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The latest writings from our team

The latest industry news, interviews, technologies, and resources.
8 min read

Who Is The Average Australian Property Investor - Do You Fit The Bill?

Do you know who the average Australian property investor really is? Contrary to popular belief, it’s not the super wealthy property speculator buying up rentals left right and centre. In fact it could be your next door neighbour, the one who’s drinking XXXX and firing up the barbie. Don’t believe us? Let’s take a look at some stats to see if we can put together a clearer profile of this person….
September 10, 2024
10 min read

12 Best Books For Real Estate Agents

There are no shortcuts to success and it comes to you in its own time. Your experiences on the way make you wiser which helps you in making better informed decisions. And as they say ‘learning is a lifetime process’. However, there is cheat codes available that might be able to give you a kick start – reading. Reading about the success of other people and how they got there can help you make appropriate changes to your game plan. Therefore, we decided to compile you a list of 12 best books that can work wonders for a Real Estate Agent, also you can try our property management software to ease your job.
September 10, 2024
8 min read

How Allowing Pets Can Help Property Managers Find Great Tenants

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.
September 10, 2024
8 min read

What happens when two great entrepreneurs think alike...

As we step forward in our journey to transform the property maintenance industry, we’re excited to announce that we have hit a significant investment milestone today, accelerating our growth plans and helping us capture the huge opportunity we have ahead of us.
September 10, 2024
8 min read

8 Ways To Grow Your Rent Roll That REALLY Work

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.
September 10, 2024
10 min read

7 Tips For Spring Property Maintenance

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:
September 10, 2024
8 min read

6 Reasons Property Managers Should Use Bricks+Agent?

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!
September 10, 2024
8 min read

6 Bathroom Cleaning Mistakes

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.
September 10, 2024
8 min read

5 Tips To Writing Attractive Property Listings That Actually Work

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.
September 10, 2024
5 min

Learn How To Get The Best Price For Your Property

You want to achieve your asking price when selling your house. But how do you get the best price for your property? Follow these six tips to find out
September 3, 2024
5 min

How To Deliver Excellent Experiences To Your Renters

For tenants, property managers who promise one thing and deliver nothing is unacceptable. As rental prices increase, so too do tenants' expectations on what exceptional customer service looks like. If you want to avoid these start using some of the tips above, and keep your tenants happy.
September 3, 2024
5 min

How To Future-Proof Your Property Management Business

Ideas and trends that are shaping your business are likely to be disrupted by new and advancing trends in technology and old strategies may not work as well anymore. If you want to stop your business from becoming another statistic, try using these hacks for future-proofing your business.
September 3, 2024
5 min

How To Choose The Perfect Maintenance Team?

While you will be busy as a middleman between the landlord and the tenant, you will hire trade professional to solve issues at the ground level. Here are some of the things that you need to consider while hiring your property maintenance team.
September 3, 2024
5 min

How To Choose The Best Property Management Software

The business of property management does not need to be bogged down by the bureaucratic paperwork. Property managers need to consider these factors while choosing a property management software.
September 3, 2024
5 min

How Smart Technology Can Grow Your Tradie Business

There’s 250,000 service providers with a registered trade business, but the rate of service providers adopting smart technology to run their business continues to lag.
September 3, 2024
5 min

How Often Should A Property Manager Inspect A Rental Property?

As a property manager, you should be conducting regular inspections of your properties. You place trust in tenants to maintain a property and follow lease rules, however you need to run routine inspections to ensure there’s nothing wrong with any property you find yourself managing
September 3, 2024
5 min

How Property Inspection Software Increases Client Retention

Even though we don’t like having someone look over our shoulder when we work, the truth is that this is how we learn to do a better job.
September 3, 2024
5 min

How To Value Your Property

When selling its important to know how much is my house worth. Find out how to value your property and get accurate information from experts and tools available.
September 3, 2024
5 Minutes

The Story Behind Harmony Day

September 11, 2024
10 minutes

Repairs to Rental Property: Landlord or Tenant’s Responsibility?

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.
September 11, 2024
8 minutes

Routine Inspection Red Flags or Warning Signs you May Have Missed!

