Frequently Asked Questions
Whether you’re about to buy your first investment property or you already own several, chances are you still have a handful of questions regarding the management of your property. We’ve answered some of the more common questions we get asked below.
If you would like to find out more about having Prime Property NZ take care of the management of your investment property, please contact us via our contact us
How long does it take to rent out my property?
We do our best to match the asking rent to the market, but it can be worth considering reviewing asking rent, if the property is not receiving the interest it should. It can be better to drop the rent by $10 to get a tenant now rather than endure a long vacancy. For instance, if your rent is $260 per week, it will take 6 months at $10 extra each week to recover 1 weeks’ extra vacancy. If your rent is $500 per week, it will take a year to recover just 1weeks’ extra vacancy for the sake of $10.
There are a number of things that can lift the appeal of a property. We are happy to discuss cost effective ways of making your property more rentable and/or able to fetch a higher rental return.
What is the likely rental amount for my property?
How do you assess tenants for my property?
What about bonds?
What is a periodic tenancy?
What is a fixed term tenancy?
Periodic or Fixed Term Tenancies?
How often can we increase the Rent?
Most people don’t realise rent can be reviewed during fixed-term tenancies. At Prime Property NZ we ensure we can review rents, so rent is reviewed at inspection times. Rent reviews do not always result in an increase in the rent. ‘Review’ is just that, we take another look to see how the property compares with others in the market. If you would like to know if you are getting market rent for your properties, contact us for your free rental appraisal.
What happens if the tenant misses a rent payment?
What happens if tenants owe money when they leave?
If that is not sufficient for any reason, the second option is to apply to Tenancy Tribunal. If the tenant is ordered to pay, we will make arrangements with them to do so. Failing this, we can help you seek an Order of Examination or other orders through the Courts, and a Warrant to Arrest if they still do not comply. This is fairly serious, and is very rarely needed. We can also arrange a debt collection agency to recover the debt.
We are so confident of our tenant selection and rent monitoring we will attend the Tenancy Tribunal for FREE to sort out tenancy issues, so you get the money you are owed.
One of the advantages of Landlord Insurance, this covers you for loss of rent due to a tenant vacating owing money.
How do water charges work?
The tenant is responsible for the ‘Volumetric charges’ – ‘Water’ charges and ‘Wastewater’ charges.
The 3rd cost centre is the ‘Fixed charges’, this is a charge based on an annual cost divided by the number of days the account covers, the owner is responsible for paying this portion of the account.
Prime Property NZ has all Watercare accounts forwarded directly to themselves. We then pay the full account to Watercare on behalf of the owner to ensure the account is paid on time and no penalty charges are incurred for late payment.
Prime Property NZ sends a copy of the account to the tenant along with an invoice to reimburse us and the owner for their portion. All tenant charges and payments are tracked to ensure tenants pay their water rates.
How do I get paid?
How often do you conduct property inspections?
- The tenant knows we are visiting regularly
- We ensure the house is being looked after
- We take notice of any ongoing or gradual maintenance issues
We also inspect at the start and end of each tenancy.
How do you deal with maintenance issues?
Can I arrange my own maintenance?
Can you pay my Council Rates, Water Rates, Body Corp Fees and Insurance Premiums?
Do you provide me with an End of Year Summary Statement for my Income Tax Return?
Do I need to let my insurance company know the property is rented?
There are several other extensions to policies some insurance companies offer, such as ‘loss of rent’ should your property need extensive work (e.g. after fire or flood) and is uninhabitable during that time. We recommend ‘glass and sanitary fixtures’ extension to cover accidental breakage of windows, toilets, basins and so on. Not all companies offer all of these policies so shop around. There are policies to cover damage by tenants and many more. We recommend you talk to an insurance advisor to work out what you require.
Let your property manager know what policies you have so they handle claims appropriately, particularly if you are not contactable for a period of time, such as travelling abroad. It is very important that properties are inspected regularly so any insurance claims are covered. Check your fine print on the insurance policy, most insurance companies require regular routine inspections. Discuss this with your property manager.
Do I need Landlord Protection Insurance?
We recommend Real Landlord Insurance which covers you in the event of:
- loss or damage to the property or contents caused by malicious damage or theft by the tenant and/ or premises left un-tenantable
- loss of rent following a tenant vacating without the required notice
- loss of rent following eviction for non-payment of rent
- loss of rent due to prevention of access, or failure of public utilities
Be wary of in-house policies offered by the Property Management Company!
Is the rent guaranteed?
However, sometimes a change of circumstances causes problems in rent payments. We keep a close eye on rent coming in and follow up as soon as a rental payment is late with a phone call/text message/email, and a 14-day-letter to remedy if that doesn’t do the trick. Where required, we apply to the Tenancy Tribunal.
Research shows that property managers such as Prime Property NZ significantly decrease investment risk and improve returns.
However rent is not guaranteed.
Do tenants need insurance?
We make sure all our tenants know about insurance that will cover them in these instances when we sign their tenancy agreements. However, under current New Zealand tenancy law it is not compulsory for tenants to have insurance, but it is considered very wise to have it.
Does the location of the property management office affect the ability to manage my property?
Is Prime Property NZ the cheapest property management business in the area?
I want to move back into my property – what do I need to do?
Please note fixed term tenancies cannot be terminated by notice, so let us know if you are considering returning to your house so we can structure our tenancy agreements appropriately.
Do you give advice?
What if I want to sell my property, can Prime Property NZ help?
How do I change my property over to Prime Property NZ if it is being managed by another property management company?
Don’t hesitate, call today.
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