Healthy Homes Standards – Please Don’t Shoot The Messenger

Property Management - Behind The Scenes

Earlier this month, I did a blog on healthy homes standards, and I mentioned there’s still resistance out there with some landlords being reluctant to comply.

Check out the article here ▶ Healthy Homes Standards – Landlords & All The Blasted Red Tape

With some landlords recently engaging us, I’ve had to push hard to get the information we needed to prepare a new tenancy agreement. 

And at times this, can be a little bit overwhelming, and I know some clients must think, Man, this guy’s a bit over the top.

But here’s the thing: Tenancy Services and the compliance team audited us twice in August 2020 and again in February 2023.

They check to make sure the tenancy agreements are correct and in line with the residential tenancies act, particularly regarding the healthy homes standards and boy, they are really pedantic. If you leave a box unticked

If you leave a box unticked, they will pull you up on it; for example, with insulation.

You need to declare the date the insulation has been either installed or when assessed, either or, or both if known. 

On this particular tenancy, I put down the insulation date assessed and left the installed insulation date blank instead of writing unknown.

Indeed, this is a very minor thing, but the fact that they mention it, my goodness, what would happen if you got a significant point wrong? You  would get fined, no doubt about it.

Another example is simply forgetting to click the box confirming insulation is in reasonable condition, Even though you’ve declared that the insulation had been assessed and met the R-value standards.  

Or on the healthy home statement, heating must confirm the kilowatts required and that the heat pump capacity does meet the living room capacity KW needed.

But still getting pulled up for not ticking the box (does the tolerance or top-up allowance for existing heater apply) When it’s apparent top-up heating is not required, but you still have to tick the box; how bizarre is that?

In the world, we live in today with legislation and the bureaucratic system; you do have to dot your I’s and cross your T’s.

For more information ➡ Tenancy Services & Healthy Homes Healthy Homes - Please Don't Shoot The Messenger

So landlords, please don’t shoot the messenger if your property manager asks for information; they’ve got your best interests at heart.

Please do your best to get that information they need to protect you.

If you want some help with your rental property,  Call Richard on 027 249 8295 today.’ 

Rental Market Supply And Demand

Rental Market Supply And Demand

Local Market

The rental market has definitely slowed down on Trademe and Realestate.co.nz; you’ll find there’s quite a number now of listings four weeks & over since they were first listed.


I’m finding tenants have a lot more choice out there in the market, and numbers have dropped at open home viewing from ten to fifteen people at the end of last year; now, on average, three to four groups at an open home.

In my opinion, rents have peaked but not necessarily dropped as yet. I think we will see a correction in the coming months, and the rents will start dropping. Rental Market Supply And Demand


I don’t think the market has entirely caught up as yet, with the rent adjustments because there seems to be more supply than demand now.


Tenants have a lot more choices; they’re not rushing in and applying for the first property that meets most of their needs. 


They’re taking their time and looking for a property that suits them best.

If oversupply continues, I believe rents will shift downwards in the coming months, making it more difficult when doing a rental appraisal until we see the shift happen when doing a rental market assessment; it’s better to have a more conservative approach.

This is an interesting article on new builds over supply over the last two years.

As demand slows, the better a rental property fits the masses, the wider the pool of prospective tenants there is and the more likely to rent your property faster.

Generally, there is an order from a higher pool of tenants to a lower pool of demand on types of rental properties.

The highest to lowest demand is as below:

  • Three to five-bedroom homes
  • Two bedrooms
  • One bedroom

What is popular in the current market?  

Of course, there will be exceptions to the rule depending on geographic location.

I.e. Wellington or Auckland inner city will be a different market to suburbia Wellington & Auckland and indeed for the Manawatu & the Tararua regions, its families that drive the largest market pool of tenants.

In a slower rental market, you want your rental to appeal to as many tenants as possible, as tenants have much more choice.

✔ The goal is to make your property stand out from other rentals.  Make your property stand out from other rentals.

If families drive the largest tenant pool, what are the key features that families want in a property? 

  • A reasonable size backyard for the kids to play in 
  • A garage, preferably a double
  • A decent kitchen and dining room area
  • Ideally, two bathrooms or at least a second separate toilet
  • Reasonably easy care section.
  • Close to schools & bus stops etc. 
  • Suburb and street location
  • A property fully fenced
  • Modern décor or recently refurbished
  • Presented clean and tidy.

