Can you trust your property manager?

It might be tempting to think that if a property is being managed by a real estate agent that you can sit back, relax, and assume all is well. It’s not a perfect world. Information may get mislaid, information known by one person may not be passed on when there are staff changes, and as a client your ideas on how the property is managed may also change. Of course, I’m assuming the agent does take notes and does keep a file of your instructions. That assumption could be wrong. At any rate, it might be useful to talk to the agent, and to make sure they take note of what you are saying, because they get things wrong. It might even be a good idea, if possible, to read through the agent’s notes on the property before they start talking to any potential new tenants.

My property is not dual occupancy. The electricity and water supplies each come from a single meter. The units are separate. Each unit has its own kitchen, lounge, and bedrooms. The rented one has its own bathroom. The laundry is shared, with the other unit (ours) having a combined bathroom and laundry. The combined bathroom laundry is inconvenient for all concerned, but within limitations, it works.

At about the time our first tenant was moving out and the new tenant was inspecting the property a new property manager took over. That was bad timing. As the new property manager was showing potential punters through the place she misunderstood the laundry arrangement. She was aware that the laundry was down stairs, but she didn’t have a key to show anyone through it. However, the property manager was telling people there was a laundry with a washing machine. Wrong! This statement was only partly correct.

There certainly was a laundry down stairs, but a washing machine was not provided. The agent should have said something along the lines, there is a laundry downstairs for your own washing machine. The result of this was that the new tenant thought a washing machine was included in the rental and had her own washing machine transported to Canberra. Of course, when the new tenant had taken out the lease and saw the laundry empty it meant she had to organise transporting her machine from Canberra back to the coast. This sets a very poor impression.

The property manager should have been aware of the situation, and a quick check of their notes would have identified the issue before it became a problem. This might seem like a small issue, but it would have inconvenienced the tenant. Perhaps there are just better property managers and poorer managers out there and you just have to be on your guard.