Repairs and maintenance to rental propertys are one of the most common issues that cause legal disputes between landlords and tenants. As the mediator, property managers need to know and educate both tenants and landlords on whose responsibility it is to fix repairs and maintenance issues.

Routine inspections are a big part of a property manager’s day to day job. Along with the millions of other tasks they’re expected to complete, it can be tempting sometimes to rush inspections and assume everything is fine. No doubt this can often lead to some serious problems down the line, especially if tenants are hiding/performing questionable or illegal substances or behaviour. You can never be too careful when it comes to routine inspections. At Inspection Manager we compiled a list below of red flags or warning signs as a property manager to look out for when completing a routine inspection.

Staying connected with your tenants and building a trusting relationship is key to having better tenants, maintaining well-kept rental properties and being updated with any issues/problems on a rental property right away. Kelly, a Property Manager from LJ Hooker says “The best way to maintain well-kept rental properties with minimal issues is to form more trusting and better relationships with your tenants. Staying connected with check-in messages or calls to tenants is one step closer to a more transparent relationship.”

Routine inspections allow you to identify and address any maintenance or repair issues. This gives landlords peace of mind, knowing their valued rental properties are being maintained and carefully managed. The details recorded at routine inspections are also used as evidence in disputes between landlords and tenants. Therefore, in order to serve their purpose, routine inspections should to be done thoroughly and competently. At the same time, routine inspections don’t have to be a difficult process.

Property managers, do you feel like your work is always following you wherever you go? Even when you’re not physically taking your work home with you, it’s always on your mind 24/7. Work-life balance is a common struggle for property managers and a lack of boundaries often leads to burnout.

Copying, filing, searching, retrieving, refiling, sending, mailing and faxing… on average a property manager spends 20% of their time on paperwork. If you’re tired of doing things the hard way, you’re not alone. Many property management agencies have converted to/created a paperless office and have never looked back since. While the change may seem intimidating at first, here are some compelling reasons why your agency should create a paperless office today.

Being a Property Manager is hard work – you’re always juggling a dozen different tasks on a hectic schedule. Sometimes it’s so easy to get caught up in day-to-day commitments that you forget to focus on the bigger picture -where your career or business is heading. Attending a conference is the perfect way to receive some much-needed inspiration and motivation. There’s no better way to stay informed and network with experts in the property management industry.

What helps improve your property management skills? According to industry experts, it’s about avoiding a few common pitfalls. If these are overlooked, they may escalate into major problems, and can cause serious damage to your performance and wellbeing.

Property owners and managers shouldn't turn away good tenants just because they have one or two pets. According to a recent article by Chad Gardland, about 70 percent of tenants who live in rental apartments own pets, with majority of those owning a cat or dog. Unfortunately, many pet owners admitted that it can be quite difficult to find apartments that are pet friendly. About two-thirds of urban pet owners had difficulties finding a rental property where pets are allowed. By excluding pets from their rental properties, landlords and managers also exclude an important percentage of compatible tenants. This is a limiting approach because if done right, making rental properties pet friendly can attract great tenants. In fact, according to Psychology Today’s report, people who own pets are happier, have more stability, and are more likely to rent a property long-term. So, this could be beneficial for property managers, as this may attract high quality applicants. However, be prepared to deal with the risks that are associated with pets such as property damage, complaints, and maintenance.

Whether you’re a seasoned property manager with an impressive portfolio or a beginner, you want to grow your rent roll and increase your monthly rental income. Right? The good news! Fortunately, there are countless rent roll growth strategies scattered over the web. But the question is what actually works? Which strategies help deliver real results effectively in a hassle-free manner? This article shares several time-tested rent roll growth strategies that really work.