The more key features you tick, your rental property will perform better in high and low-demand rental markets. 

Sure you will agree there are some general requirements for most tenants.

The point I want to make here is the more a rental property entices the multitudes, the higher the chance of attracting good tenants faster when a rental market has slowed.

If you want some help renting your property, Call Richard on 027 249 8295  📞

Healthy Homes Standards – Landlords & All The Blasted Red Tape

Healthy Homes Standards – Landlords & All The Blasted Red Tape

2023 has kicked off to an excellent start.

We are getting quite a few more inquiries from landlords that have typically done their property management, DIY, and their rental properties are coming up for rent.

🚩 I’m finding there’s resistance; they want an easy fix; she’ll be right trying to cut corners; they want it sorted.

🚩 But at the same time still resisting meeting healthy homes standards, which is tenancy law.

🚩 They don’t take it seriously with healthy home standards. They know they should comply, and renting is much more complicated nowadays.

💲Landlords that don’t meet their obligations under the healthy homes standards are in breach of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986. They may be liable for exemplary damages of up to $7,200.

Healthy Homes Standard Third Party Assessment

We recommend getting an independent third-party assessment completed.

You can fill out a compliance statement online through Tenancy Services.

Landlords need to understand the fact of going online and doing their reports that they are making a declaration.

Landlords need to be honest and understand and educate themselves on what’s required with healthy homes.

Like heating and what kilowatts are required and measuring room size; there’s a heating calculator you can use online.

You’ll need to go to the property to check all windows open and close properly and check for window gaps or cracks larger than 3mm, which may cause draughts and that all downpipes flow into the storm water.

Also, you will need to ensure the insulation meets the standards, including a moisture barrier for a house with an enclosed subfloor space.

Check Out Healthy Homes Tenancy Services

But really, why would you not spend a couple of hundred bucks, goodness me. For a professional independent third-party healthy home assessment? 

➡ It’s just really important; of course,  you’ve got health and safety to look at, smoke alarms, expiry dates, and all this stuff has to be declared on all new tenancies these days.

➡ What is the insurance excess, what type of insurance you covered for, and are the chattels the same excess as the house insurance?

🚩 So getting these wrong can be huge; I think we’re going to find a down the track, you know, some landlords are going to get caught big time with hefty fines for taking this too lightly or for lack of understanding.

Unfortunately, it is what it is, and yes, it can be a pain in the backside.

There are, in my opinion, grey areas with healthy home standards in some instances.

Such as, say, with a house built 30 or 40 years ago, downpipes didn’t always flow into storm water back then.

Water is not running under the house, and it’s still getting away okay onto concrete, but it still won’t comply, which is silly, and in some cases putting in new drainage can be big money.

Most rental properties comply with little cost, and you might have to put extra heating in or close some window gaps and things like that.

But in most instances, it’s not huge cost, and of course, there are benefits for tenants.

With sash windows, we’re finding with older homes; landlords prefer a wooden joiner to close windows properly so that the sash windows swing correctly and the latch closes nicely and tight. It’s done once and done right.

We’ve had tenants mention that it has made an enormous difference.

So if you’re heating that house, now they’ve got the windows closed and secured correctly making it much easier to heat, and, of course, more economical for the tenant.

If you want some help with your rental properties, Call Richard on 027 249 8295 today.’ 📞

Check out out property service to see how we can help you’

Attract Great Tenants – Property Investors – No More Mediocre

Attract Great Tenants - all ways property management palmerston north

There’s no doubt about it a tidy rental property attracts clean, tidy tenants.

A rundown rental property will attract less-than-desirable tenants in most cases.

↩ Is your property performing for you?

↩ Are you struggling to find good tenants?

They may be paying rent on time or most of the time but are they untidy, rubbish left outside around the section and complaints from neighbours?

Or is it difficult, at times, to get access to do repairs or routine Inspections?

These are all indicators that it may be time to upgrade your property.

Now a tidy rental property will attract clean & tidy tenants.

For example, say you have two similar properties.

Both are three-bedroom properties in the same street, same age; one has been renovated, you know, a fresh coat of paint, modern décor, clean and tidy inside, tidy grounds, just presented well.

