Are you renting it furnished or unfurnished? What sort of wear and tear is acceptable to you wrt the fittings you are leaving? (eg the wear and tear from a couple is different to that of a family, a single, pets...)
Make sure the agents actually do their property inspections, and chase them up to ensure they are looking at everything. Or better still find out if you can inspect the property yourself with the agent. Our agents gave our house back to us with damaged walls, bleached carpets, and new TV connection points badly installed in the walls without them noticing anything
Speaking as an excellent tenant , a good property manager is a must as it will make both yours and your tenants life easier.
In the last place I rented, I had 4 different property mangers in one year, through the same agency. Getting anything done was a nightmare. We had maintenance that needed to be done when we first moved in that still wasn't done a year later. No inspections until 3 months before we moved out. We could have trashed the place and no one would have known. The last property manager was the best. The air conditioner broke and sh had it fixed within 2 days, she actually did an inspection. In fact I found out she had every property on the books inspected because none of them had been done. She was absolutely horrified about how it was run.
Also, the tenants are entitled to leave a place as they found it. So if the garden is overgrown, house dirty (not that I am saying yours is), they can leave it like that.
When we rented our place I had 3 different propety managers come and visit. They give you all the advice you need on insurance etc, they told me their fees and management practices, I asked about what maintainence we needed to do to bring it to renting standards (small things we were happy to live with but tenants can ask to have fixed) and I got a good feel for them. As an ex-tenant myself (rented for years) I wanted someone who would be nice to the tenants and not make their lives hell, but I also needed someone I could trust to do the job I needed them to do. The 3rd person I saw was brilliant! She took over straight away and organised gardening and anything I wanted- so great because I was busy with a toddler and newborn trying to move overseas.
Speaking as a tenant here - if your property has a garden, I can highly recommend charging a little extra for the rent and paying a gardener. At least that way you know it's going to get done and not be left up to a clueless black thumb like me
Also, definitely make sure you do your homework on property managers and their practices as they vary widely. Some will recommend having a maintenance allowance that they can authorise straight away for minor repairs, which is also a good idea - they'll then clear any of the bigger stuff with you first before getting it done. Be aware though, stuff like hot water systems are considered urgent repairs and have to be completed within certain timeframes in most states.
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, a good property manager is a must as it will make both yours and your tenants life easier.
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