Town to Country offer a professional property management service, which includes:
- Rents paid every fortnight
- Comprehensive routine inspections
- Regular communication
You didn’t buy an investment property to become a property manager
For this very reason, Town to Country Realty is in the business of looking after your property as if it were our own.
This means:
- Always selecting the best quality tenants
- Achieving the highest market rental
- Ensuring your property is maintained in excellent condition
- Providing you with prompt, personalised service at all times.
- Our service does not stop there. We are about maximising your return and protecting your asset.
Our property management team will:
- Conduct regular property inspections
- Detail the condition of your home
- Guide you on how to maintain the property in a manner that will maximise your rental return and the long-term value of your asset.
Our property managers provide the highest level of service and support to homeowners. We involve you in approving applications, maintenance, renewals of your tenant’s lease and when reviewing the rent. This isn’t rocket science, however we believe it is important to you!
Landlord insurance
We strongly advise all our landlords to take out landlord insurance. This covers you for loss of rent, damage to the property and other items depending on the policy.
Marketing and leasing
We begin marketing and contact you to discuss any rental rate adjustments or potential improvements to your property as soon as your current tenant provides us notice of their intention to vacate.
We maximise prospective tenant enquiry using effective and innovative marketing strategies such as quality photos at no charge to you.
Full listing of your property on Realestate.com.au, Domain.com.au, and Google’s real estate mapping service as well as our own Facebook page.
Additional advertising in newspapers if required.
Signage at property (subject to any body corporate or other restrictions).
We don’t hand out keys! We accompany prospective tenants to vacant properties and also carry out open houses where possible to create a competitive environment for interested tenants. These inspections also provide us and our clients with valuable feedback from tenants.
We’ll provide you with advice on any improvements required to achieve both a higher rent and a shorter vacancy period.
Applications
We carry out detailed rental history, personal reference and employer checks before recommending a tenant’s application to you. We always check the national TICA database to search whether applicants have been listed for any rent arrears, damage etc at any previous residences. We will not approve any applicants without the required identification (including one photo).
To encourage tenants to apply we provide a maximum 48-hour approval turnaroundand, other than where we cannot contact you, we will always discuss these applications with you before approving. If you have specific instructions on letting (for example, if you require a short-term lease for you to possibly be able to return to the property or perhaps list the property for sale).
For a friendly chat about your property:
Call Town to Country Realty on (07) 4097-6900
Or send an email
Starting a tenancy
At the start of the tenancy, tenants are required to pay two weeks rent plus bond (four weeks rental amount). No keys will be given until this is paid. When the tenancy agreement is signed by all parties, and the entry condition report is returned to our office (the tenants have three days to return their copy), our office will send you a copy with your next statement.
Rent payments
Arrears are checked every day with reminder correspondence (emails and SMS where possible to speed things up). Appropriate default notices are sent to the tenant as per the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act and unless otherwise directed we advise owners of all major rent defaults.
Property inspections
We carry out regular Agent Property Inspections and provide you with a report to ensure your property is being looked after by the tenant. The first inspection for each tenancy is three months after commencement, allowing for an early check on how they are maintaining the property.
We report to you on maintenance items and act on such matters appropriately as per your instructions. Naturally, we will call you immediately with any emergency repair issues.
Recent court judgements now make it prudent for you to have a registered builder carry out an annual inspection to advise on any concerns. Whilst we take all care with our inspections we do not have the expertise of a builder.
Please remember – all landlords should have insurance for their property, both for their own contents (even in apartments some items are not covered by the body corporate), building and liability. If you would like further information please let us know. (Remember, we do need you to have a minimum $10 million public liability cover prior to us working for you.)
Payments to You
Your rental income is held in our audited trust account with Bendigo Bank. We conduct prompt, fortnightly payments – your funds are sent directly to your financial institution.
Your summary statement can be mailed and/or emailed as per your request. We also provide end-of-financial-year summary for your convenience.
Maintenence
We contact our owners with all maintenance requests and if we can’t reach you within a reasonable time will (if urgent) spend up to an amount equivalent to two weeks rent if necessary. Please be aware that if emergency repairs are needed we will organise them urgently and, by law, your tenant can spend up to two weeks rent on these if no assistance is provided.
All contractors used in works on your property have provided us with their licenses and insurance as necessary. We only use tradespeople with a proven track record and regularly check their prices through quotes. Naturally, we can use your instructed contractor and will always obtain quotes on larger items.