And the other property is well, shall we say, ordinary, not well presented at all.

Which property would you rent?

You’ll be attracting two completely different types of tenants for both of these properties. And that can be the difference between a top-performing rental property.

It’s not as expensive as you think to upgrade a rental property; look at the basics only when first setting a budget.

There are two critical questions to ask.

➡ What’s the market rent now, and what will the market rent increase to once complete?

➡ What is the equity gain? What’s the current capital value, and what will the capital value increase be once complete?

The rent increase should be able to cover the interest cost for the renovation whether you are borrowing the money or not.

The key here is (investing for a return) that’s why it’s called property investing.

If you want some help with your rental properties, Call Richard on 027 249 8295 today.‘ 📞

Check out out property service to see how we can help you’

 

Routine Rental Inspections –Are Whites Gloves Really Necessary?

Routine rental Inspection - are white gloves necessary?

Here’s a funny story of a tenant who did not fully understand why property managers go and do routine inspections on rental properties for landlords, which also benefits the tenant.

In this case, I had an indignant tenant; when I did an inspection, the tenant reckoned. I was like in the military, you know, with white gloves going around looking at every crook & cranny.

All we’re doing is ensuring the property is reasonably clean and tidy, and there’s no damage, water leaks or anything that could cause possible damage or unnecessary repairs.

Safeguard Landlords

What we want to do is safeguard the landlord’s insurance cover. If there were an insurance claim, it would be a successful, and there would be no issues.

We always check under the kitchen sink and bathroom basins for water leaks. We check the hot water cupboard and all cylinder pipes etc.

And, of course, we also check smoke alarms are working. We’re not smoke alarm experts, but we’re going to check from a layman’s perspective that everything’s fine. And, of course, the alarm does actually beep.

That’s, what we are there for, and so, this particular tenant commented on my Facebook page something like,  gosh, this guy is over the top; why don’t you get out the white gloves? 

And I mean, yeah, we hold to high standards, but not unreasonable; we expect tenants to present the property reasonably clean and tidy. And really, what does reasonably clean & tidy mean?

So we have a checklist that we provide tenants on what we believe is clean and tidy.

We ask tenants to sign that they agree at the start of the tenancy, particularly for what’s expected when vacating the property.

Of course, we adhere to that same standard when presenting a property for rent. 

There is an expectation, and we send out an initial inspection letter explaining what we are looking for at a routine inspection.

But on the funny side, no, we’re not putting our hands with white gloves on the top of doorway frames to see what dust is there. 😀

If you would like some help with your rental property Call Richard on 027 249 8295 today’📞

Check out out property service to see how we can help you’

Property Manager – Compare Apples With Apples

Property Manager – Compare Apples With Apples

Going Deeper When Choosing A Property Manager 

A skilled, reliable property manager will keep your asset in the same condition or better today, tomorrow, next year and the year after. 

Your rental property should never go backwards with a property manager with the right expertise and work ethic.

They will select the right tenant suited to your property, ensuring the tenant will look after it and pay rent on time every week.

If you are a landlord, it pays to look a little deeper when choosing a property manager that way, you can make the best choice that is not based solely on price alone BECAUSE CHEAPER IS NOT ALWAYS BETTER.

In other words, what value will the property manager and the company provide for you, and what money will they make for you? As opposed to just the fee itself.

For Instance

What if, say, property manager A can put an extra $1,000.00 or more into your bank account per annum?

With property manager B, the cheaper agent, you may save $10 to $12 per week on fees based on a weekly rent of $500.00, which equates to $624.00 a year.

With the below example, I’m sure you will agree there is more to sound property management than meets the eye. 

Tables Can Turn

Currently, the medium days to rent a house in Takaro, Palmerston North, are 17 days (the market has slowed).

According to realestate.co.nz, the average weekly rent is $530.00 per week.

The rental is unoccupied, property manager B rents the property in fourteen days, and the vacancy cost is $1060.00.

Property manager A is more experienced and better trained and rents the property in five days using innovative marketing.

Professional photos and a virtual tour: the vacancy cost is $378.55, saving you $681.45.

You just recovered the cheaper agent’s fee & a little more; this is one of many ways a top property manager can make you more money.

