“My day starts at 8 am, and while I enjoy my strong cup of coffee, I check emails and text messages to ensure no urgent maintenance or any messages from tenants regarding their well-being that have come in overnight.
On average, there may be about 20 emails and messages that will need attention and response. I also check our maintenance app to see if any new requests have come in from our tenants before hitting the road to complete the inspections. Before leaving the office, I make sure any keys that need to be handed to our tradies are at reception, ready to be picked up. Additionally, any maintenance requests that have come in overnight have been actioned.
As I'm proactive, I'm ready for the day's inspections ahead and have my keys all prepared. I ensure that I have plenty of chocolates to leave for the tenants who keep their properties clean and tidy. I also carry inspection cards that say a big "thanks for looking after your property" or an inspection card where I can leave a few notes about what needs more attention if needed. The good thing is, we always go through more thank you cards than the latter, which is excellent. I also make sure I have enough maintenance stickers to place in each property or replace them if they are damaged. These stickers allow our tenants to quickly log maintenance directly into our maintenance system, complete with photos, so that I can deal with issues quickly and efficiently.
Many of my tenants like to be home during inspections, and I pride myself on working hard to ensure I have a respectful and excellent relationship with each of them. I love seeing my tenants and building a good rapport with them to ensure they feel comfortable with me in their home.
It isn't always easy to get around the properties in a timely manner, but it's great to catch up with some of the older folks and listen to their stories. I work closely with many government-run services that offer assistance with finances and food (for people in need). If I see a need, I always have a handy flyer on me so that tenants know how to access additional help. After COVID, I have seen a marked increase in this need.
As it's winter, I find I'm spending a lot of time educating tenants on ventilation and keeping their homes free of mould. I explain that there is no shortcut to cleaning and emphasize the importance of ventilating their properties as a common theme. I have no time for a break today as I have to oversee a few renovations and need to stop in and check how our tradies are getting on.
For a change this time round, there are no significant issues with any of the properties. The inspection app allows me to quickly update and note any maintenance that is ready for when I arrive back in the office to send the reports to my owners and send follow-up letters to my tenants.
Thankfully, all has run well, and I've stopped at the properties currently undergoing some renovation. Our tradies have confirmed that I can now bring people through to get these properties rented as soon as possible. It's time for lunch.
My next stop is the office to send off the reports, return all the calls I may have missed while on the road, and collect keys for my viewing later this afternoon.
One of the tasks I need to do is check what rents have come in overnight and if anyone hasn't paid on time. I'll follow these up with a call or an email, depending on how much they owe, and inform the owners if there are any issues with rent.
My reports are all done. I've sent emails to both my owners and tenants, logged any maintenance that I haven’t already logged, sendent maintenance requests to the appropriate people! Arrears are checked, and tenants and owners called.
I am looking forward to doing viewings today even though it's a cold day. Even in winter, there is a fair amount of interest, and I expect a good turnout. I've made my to-do list for the morning so that I don't forget anything, and it's time to get to those viewings.
The best part about doing viewings is I get to meet people and try to get the best fit for our properties. I find it quite satisfying when I find the right tenants for a property. Its not always possible but when it does happen, you just know that both the tenants and the owners will be happy. Once the viewings are complete, and I’ve updated our Renti app and sent off application requests to people who viewed. Normally I set myself a reminder to let the owners know how the viewings went but today I have a few minutes spare so I call the owners to let them know how it went, Fingers crossed there be some applications that will come in overnight!
Time to go home and spend time with my family. Today brought its challenges, and even though I've spent the bulk of the day looking at people’s toilets and how they live, I feel good about how much I've accomplished.
Tomorrow will be here soon enough!”
