Property Management for Dummies

I think it's safe to say it's been a difficult year in the market for home owners, especially the ones with mortgages, which is most of us!

But it's not just mortgage holders who've been impacted, landlords under interest rate pressure have turned the heat up on their tenants, with rents going up at an alarming rate and vacancy rates for available properties under 1% in some parts of Sydney and beyond.

If you're a landlord or a tenant you'll know how important a good property management team is in this whole equation.  

I know, Property Management sounds dry, boring, probably not that important or exciting.  They're the guys you call when your bathroom has flooded and you need an emergency plumber ...it's often overlooked in many real estate agencies as a department to put in young, inexperienced kids to notch up their experience in the property market and "do their time"...while the flashy sales guys make all the money.

But in my opinion, there are some major problems with that approach.

There is, and always has been a real focus on property management here at O'Gorman and Partners, our management team of 4 collectively has more than 90 years experience between them!  

Yep I know, it's kind of mindblowing isn't it. Ninety years here at OGP 🤯

But these guys aren't old 🤣 They just love Property Management so much, they've been in it their whole careers.

The maths doesn't lie.

Here's the breakdown:

Phil Dunn - 35 years at OGP.  He started in 1988 as a junior in property management and is now a partner in the business.

Kate Skelton - 37 years at OGP. She started in 1986 on reception and now runs the admin side of the management team.

Caroline Lau - 17 years at OGP. She started in 2006 and is still going strong!

Jade Dalton - she's new!  Jade started in the team earlier this year and has 9 years experience in the industry....and if history is a good predictor, Jade will be with us until she's 70!

Seriously though, you'd be hard pressed to find any real estate business in the country with that kind of team loyalty or longevity, it's even rarer to find a partner in the business inside the property management team.

Then, there's the rent roll itself.  Phil and his team management team oversee more than 450 local properties in total (ranging from $500,000 to $15 million dollars in value) and every inch of that has been organically grown.  Meaning we don't just buy rent rolls to show growth, we acquire each property one by one through word of mouth and reputation and that's the way it's always been.

OK - so what's the benefit of having a property management team who are in it for the long haul?

Well, for a start, in most other agencies, if you're a landlord, you would only speak to an actual property manager when they sign your home up to their rent roll. You'd then speak to a different person to show the property, and then most likely you'd have a different person again manage the property for you.  

Normally this is an entry level job, a young person with no experience who's never been through your property and sometimes never even seen your property who might stay in the role 6 months to earn their stripes and then they're gone and you start all over again with the next one.

My point is, as a landlord you want someone managing your home with experience, someone who knows you by name, someone who cares about your asset that you can build a great relationship and who knows your property as well as, or even better than you do!

It's not surprising that some bigger firms are taught to get you to constantly increase the rent, and yes, while the rental market is tight that sounds great, in theory, but from experience (all 90 plus years of it) we know that it only gives people more reason to look elsewhere and then you've got vacancy and that costs you money!

As a small family run business, we want to secure a tenant who's going to love your home, treat it well, someone long term who costs you less because they maintain the property well and they care about the home as much as you do.