Thinking you will get the best value from the cheapest fees can be a false economy when it’s an overall picture of who will put the most money in your pocket at the end of the day.

Questions To Ask When Considering Employing A Property Manager

It’s a good idea to ask a question like the ones below to get a good understanding of their experience & expertise.

➡ How many residential properties does your company manage? Questions to ask before employing a property manager
➡ How many properties will the prospective property manager manage?  
➡ What percentage of your residential portfolio is in rent arrears over six days?
➡ When was the last time you filed a claim to Tenancy Tribunal? And if so, for what reason?
➡What is the vacancy percentage of your residential rent roll?
➡ How many days, on average, does it take to rent a property when advertising?  
➡ Apart from your property management commission, what other fees do you charge?

Asking a question like this will give you great insight and confidence in who to choose once you start comparing apples with apples.

All Ways Property specialises in optimising landlords’ returns; Call Richard on 027 249 8295 Today’

Check out our property management servic

Property Management Tararua – New Highway May Provide Opportunities For Landlords

property management tararua - all ways property management palmerston north

The Tararua District

The Tararua district lies east of Palmerston North and includes small rural towns, Pahiatua, Woodville and Dannevirke, further to the north and Eketahuna to the South.

Woodville &  Pahiatua are a comfortable thirty to forty-minute drive to Palmerston North, with people commuting to Palmerston North for work or study and vice versa.     

Both Woodville & Pahiatua service the rural community with good schools, cafes, and service stations and in Woodville, a Four Square and a New World supermarket in Pahiatua.

New Manawatu Tararua Highway 

The new Manawatu Tararua Highway is exciting for these towns; the new route is currently under construction between Ashhurst and Woodville.  

Manawatu Tararua Highway the new route between Ashhurst and Woodville. The highway will be 11.5km with two lanes each way and a drive time of about 13 minutes for general motorists from Woodville to Stoney Creek Road, Kelvin Grove; the total travel time to Palmerston North from Woodville is about twenty minutes. 

Opportunities

.The new highway is due for completion by the end of 2024.

This is excellent news for property investors, with new subdivisions opening up in Woodville & Pahiatua and opportunities to purchase either new builds or existing stock and sections.

The demand for rentals in the Tararua Region is still good; however, when advertising, median days to rent a property have increased, with an average three-bedroom home renting between $400 to $450 per week.

According to QV’s latest house price index, Palmerston North City’s median house price is $670,302, a 10.5% drop.

In the last 12 months for the whole Tararua Region, which dropped 4.1% with a median average house price of $439,152.

Check out Qv House Price Index

I wonder what will happen once the new highway opens once the housing market lifts again, particularly in Woodville and Pahiatua.

If you are looking to buy an investment property right now & considering the Tararua Region feel free to make contact for a rental appraisal or our full investor support service; both are free services.   

 

Building a Team of Professionals​ for your Rental Property

Rental Properties Palmerston North -all ways property management palmerston north

Building a team of professionals with proven expertise is essential if you own rental properties, as in any business. Including property investment, establishing a rental property team is paramount. 

Crafting the right team is no simple task, nor should it ever be taken lightly.

A correctly assembled team can take your property investment business to a higher level than you ever imagined.

A rental property investing team is a collection of professionals to work closely with before, during, and after purchasing rental property investments. Your property investment team helps with sourcing deals, financing, the due diligence process, and helping you manage your property investments.

Savvy property investors know that they can’t do everything by themselves as any experienced investor knows; property investing is about leverage. They want to leverage their money, their time and the expertise of others.

Everyone in the rental property team plays a part in their success, from accountant/solicitor to their handyman.

Rental Property Team

Real Estate Agent

A good agent is worth their weight in gold. They can be a fantastic source for leads and make you aware of deals you didn’t even know existed.

Not every successful real estate agent is a fit to work with investors. You need to do your homework and find out if they are a good fit for you.

Ask them if they own any investment properties themselves and if they work with other investors. Please treat this as a job interview; it is crucial they know your goals and buying rules and are willing to help you achieve them.

An excellent real estate agent is an essential piece in building a successful rental property team.

You may even work with several different agents, each working a niche, such as an area or property type; each will bring particular skills to the table for a win-win relationship.