When Spring is approaching, property managers focus on seasonal property maintenance inspections. Inspections consist of monitoring and tracking assets that don’t usually require much attention in Winter like gutters, pools, gardens, and lawns. Managers will check assets that function all year round like filters, HVAC units, and generators, in order to avoid failures. To property owners and landlords, functionality is essential for preserving their home's integrity and keeping tenants happy. To track maintenance related tasks and costs, property owners and managers can implement a maintenance management system. Having a running log on all adjustments and issues handled is important, so many property managers will use a property maintenance software. To help you prepare for Summer, make sure you take these 7 tips into account during the next Spring maintenance check:

Technological advancements in property management software offer solutions to many problems most property management professionals struggle with every day. Performing tasks like tracking payments, seeking approvals and managing maintenance costs and trades manually takes up a lot of time. However, there’s a solution - having property maintenance software!

Did you know that your bathroom holds many germs? Cleaning it isn't a fun task and you might end up making many blunders during the whole activity. While it's important to keep a bathroom clean, many people assume this and end up getting infections and other related diseases. You can maintain your bathroom and enjoy your shower by avoiding the following mistakes.

Trying to find a renter to fill a property is hard enough. As a property manager there are many elements that need to come together in order to be able to find the right type of tenants to a property. To sell a product to it's prospective renter, it's essential to write an engaging property listing to ensure success in engaging the right people and satisfying your clients requirements. Writing a property listing seems pretty straight forward right? The Bricks+Agent guide to writing a property listing will help you market any property to the right audience.

Investing in properties is one of the best investments you can make in life. But like any other investment, it is essential to do your research before investing your hard earned money. It is a common misconception that property investment always offers you good returns. You need to consider many factors while investing in a real estate. Here are 5 tips to reduce stress while buying your first investment property.

While you're busy working on your craft, you still need to have consistent work and the ability to run your business successfully. Sure, you might have your own systems in place, but there's an easier and more effective solution to help you manage your teams, customers and jobs so you can start seeing results and growth in your business. Here's 4 reasons why the Bricks + Agent onboarding experience for service providers is the best in driving success.

Mandatory maintenance is something that defines the property management industry today. However, things like whether the property’s portfolio is well-maintained or not is something that is questionable. The reason why most real estate agencies are planning to, or already have streamlined their maintenance processes, is ultimately to imrprove their clients' overall satisfaction with their business. Although maintenance is quite beneficial and important for rental properties, it can keep your staff bogged down and start to affect your business, if managed ineffectively. How will you deal with property maintenance tasks? Thanks to the simplified property maintenance system developed by our team at Bricks+Agent, maintenance and repairs at rental properties are a breeze to complete. Here’s how it will help:

If you want to revamp your home and change its aesthetic appearance, you might consider painting it. However, the question of “how much do painters charge" and how they come up with their rates might be something you might want to know. We are going to look at how painters arrive at their prices by understanding the whole process and review the quote thoroughly. From this article, you are going to figure out the following: jobs that a painter does, factors to consider when hiring a painter, what painters might charge.

Hourly rates can be deceiving. When you ask different painters what they charge per hour, you will be shocked because you will get different hourly rates. But how much do painters charge? Here is what you should know about the actual prices of painters.

Whenever you have an emergency related to electricity, you might want to know where to get an electrician prices guide. Electricity is a sensitive issue that needs to be handled by only a licenced electrician. You need to budget for the labour and materials required to finish any electricity project whether it is a renovation or routine maintenance, you need to plan. The law makes it clear that if you want to be safe, you should hire a licenced electrician to handle any electrical work. From this article, you will find out what electricians do and how much it might cost to hire one.

Electricians are professional tradesmen whose main responsibilities revolve around installing, maintaining, and repairing electrical wiring and appliances. Nowadays, electrical systems can be found in almost all types of buildings be it residential, commercial, or industrial. Depending on their specialisation, electricians will work either indoors or outdoors. If you find yourself in need of a qualified electrician, the first question you should ask is ‘How much does an electrician cost?’. For an average job, an electrician will charge around $75 per hour. For simple jobs, you might be able to find a sparkie who will charge less. However, for more complicated and complex jobs, you might pay up to $80 per hour.

