Extremely low property management fees?

I was hesitant in making a decision to offer extremely low fees to landlords because I know that we are worth more but I felt it was important for the rental industry to change.

There are a lot of new and reasonable property management solutions that are a lot cheaper than traditional real estate companies. I still don't know how or why Kiwi landlords consider them. Perhaps because they are "safe" and/or "familiar" - but that doesn't mean they're good.

In all honesty, I wanted to charge landlords a nice commission of their rent, too. "All other companies are doing it, why can't I?" I thought. I also wanted to charge extra fees for organising maintenance, tenancy tribunal work, and anything else that was "extra". And what a killing I would make!

However, I am not here to be like "other companies". I'm here because I am different. I'm different in every way and meaning of the word.

I'm the daughter of hardworking immigrants, I'm brown-skinned, I'm a young female, I have purple hair (at the moment), I live quite publicly online, I find tenants using the power of social media, I educate tenants using the power of social media, I care about the housing crisis, I do rental workshops in my spare time to teach people how to rent, I choose to live in South Auckland in Otara, and did I mention I'm born to Pacific Island parents?

I am different so why not be different?

Something people don't know about me is I have completed Postgraduate studies. I've not mentioned that to justify myself, but I've mentioned it because I want people to know that I have been trained all my life to "think critically". I've not "come out of nowhere" with my ideas.

Here are things I have criticised in property management:

1. High charges - During my career as a property manager, I always thought it was weird to charge landlords every week and then charge them for maintenance organisation, admin fees, tenancy tribunal fees etc. I feel like they should all be included. The costs really add up and I think it's a bit of an overcharge.

2. Commission structure - I love a commission fee structure, because it served me very well as a property manager. But I don't think landlords should settle to pay anyone a commission of their rental income. It's not necessary in this day and age and it doesn't seem fair.

3. Portfolio management cap - In order for a property manager to do their job well, I believe that property managers should be capped at a certain number of properties. I have heard of some property managers managing between 200-300 properties per person. I personally feel like that is far too much for one person to manage. However, I do think that property managers should get capped at around 100-150 properties or even less. It's a responsible amount and practically manageable by a single person.

I am sure there are other things I have thought were weird in this industry but we'll leave it at that for now.

Our fee/service structure is very simple:

1. We charge $850 for letting. That's the process where we find the tenants - we cover photos (if you don't have professional photos of the home already), listing and marketing on Trademe, our website and social media platforms, viewings/open homes, vet applications, present the applications to you for you to decide, draw up the agreement once a tenant is decided on and then sign the agreement, collect the move in costs, and lodge the bond with Tenancy Services.

2. We charge $35 per week for management from tenancy start date to tenancy end date. This includes any management handovers, rent collection into a trust account, twice monthly payouts on the 1st and 15th of the month (if the dates fall on a weekend or public holiday it will be the first working day after), statements, bill management, water bill management, tenancy management, organising maintenance if ever needed, tenancy tribunal if ever needed - basically whatever your property needs are we're there. 

3. We charge $100 per property inspection (with a maximum of 4 inspections per property per year, unless you require more). 

Please also know that we operate a trust account and get audited at least once a year voluntarily. We also deduct fees from incoming rent so no need to pay anything upfront.

There are no extra hidden costs on our end!

It's simple, it's fair, it's what this industry needs! It's what landlords need right now.