Tradesman / Handyman

Adding contractors and handypersons to your team to take care of renovations and repairs is critical for any property investor.

Having a good working relationship with reliable tradespeople who understand your vision can save thousands in renovation and repair costs.

I’ve found that working with top tradesman makes life easier; every job they work on runs smoother than the previous one because they understand how you operate and vice versa. 

Property Manager

Good property management plays an integral part in the success of your property investing; you must get it right. Property Investing is a business; it’s vital to view tenants as customers, and you need to look after them, or you will have no business.

Treating tenants well means addressing any issues or problems they have immediately.

In an attempt to reduce their costs, many private landlords manage their properties themselves; then, some will take a month or more to fix a problem; this is counterproductive and not the way to keep tenants happy.

Unhappy tenants will more than likely eventually leave and find somewhere else to live.

A good property manager handles all the day-to-day running for you, from finding new tenants, rent collection, routine inspection, and scheduling repairs and maintenance.

It is well worth the money you pay for a reliable, trustworthy property manager; this allows you more time to focus on building your property investment portfolio, your career or relax and spend time with family. 

 Lawyer / Solicitor

A good conveyancing solicitor is a valuable rental property team member, keeping you safe with appropriate clauses when buying & selling and help & advice with your due diligence on prospective property investments.

Setting up tax and assets protection structures in a correct manner is extremely important. Get advice from a company/trust business structure expert.   

Accountant

Since you plan to profit from your rental properties, it is crucial to know your tax obligations.

Property investors must file annual returns declaring all rental income; you can claim all tax-deductible expenses against this income.

The proper accounting professional will do much more than the above for your business and help you structure your investment portfolio in the right way to maximize profits and minimize taxes.

Mortgage Broker

The right mortgage broker on your rental property team will make sure that you get your money.

Most real estate agents will tell you that the finance process has delayed or stop offers that go unconditional more than any other reason.

An experienced mortgage broker can help you arrange pre-approval of loans quickly, allowing you to put in offers and secure deals faster.

Who else do you need to add to your team?

Building a rental property team takes time. It requires you to put yourself out there and find the best talent available. With a strong team in place, your property investing will run smoother and be much more efficient.

Do you need to sack a team member?

It may be you, on specific tasks you need to sack?

Did any of this resonate with you? Let’s meet for a coffee and a chat; there’s no obligation.

Call 027 249 8295 today’

To succeed as a team is to hold all of the members accountable for their expertise.  Mitchell Caplan.   Teamwork

Considering buying a rental property? check out this blog 

Property Investors : Consider The Risks Before Buying

Property Investors Palmerston North – Consider Risks Before Buying

Like any other financial investment for property investors, it’s about reducing your risk; the best time to consider the risks is before buying.

Far too often, property investors purchase a property and then find faults that affect its rent-ability or a costly building defect.

Some are easily fixed at a reasonable cost; however, others cause the property investment not to perform with the return on investment first foreseen.

The below scenarios show two real examples regarding fencing issues, one dealt with at the time of purchase.

And the other several years later with entirely different long term financial outcomes.

Fencing Issues

Case Scenario – Busy Intersection

A real-estate agent gave a tip about a property for sale as a mortgagee-auction in a good location in Terrace End, Palmerston North.

We viewed the property; the outside needed painting at some point but not urgently. Inside was in an overall good condition, apart from requiring a fresh coat of paint in the bathroom.

The property was four bedrooms and, if purchased at the right price, looked like a bargain.

On the negative side, the property was a corner section, on a busy intersection with a low brick fence; this would affect rent-ability due to vehicle noise and lack of privacy, for sure.

The numbers stacked up, but attracting a reasonable pool of suitable tenants was unlikely.

Solution  

Because the cost of removing the brick fence was not feasible, the only solution was to build a new wooden wall on top of the existing brick fence to increase privacy and reduce road noise.

The property investor put the fence costs into the equation and a done deal. The new wooden paling erected on the existing red brick looked effective and was a real improvement.

The new tenant’s commented that they didn’t notice any traffic noise inside the house; problem solved.

Case Scenario –Fish Bowl

This rental property was close to a busy shopping centre on a corner section with a netting fence; there was no privacy, and for the tenants, it was like living in a fishbowl.