A tidy garden improves the beauty of your home and keeps you safe. As much as you can keep it clean using the DIY method, it might not be possible if you are busy. You might need to hire a garden cleaner. Garden cleanup cost can be around $45/hr. It depends with the requirements of the job. Sometimes cleaning a garden can be as low as $40/hr or as high as $50/hr. If you need services of a professional garden cleaner, it can cost you on average in Australia $164.84 to complete the whole project. However, this being an average estimation, rates can vary depending on the number of tasks involved.

A dirty roof can damage the appearance of your house. You might be tempted to hire a high tackle sprayer and go for the DIY method. This is a sensitive job, and it can destroy your roof in the process. You need to learn how professional cleaners do it and the roof cleaning cost too. This might make you wonder what the roof vacuum cost is. Here is all you need to know about roof cleaning.

Your kitchen benchtop is a breeding ground for dirt and bacteria so daily cleaning is a must! But don’t just reach for the Spray and Wipe, certain benchtops can benefit from a more customised cleaning method. Here’s how to how to clean kitchen benchtops to keep them hygienic, as well as free from stains and scratches.

Outdoor pavers, or paving stones, can add a decorative element to any outdoor area and are very common throughout Australia. Whether they are used as walkways in the garden, driveway, or patios, the paving stones are likely to become dull. The good news is that the specialists behind Bricks + Agent have created this guide that will show you how to clean outdoor paving stones correctly. Restoring the luster of your paving stones is quite simple. All you need is a stiff bristled broom, a cleaning solution, sealer, and replacement sand. Before you start the whole cleaning process, don’t forget to do the following things:

Technology continues to change our way of doing business. This is as true for managing properties as it is for all the other areas in today's real estate industry.

If you’re selling your house and are concerned buyers will be put off by a small master bedroom - don’t be. There’s no reason why a small bedroom can’t be as relaxing and luxurious as a much larger space. Plus, as housing affordability and environmental concerns become increasing issues for many potential homeowners, the Tiny House Movement is starting to take hold in Australia. Smaller houses are not only the best way to get a foot on the property ladder, they’re cheaper to run and can save homeowners money in the long run. What’s not to like about that? So take heart and try out some (or all) of our small master bedroom ideas - and remember, living with less doesn’t mean living without luxury!

A fresh start to 2020 means new goals and enhancements at Bricks + Agent. This month we are excited to announce improved insights for property managers, the introduction of ‘business rules’ to automate actions or filter jobs and a Smart Dashboard that let’s you control the information that actually requires your attention to proceed with jobs.

You probably know that property managers and property management companies exist, but do you know exactly what they do? The property managers are third parties who are hired to handle a wide range of daily operations related to real estate investments.

When listing your property for rent, think of the type of audience you want living in it first! While you will feel like considering a lot of people before choosing a selected audience and demographic, it will help to keep the types of people who are not suited to your property at arms length. Once you have your target audience, its time to consider what types of things they need and want from a rental property, and how you can provide it to them. But who are your ideal renters? The experts at Bricks+Agent have put together some steps to help you target your audience.

Deciding when is the best time to sell your house requires not only research of market conditions but also,other factors such as lifestyle implications and more

If you're a property manager then its likely you're managing more than one property for your clients. Both the tenant and the owner are extremely important and communication is a key factor for success. Here are tips that can help property managers communicate better with the tenant and the owner.

Finding a great landlord is not an easy task as you need to consider plenty of things while looking for a new landlord. The experts at Bricks+Agent have put together their top 5 tips for a landlord search that’ll help you discover honest and nice landlords that you can depend on.

Are you prepared for unexpected bills? Can you make your mortgage payments for the foreseeable future? Maybe it’s time to look at how to protect your finances.

Buying a new home can be an exciting idea. Before starting your search for homes on the market, you must consider and keep the following factors in mind.