Being an ethical Landlord

Being an ethical Landlord

Unlike most businesses, landlords only have one customer, and that is their tenant. Landlords don't have the luxury of getting it wrong. If you get it wrong, you are left with limited options:

-tenant packs up and leaves
-communication between the tenant and landlord breaks down
-the tenant takes the landlord to the tenancy tribunal

The best way to operate your rental properties is to treat it like a business. By acting ethically and in a professional manner, you can attempt to provide a hassle free tenancy for your tenant. This will result in rent being paid on time, the property being well maintained, and maintenance issues being reported as they occur.

Once communication is lost between the tenant and the landlord, it becomes difficult to re-establish that level of trust that was once there. The tenant needs to be made aware at the beginning that if they do have any issues they need to communicate them to the landlord. By having open two way dialogue, the tenant feels that the landlord is there to listen and provide guidance when needed.

If you use independent property management firm, make sure they belong to IPMA (Independent property managers association). They follow a set code of conduct that they are bound to which ensures all property managers under the IPMA umbrella are acting in an ethical and professional manner.

Without your tenants, you have no income. They can always pack up and leave and go elsewhere, where as you will be left with a vacant property that you will now need to advertise and get tenanted which will cost you money.

Property Management Tip – Rent Collection and Arrears Management

There are several important points with rent collection to help landlords to minimise the likelihood of arrears occurring, and the amount of arrears potentially incurred.

- Always check that rental payments have been made on the due date so you can initiate collection of arrears immediately

- Automatic rent payments deposited directly into your rent account are preferable, and it is best to set up payments to coincide with the date of your tenants personal income payments to reduce the likelihood of missed payments

- Have a zero tolerance policy to arrears and have direct and immediate contact with your tenant in the event of rent payments being missed

- Arrange immediate repayment of arrears (preferably the next day) with your tenant and if repayment is not initiated as agreed start formal proceedings (e.g. issue of 10 day notice) straight away – this way if rent remains unpaid the tenancy bond is likely to cover the arrears incurred if you have to progress to eviction

- Formalise agreements relating to repayment of arrears via a Tenancy Tribunal Mediation or Hearing and enforce Tribunal Orders when necessary to recover arrears

- Lodge Tribunal decisions and 10 day notices with tenant databases such as Tenancy Information NZ (TINZ) to help protect other landlords from suffering the same problem from repeat offenders

www.manawatuproperty.co.nz

Abandoned goods

What can you do when your tenant departs and leaves goods at the property?

Well – as much as you would like to throw this stuff out, it is amazing how a shonky old table can quickly become a prized family heirloom, or a ripped old pair of jeans can become a piece of designer clothing, which a returning
tenant will decide to claim against you for.

Under section 62 of the Residential Tenancies Act only food and perishable goods may be discarded immediately by the landlord and all other items should be stored securely pending an application to the tenancy tribunal. The tribunal will then make an order either for the return of the goods to the tenant, or allow for the sale or disposal of the abandoned goods.

While it is a nuisance, the best way to protect yourself is to get a disposal order from the tenancy tribunal.

Property Management Tip - Tenant Background Checking

It is important that when you are selecting a tenant for your property, a systematic approach is taken each and every time to ensure the highest quality tenant is chosen each and every time.

There are a number of ways to screen your tenants but in all cases you should be interviewing prospective tenants, and having all applicants complete a Tenancy Application Form which collects sufficient information to enable you to do thorough background checks.

The minimum information to collect will include – the applicant’s full name and date of birth, previous landlord references, driver licence details, employment and employer contact details, other referee details.

Once you have collected this information you can then contact the referees provided to determine the suitability of the tenant for your property. Remember to always verify referee details where possible as many prospective tenants have used the old trick of providing their mate’s phone number instead of a genuine referee.

The information described above on a standard application form will allow you to do checks with online databases such as Tenancy Tribunal Orders Online, Tenancy Information NZ (TINZ), or VEDA Advantage (formerly Baycorp). These databases allow you to determine whether a prospective tenant has had a previous Tribunal Order lodged against their name, and you can also assess the credit worthiness of the applicant, and verify details such as their licence identification and date of birth.

REMEMBER: Always follow a robust and systematic system each and everytime, and it will save YOU money in the long run!

Need some more advice regarding tenant background checking, give us a call!!

Manawatu Property Management corner

Good afternoon to all Property Investors across New Zealand.

It has been 8 months since Manawatu Property last blogged on this site and we are very proud to say that Manawatu Property have some very exciting news.

While we have been quiet over the past few months we have been formulating different client orientated strategies so that Manawatu Property can meet the needs more accurately of the common property investor.

So what have we been planning??

1) Can't Find a tenant? TradeMe too expensive? Look no further. List your property on our website for $50 and we will list it on TradeMe absolutely free. Our website is pulling in 100's of hits per month from prospective tenants looking for the right property. TradeMe fees for listing a property have increased dramatically over the past 24 months, so take the strain off your wallet and get tenants in your property now. Contact us today!!

2) Know someone who owns a property investment that may want it managed by an independent specialist property management company? Manawatu Property have set up a referral scheme where we will pay YOU $50 for any client you send our way that signs up to our management service.

3) I will be reguarly blogging about property management, the do's and don'ts and all the tricks of the trade. We are property investors ourselves so not only do we understand about property management, but we also understand the property market. So if you want to continue managing your own property then feel free to come by often as we will continue to post property management information on a regular basis as we continue to grow and achieve our goal of becoming the number one rated property management company in the Manawatu region

Call us anytime on 0800 62 62 06 or visit our website www.manawatuproperty.co.nz for all our available services, low low fees and properties currently available.

Kind Regards,

Aaron Clancy

Director

Manawatu Property

www.manawatuproperty.co.nz

Manawatu Property Management

Manawatu Property Management is an independent property management company that has been set up in the Manawatu region for investors, by investors.

Check us out here at www.manawatuproperty.co.nz

We have very competitive fees and have NZDF discounts, Property Investor Association discounts, and stepped property discounts.

Enquire now and receive your first month free.

Regards

Aaron Clancy
Director
0800 62 62 06