If you are a new rental property owner or have recently joined a property management company, you might have a few questions about the requirements of yourself as an owner and what property managers can do for you. We put together a list of frequently asked questions to help you fully understand what we at Rent Ready can do for you as one of our owners.
Frequently Asked Questions For Owners
Are you ready to be a rental property owner?
Having a property manager take care of the day to day running of your property means it will free up your time to spend doing things that you enjoy doing like spending time with family and friends, travelling or just relaxing.
A good property manager will take care of your investment on your behalf, be available 24/7 – even when a tenant calls at 10pm on a Friday night because they are locked out!
Property managers do everything that you, as a private landlord, would do: advertising and finding tenants for the property, collecting and monitoring rent, inspections, organising maintenance and repairs when needed and financial reporting.
Rent Ready follows strict industry guidelines and requirements and knows all aspects of tenancy law. As property managers, we take the stress and hassle off you and ensure everything goes smoothly with your investment!
Regular property inspections are essential to maintain the value of your property and ensure that the tenants keep to their requirements – they are also required by your insurance company up to 4 x per year.
We comply with the current industry standards and let you know every time we complete a property inspection. At Rent Ready, we formally notify tenants and schedule inspections regularly. These are complemented with reports and photographic evidence, so you can ensure that everything is in order with your rental property.
At Rent Ready, we are transparent about what we do and put communication with our clients at the forefront. That’s why even before you sign with us, we will sit down with you or email you a copy of our property management contract and go through it in detail. We explain everything that we will do for you, so you can make the most informed decision when choosing us as your property managers! If you have any further questions about the work we do, we will be happy to answer those as well.
Knowing when to put up rent, how you can improve your rental property or what needs to be renovated or maintained in the house can sometimes be challenging.
As your property managers, we will offer advice about what you can do to raise the capital of your investment, what will make the rental more appealing to tenants and how you can get the most out of it. We will be your partner in making sure you explore all the investment avenues of your rental property!
Rent Ready will find tenants for your property. We advertise and market your property on different channels to get you the ideal renters quickly and efficiently.
Our team will take care of the listing, create high definition photographs, schedule viewings and any assessments that need to be completed before the property can be rented out.
You won’t need to worry about spending time finding tenants, as we will do it all for you!
You wouldn’t want to rent out your home to anyone, as it is likely one of your most significant investments.
We complete background checks and ask for references from your tenants to ensure that they can pay rent on time, take care of the property, and meet our requirements.
Rent Ready will assess your property thoroughly before determining a rental price. We will compare your house with others of a similar size and character in the area and with previous rentals we have worked with.
We have the formula to determine whether your property will be in the lower, middle or upper end of the market and advise what you can do on your rental to increase the rent. Before advertising, we will ensure you are satisfied with the rent and happy for us to push on.
Ideally, we strive to find tenants that are compliant and take care of the property as their own. However, unfortunately, this is not always the case. If there are ongoing problems during inspections and tenants don’t take care of cleaning, fixing damages and maintaining the home, we will take action promptly. The same happens if the tenants stop paying rent. We will follow our strict rent arrears process and keep you informed along the way. At Rent Ready we have never needed to go to the Tenancy Tribunal and we would like to keep it this way!
You have a few legal obligations to your tenants when renting out your home. As legalities change regularly, we will ensure that you keep on top of them and make sure your property aligns with all requirements.
The recently announced Healthy Homes Standards includes requirements with insulation, heating, ventilation, moisture and drainage, and draught stopping that you must follow. Rent Ready will point you in the right direction to get any problem areas addressed before renting out your property.
We are an Official Member of REINZ
REINZ Property Managers adhere to a professional code of conduct
The property management industry in New Zealand is not regulated, so The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) has created a benchmark for property managers. Not all property managers are eligible to be members of REINZ, only those who act with professionalism, honesty and integrity in their dealings. When looking for someone to manage your property give yourself peace of mind by choosing a REINZ Property Management member.
REINZ Property Managers ensure:
- All client money is held in a separate Trust Account at all times
- Trust Accounts are independently reviewed on an annual basis
- Ongoing education and training is completed to keep up-to date with changes to legislation
- Regular routine property inspections are carried out
- Annual rental reviews are conducted, based on current market values
- Written contracts are signed, outlining the landlord and property manager’s responsibilities, fees and charges
- They have professional Indemnity Insurance
All REINZ Property Management members agree to abide by these principles and more as outlines in the REINZ Code of Practice for Property Managers.
If you would like a client reference just let us know as we have numerous clients who will happily share their experiences with us.