Drawing from my twenty years of experience in the industry, I have yet to encounter any evidence supporting such a claim. The accusation is that real estate companies focus
on sales, and property management is a poor cousin. The emphasis is on Business
Development Managers who are instructed to load property managers, expecting
them to manage over 300 properties (1). It does not stop there.
According to the RPMA in their submission to the select committee, the average
employment within the property management industry is about eight months (2).
I am still determining where they get such information.
Comments like this are damaging to the industry. I
hope this is not the case; it would be disappointing if a member's group pushed
their agenda ahead of the wider industry.
According to the submission to the select
committee, small property management providers provide a better quality of
service than larger real estate operators. I struggle with this accusation.
Being the General Manager of one of the largest privately owned property
management businesses in the country, with approximately $180 million of rent
being collected per annum from a property portfolio worth around $3 billion, I
know we have a water-tight process with a strong emphasis on customer service
as well as ensuring that the money collected is secure, held in an audited
Trust account. To do this, we must put our Property Managers at the centre of
every decision to make sure they have the necessary tools and support to do
their job.
At Property Brokers, we have a team of approximately 100 people, ensuring that our investors' assets are protected whilst ensuring that we act as a responsible landlord with a duty of care to our tenants. Our Property Managers manage, on average, approximately 80 properties each.
Education is strongly emphasised with a True Team
promise to our consumers. You do not just hire a Property Manager; you hire a
team. This includes the following.
- Team Leaders so every
Property Manager can troubleshoot issues and have added support.
- Accounts Team ensures
that the millions of dollars of rent are allocated to the relevant
landlords, including payments to contractors and bonds being lodged.
- Training Team ensures
that new entrants get the induction they need, and they can also cover
portfolios if a staff member is on leave or sick. They also provide
ongoing training and support in delivering the NZ RPM Level 4
qualification.
- After-hours team gives
our Property Managers much-needed downtime to relax and unwind.
- Operations Team
monitors all maintenance requests and supports our Property Management
team by auditing portfolios to ensure we are compliant.
I
take umbrage at disparaging comments made by the RPMA at the expense of Real
Estate companies. To say that big companies do not provide the same level of
service as smaller independents is a fallacy.
If we offered a poor level of service without caring for the well-being of our Property Managers, we would not survive, let alone thrive.
Alarmingly, RPMA states that audited Trust accounts
are optional as they will add more cost to the consumer. Auditing Trust
accounts should be non-negotiable, and any reputable industry body would
campaign hard for the protection of consumers' money.
If individuals or groups consistently express
negative remarks in the media, they must substantiate such claims with
evidence. RPMA still needs to provide such evidence. Our industry would benefit
from unified representation rather than allowing peripheral advocacy groups to
disseminate unfounded criticisms to further their objectives.
