When an investment property is being managed well, you should have confidence that the fundamentals are being taken care of without having to constantly check what is happening.
That confidence was missing for one owner who approached JDH Real Estate with three investment properties managed through an online agency with a city-based office. Over time, they had become increasingly concerned about who was actually responsible for their properties and whether the people managing these valuable assets had the experience required to look after them properly.
A difficult handover highlighted the problem
Once the owner decided to move all three properties to JDH, the first challenge was simply obtaining the information we needed from the previous agency.
Communication throughout the handover was poor, making the transfer more difficult than it needed to be. It reinforced the owner’s concerns and made it important for us to thoroughly review each property rather than assume everything was up to date.
Our health check uncovered several issues
As part of taking over the management, we completed a detailed health check across all three properties.
This identified a number of matters that required attention. Leases had expired without being renewed, rent reviews had not been completed when they were due, and there was outstanding maintenance that remained unresolved.
Individually, each issue could affect the performance of an investment. Across three properties, they represented a significant amount of work that had been allowed to accumulate.
A clear plan for every property
Rather than simply inheriting the existing management and continuing from where it had been left, we prepared a detailed action plan for the owner.
We explained what we had found, what we recommended and the steps we would take to bring each property back to best practice.
That gave the owner a clear picture of where each investment stood and what needed to happen next.
Three investments back on track
Today, all three properties are being proactively managed.
The leases have been renewed correctly, rents have been reviewed and brought into line with current market levels, and the outstanding maintenance has been completed.
Most importantly, the owner now knows who is looking after their properties and has confidence that experienced people are actively managing their investments rather than waiting for problems to arise.
The owner’s experience
For the owner, the difference has been having a team they know and can communicate with, backed by the experience to stay across the details of each property.
If you are unsure whether your investment property is being managed as proactively as it should be, talk to the JDH Real Estate property management team. We can review your current management and help identify where improvements could be made.