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.
September 11, 2024
5 minutes

The Best Ways to Stay Connected With Your Tenants as a Property Manager

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.”
September 11, 2024
10 minutes

10 Key Aspects to Remember at Routine Inspections

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.
September 11, 2024
5 minutes

6 Tips To Help Property Managers Maintain a Work-life Balance

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.
September 11, 2024
8 minutes

Creating a Paperless Office to Improve your Property Management Skills

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.
September 11, 2024
8 minutes

4 Ways Attending a Conference Can Benefit Your Property Management Career

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.
September 11, 2024
10 minutes

7 Most Common Pitfalls in Property Management

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.
September 11, 2024
10 minutes

How Much Do Painters Cost?

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.
September 11, 2024
6 minutes

How Much Do Painters 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.
September 11, 2024
8 minutes

How Much Does An Electrician Charge?

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.
September 11, 2024
10 minutes

How Much Does Hiring an Electrician Cost?

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.
September 11, 2024
8 min read

What Is The Cost Of Garden Clean Up Services?

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.
September 10, 2024
8 min read

What Is The Cost Of Cleaning A Roof?

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.
September 10, 2024
8 min read

How To Clean Your Kitchen Benchtops Like a Pro

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.
September 10, 2024
8 min read

Cleaning Outdoor Pavers like a Pro

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:
September 10, 2024
8 min read

The Ever Changing Industry Of Property Management

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.
September 10, 2024
8 min read

What Is The Cost Of Garden Clean Up Services?

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.
September 10, 2024
8 min read

4 Characteristics Of A Great Property Manager

A property manager must be a skilled juggler of numerous tasks, keeping both landlords and tenants happy. In addition to keeping properties maintained and in good shape, they are responsible for preserving a rental property's value. Although this job only requires a high school diploma, many customers will opt to work with a specialist who has a degree in real estate, finance, or business. We've put together a list of professional qualities a property manager needs hold to make the most out of a successful career.
September 10, 2024
8 min read

Who Is The Average Australian Property Investor - Do You Fit The Bill?

Do you know who the average Australian property investor really is? Contrary to popular belief, it’s not the super wealthy property speculator buying up rentals left right and centre. In fact it could be your next door neighbour, the one who’s drinking XXXX and firing up the barbie. Don’t believe us? Let’s take a look at some stats to see if we can put together a clearer profile of this person….
September 10, 2024
8 min read

8 Ways To Grow Your Rent Roll That REALLY Work

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.
September 10, 2024
8 min read

4 Ways To Turn Your House Into A Smart Home

How do you feel about interacting with your home the way you would with a website? In the future your home will know who’s in what room, make your coffee and turn on your lights. It might even choose your clothes for you based on the temperature outside.
September 10, 2024
10 min read

What Are The Costs of Wallpapering?

Are you planning on remodelling or renovating your house? If you are, you might be considering wallpaper, which has re-entered the style space this year. Available in a wide range of colors, textures, and prints, replacing old wallpaper or installing it in order to improve the property’s overall appearance could add value, attract more buyers and boost your home’s appeal.
September 10, 2024
5 min read

The Art of Making Customer Connections

Does your job revolve around customer satisfaction? Working in customer-centric industries like real estate, you will come across a lot of people and making a connection with the customer is vital to the longevity of your business. Establishing healthy customer connections is a fool proof formula for generating repeat business. Customers will come to you not just because they love your products and services, but because you offered them a smooth and convenient experience. The experts at Bricks + Agent have compiled a list of tips and tricks for improving customer connections.
September 10, 2024
10 min read

Starting A Career In Property Management

If you're on the lookout for a new career path, becoming a property manager might just be the perfect job for you. Now more than ever, people of all ages are renting instead of buying, so the need for good and professional property managers is out there. A career in property management can bring a decent salary, job security, and steady employment, and if you like to work with people, then your success is almost guaranteed.
September 10, 2024
5 min read

Misconceptions about Cloud-based Property Management Software

Cloud-based property management software is considered one of the most popular and powerful tools for many real estate agencies. But while it is quite popular among many businesses, the software can still be quite overwhelming and mysterious to many, which fuels many myths about it.
September 10, 2024

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