The property was hard to rent and attracted the wrong type of tenant’s occupancy were low, and the landlords had to deal with tenancy issues constantly, including rent arrears.

The property investors had owned the property for several years; unfortunately, the privacy issue was not addressed right at the start when purchased.

Problem Solved

After discussion with the owners, the old netting fence got replaced with wooden for privacy.

As a result, fantastic tenants moved into the property, looking after it and paying rent on time.

If the privacy issue had been dealt with earlier, it would have saved alot of heartache, stress, worry and given a much better financial return for the property investors.

Are you losing money on your investment property?

If any of this resonated with you and you would like some help, let’s meet for a coffee and a chat to explore your options.

Call’ 027 249 8295 or email  

🟢 All Ways Property has been using the same cost-effective profit strategies for many years now.

🟢 Not only on our rentals but also for our private property management clients, achieving excellent outcomes for them.

Check out the rental profit review. Mention this blog, and we will do it for free

Buying An Investment Property – Palmerston North.

Buying-An-Investment-Property

What are your buying rules?

Buying An Investment PropertyWhen buying an investment property having a plan and adhering strictly to those rules is mandatory for a successful outcome.   

Property investors may have buying guidelines that include a net yield for cash flow, buying below market value and or buying in a suburb for capital growth.  

What About Due Diligence

As a Property Manager, I often see due diligence is taken far too lightly. The property investor ends up with repair & maintenance costs that should be detected before going unconditional. 

If your due diligence is thorough, this gives you options to either pull out of the deal or negotiate harder to allow for the upfront costs you will need to set things right.

I.e. the roof may be leaking and need a re-roofing, or some of the electrical wiring may be dangerous and need replacing.

If in doubt, building and electrical wiring reports are essential components, particularly in older houses, as you do not want your property investment to turn into a liability.

The local council is a must to check the property envelope for consents etc. Depending on the age of the dwelling, the council may have only limited information; you may want to consider a LIM report.

It’s important to check the property envelope at the local council for consents etc.

Depending on the age of the dwelling, the council may have only limited information; you may want to consider attaining a LIM report.

Keep Asking Questions

Go to any property seminar or read a book on Property Investment, and you are bound to hear or read, “be an expert in the area where you want to buy.”

Whether you are investing out of town or locally, they encourage you to leverage the expertise of professionals such as Buyer’s Agents, Registered Valuers, Real-Estate Agents, Building Inspectors, Property Managers and Mentors.

It’s not just about knowing house prices, buying well, and being aware of market rent.

It is also about asking questions like the ones below before buying an investment property; this is even more important when rental supply exceeds demand. In other words, when the rental market slows down dramatically.

Due Diligence Checklist

  • How many weeks per year have you allowed for vacancies?
  • Higher vacancies can happen for several reasons other than supply & demand, e.g. multiple dwellings on the same property, poor location, and poor condition. 
  • Multiple dwellings are great for cash flow; they generally need expert management to keep vacancies low.   
  • Where are the schools? What is the school zoning? Has the school got a good reputation? 
  • What about nearby shops and other services?
  • Is there public transport, i.e. Bus stop handy?
  • Is the property close to a busy road, intersection or train line or corner section? (This may put some tenants off.) 
  • Does the property meet all the healthy home standard requirements?
  • What form of heating is there? Is it sufficient? 
  • Is the property insulated?
  • Is there an extractor fan in bathrooms and a range-hood over the oven to help control moisture levels?
  • Are there mould and condensation issues?
  • Is the property cold, drafty or feel damp? Are there thermal drapes?
  • Do you need to install a ventilation system, heat pump or log fire?
  • Are door locks secure? Is there security lighting?
  • Do windows open & shut?
  • How many bedrooms?
  • What about the house layout? Is the lounge awkward for placing furniture? 
  • What is the size of the section & is it fully fenced? Are the lawns huge? Is it feasible to pay someone to mow them and include grounds in rent?
  • Is there garaging, a carport, and or what off-street parking is available? Is there sufficient storage inside & out? 
  • Does the property need a spruce up?  
  • Has it been renovated, refurbished? (particularly kitchen & bathrooms)

The list goes on.

If you find this a little bamboozling and you need help buying an investment property.

Or reviewing an existing property do feel free to get in touch on 027 246 8295 or email.