Your rental is your business: Q&A with Ange Massey, Residential Property Manager

A superstar property manager is a gift for landlords, and hugely beneficial for tenants.

Being able to please and appease both sides of the equation is a rare commodity, and it's not easy! But for Burgess Rawson Canberra's Angela Massey, it's a true passion and a positive challenge.

I sat down with Ange to ask her some things I've always wondered.

What do you love about being a Property Manager?

I love that its challenging and every day is different, I love being able to meet new clients and build a rapport with them. I am a very talkative person (apparently!) but I think it’s what works, and what you need in this job. I want to be an approachable point of contact for both my landlords and tenants.

Is Canberra a good place to invest?

Definitely - I frequently recommend to anyone I am speaking to including clients, friends and family, that if they are going to buy an investment to buy it in Canberra. Whilst house and unit prices for sale have soared, the rent has too. The vacancy rate is at 0.9%, and Canberra now has the highest rent in the country.

What’s the most important advice you would give a first-time landlord?

1 – For would-be landlords, insurance is a must! Even if it’s a strata property. Why? Because it protects you against the unexpected.

2 – Smoke alarms: use a qualified electrician or smoke alarm company. At Burgess Rawson Canberra, we almost always sign our landlords up to SATS (Smoke Alarm Testing Services), because if the alarms are not serviced correctly and a fire occurs in the property YOU can be held liable. Yes it costs money, but it could cost a life if not done to standard code.

3 – Read the residential tenancy agreement and familiarise yourself with the Residential Tenancies Act to understand and acknowledge how renting works.

Having an investment property is like having a business: you need to have a business mindset and act accordingly.

When my partner and I moved out of our first home and began renting it out, our mindset had to shift from “our home” to our first investment property. We had to come to terms with the fact that tenants would come and go, and there is going to be wear and tear and maintenance. So just need to budget so that in a few years time we can re-paint and fix whatever needs fixing or upgrading and keep it well maintained for those who will live in it.

What’s the most important advice you would give a first-time tenant (or someone who hasn’t rented in a long time!)?

I would actually give different advice for a first time renter, versus someone who hasn't rented in a while.

My advice to a first time renter would be;

• Work out your budget - a good rule is not to exceed 30% of your weekly income.
• Don’t be too fussy when choosing a property. The rental market is very competitive especially in Canberra, and even thought you may want something brand new, this may well exceed your budget. Older homes can still be great places to live, and if they meet your needs in terms of location and amenities they might suit you much better.
• Make sure you have a strong application - do this by promptly providing all documents that are required and fill out every section required, also include a letter from your parents stating that they would be happy to go guarantor if needed.
• Don’t just set your heart on one property - try to book in open homes for 4-8 different properties that are in your budget and then APPLY for all of them, at the end of the day, if you get approved for 3 then you can pick which one you want! But if you only apply for one property, and miss out because there were 20 other people that applied, then chances are by the time you apply for the other ones you’ve looked at you will miss out.

Advice to someone that hasn’t rented in a long time would be;

• Similar to first time renter, work out your budget.
• Don’t be too fussy and book and apply for multiple properties.
• IF the reason you haven’t rented in a long time is because you owned your own home or your selling it now, make sure you provide a copy of your rates as proof that you own it, giving dates on how long you have lived there for. If possible, I would still list the last place you rented on your application if you can remember.

Has COVID-19 impacted the rental market in the ACT?

No, COVID-19 has not impacted the market at all. Canberra rents have hit record highs in the last 3 months, even despite lockdown. The median asking rent for a house hit a new benchmark of $645 per week. This was an increase of 2.4% over the quarter and 11.2% year-on-year. For a unit in Canberra, the median asking rent reached $520 per week, up 4 per cent over the quarter and 8.3% year-on-year.

Is a Property Manager worth the money? Can’t I just do it myself?

Well I might be a little biased, but from personal experience as a landlord, YES I would highly recommend using a property manager. Like any investment, there are costs associated but because we only charge $35 per week at Burgess Rawson, some of that financial burden is also taken away.

What many investors don’t realise is that there are a lot of process and procedures property managers have to be across to ensure your investment is looked after and maintained, to take the stress off your shoulders if you're wanting to e.g. go away on a holiday, or especially if you have multiple properties in your portfolio.

We do absolutely everything, including:

• Property inspections
• Open homes
• Finding a suitable tenant
• Administration
• Rent and bond collection
• Arrears management
• Yearly compliance
• Rent reviews
• Regular communication with both landlords and tenants
• Lease preparation
• After hours call outs
• Maintenance and Repair management
• Property health checks
• Tribunal representation

I have an investment property, but I also have a property manager for it even though I am a property manager myself. The reason is simple: because I don’t want conflict, I don’t have time to manage it in between my every day job, and because I did my research I trust that they will look after it.

Now that lockdown is over, what are you doing to celebrate?

I can't wait to go for a nice dinner with my partner and then a weekend trip home to see my family in Regional NSW.