenants have the ability to revoke termination notices that they have already been given as they may need to stay in the tenancy during the lockdown period. Tenants will still be able to terminate their tenancy as normal but only if they wish to. As mentioned there are special but limited circumstances where landlords can apply to the Tenancy Tribunal to terminate a tenancy which we have outlined on our website. As there is a maximum fine of $6,500 for any landlord who takes steps to terminate a tenancy unlawfully, we would recommend seeking advice before progressing with a Tenancy Tribunal application.
– If parties need to sign a tenancy agreement, this should be done digitally.
– If keys need to be transferred, then extreme care must be taken. Property managers are not classified as an essential service so they cannot go into offices to pick up keys during alert level Transfer could therefore only occur if there are keys available to them at their homes. Physical distancing must be maintained and keys should be sanitised.
-Tenants can only move in a private vehicle with only members of their own household. They cannot hire a moving service during this time.
David: If the maintenance issue falls under the essential services, then an essential services company will be able to perform the repair. Tradespeople are able to conduct maintenance that is essential to the necessities of life or critical to safety. This includes electricians, plumbers and builders so your existing contractors should be your first port of call to see if they are approved to operate over the lockdown period.
Originally published 2020/04/06 at 1:14 pm, updated 18/03/2021