Communication during tenancy
We carry out lease-renewal consultation and rental review-proposals with the owner in each case. Keeping you informed on market trends ensures together we can both retain quality tenants and maximise your market rent.
We keep you informed at every opportunity and find emails a highly effective way to keep in touch. We will always return calls as soon as possible and guarantee to do so within 24 hours.
We welcome your attendance at our Routine Property Inspections and can arrange access at other times with seven (7) days written notice to the tenant. To ensure your tenants quiet enjoyment, the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act does limit the number of inspections that can be carried out.
Completing a tenancy
Detailed exit inspections are undertaken with tenants with reference back to the Entry Condition Report, and our duty to the owner is a paramount consideration.
If a tenancy is terminated due to a tenant breach we follow strict Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act procedures and can, if required due to a bond dispute, attend the small claims tribunal (QCAT) on your behalf to seek recovery of outstanding rent and cleaning/maintenance costs not covered by the bond.
Managing arrears and the condition of the property during the tenancy helps minimise the risk of this. Landlord insurance can also cover you for tenant defaults, malicious damage and loss of rent (please note landlord insurance policies vary in many aspects, please ask us for more information).
Other services
Our experienced sales team are available to provide you with a complimentary Comparative Market Analysis to inform you of your properties current market value and discuss current market conditions.
The law now requires regular inspections and maintenance of smoke alarms. We will organise a contractor to do this, to ensure your property is always compliant.
We can organise building and pest inspections to carry out full inspections and reports on your property. We recommend a building report and termite check-up annually, especially for houses. You will need to advise us if you would like us to organise this for you.
Insurances for your property are critical. Please ask us for information regarding liability, building, contents, landlord insurances. These premiums can be paid from your rental funds.
If you are considering renovations or would like to discuss ways to improve the presentation of your property, we can advise you of professional contractors that are best placed to advise on the latest trends.
Our fees
Our management fee is 9.9% (including GST) a month. When we secure a new tenant the letting commission is equivalent to one week’s rent plus GST.
Usual marketing costs such as internet advertising and signage are at our expense. If we do need to advertise in the newspaper we will speak with you first and ask for you to reimburse charges for such at cost.
We charge a small fee for an end-of-financial-year summary of $22.00 (including GST). We do not charge to reissue statements.
There is no cost for organising usual maintenance.
Inspections are carried out every three months, and a charge of $55.00 (including GST) is deducted from your rental payments. A full report is issued to you the same day of inspection.
While it is an uncommon occurrence, if we need to appear for you at a mediation/tribunal hearing we will charge $110.00 an hour and additional court lodgement and parking fees to attend court (at cost).
Our commintment to you as a valued client
Standards
- We will be courteous and treat you with respect every time you contact us.
- The information you provide us is protected under the provisions of the Privacy Laws and our Privacy Policy.
- When you enquire with us by letter, you will receive a reply within two days of the date we receive your enquiry. If for any reason we cannot reply within that time frame, we will acknowledge your letter and tell you how long it will be before we can answer your questions fully.
- When you enquire with us by email or fax, you will receive a reply within 24 hours of the date we receive your enquiry. If for any reason we cannot reply within that time frame, we will acknowledge your communication and tell you how long it will be before we can answer your questions fully.
- When you enquire by telephone, we commit to answer our telephone within three rings. If you leave a message, we will respond to your request within 24 hours. If we cannot do so, then we will acknowledge your call and tell you how long it will be before we can respond to your request.
- When you visit the office, an employee of the agency will serve you promptly. If you do not have an appointment with your property manager, your property manager will make a time to meet you. Some special requests may require action from the client or principal of the agency. If this is the case, we will give you an explanation and an estimate of the time required to make a decision.
Openness
- We will display in our office how well we are meeting the established standards.
- When you visit our office, the staff you see will identify themselves by name.
- When you telephone us, we will identify ourselves by name.
- Information on how to contact individual staff members will be provided in various forms; for example, website, voice mail directory, letter.
- Our correspondence will be easy to understand and, unless the letter is a computer notice (SMS), the person writing to you will give you his or her name.
Accessibility
- When calling our office, we aim to respond to your call promptly.
When visiting us, we aim to be on time for our scheduled appointment.
If you visit us without an appointment we will endeavour to assist your enquiry as soon as possible.
Accountability
If things go wrong, at the very least you are entitled to a good explanation and an apology.
If you are not satisfied with our service, you may contact the manager responsible to lodge a formal complaint. Our agency has a complaints policy which is available for you to view.
Respect
We treat you and all other persons, inside and outside the company, with fairness, dignity and respect.