Remember when you had to do a routine inspection, and you would have to pull out your Street Directory to work out how to get to the property? Then you would use your SD card to download your photos. Then you printed the inspection and attached it to your landlords end of month statement. AND WE NEVER COMPLAINED!
Kenslee Oxley from Inspection Express, joins us to share his game-changing insights into the future of property inspections. From the challenges of traditional inspection methods to the ever-evolving world of software, Kenslee opens our eyes to the need for industry innovation.
Imagine a world where routine inspection reports don't just serve their purpose, but actually enhance the client experience. A world where reports aren't just full of dry, factual data, but brim with visual elements and interactive discussions. This episode explores exactly that - the transformation of inspection reports with technology. We delve into the current state of these reports, the significance for insurance purposes, and the role of Inspection Express in this process. It's not just about getting the clients to open the reports, it's about making them a valuable part of the property management experience.
Lastly, we immerse ourselves in the features and benefits of Inspection Express. This isn't just a product, it's a revolution in the Western Australian property management process. Say goodbye to stacks of paper and hello to paperless property condition reports and virtual tours. Hear about our personal experiences, our admiration for the streamlining ability of Inspection Express, and how it's enhancing the client experience. But, we also caution against the potential distortion of reality by AI and highlight the need for property managers to adapt to new technology.
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Visit their website
Keep your property managers doing what they love and outsource the things they don’t to a company that thrives on positive feedback and guarantees a premium personalised service
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This weeks sponsor is On Tap Plumbing & Gas - 24/7 Plumbing servicing all of Perth from Mandurah to Two Rocks.
www.ontapplumbinggas.com.au
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Remember when you had to do a routine inspection, and you would have to pull out your Street Directory to work out how to get to the property? Then you would use your SD card to download your photos. Then you printed the inspection and attached it to your landlords end of month statement. AND WE NEVER COMPLAINED!
Kenslee Oxley from Inspection Express, joins us to share his game-changing insights into the future of property inspections. From the challenges of traditional inspection methods to the ever-evolving world of software, Kenslee opens our eyes to the need for industry innovation.
Imagine a world where routine inspection reports don't just serve their purpose, but actually enhance the client experience. A world where reports aren't just full of dry, factual data, but brim with visual elements and interactive discussions. This episode explores exactly that - the transformation of inspection reports with technology. We delve into the current state of these reports, the significance for insurance purposes, and the role of Inspection Express in this process. It's not just about getting the clients to open the reports, it's about making them a valuable part of the property management experience.
Lastly, we immerse ourselves in the features and benefits of Inspection Express. This isn't just a product, it's a revolution in the Western Australian property management process. Say goodbye to stacks of paper and hello to paperless property condition reports and virtual tours. Hear about our personal experiences, our admiration for the streamlining ability of Inspection Express, and how it's enhancing the client experience. But, we also caution against the potential distortion of reality by AI and highlight the need for property managers to adapt to new technology.
The PIP Advantage for Landlord Insurance
Up to $70,000 contents cover included in our landlords policies
14 months cover for just 12 months premium in your first year
Further discounts when you have three or more properties insured through PIP
24/7 Australia-wide claims service
Online Real Estate Agent Portal for easy access and management
Visit their website
Keep your property managers doing what they love and outsource the things they don’t to a company that thrives on positive feedback and guarantees a premium personalised service
www.propertyassistwa.com.au
This weeks sponsor is On Tap Plumbing & Gas - 24/7 Plumbing servicing all of Perth from Mandurah to Two Rocks.
www.ontapplumbinggas.com.au
6206 6888
Welcome to the PM Collective, a dynamic hub designed to empower business owners, property managers and BDMs to excel in their careers Through access to intimate conversations, cutting edge of video training, mental health support and unparalleled motivation. Our community is the ultimate destination for individuals seeking to elevate their professional lives to new heights. So sit back, relax and enjoy our next conversation on our weekly podcast, the Art of Property Management. Welcome to the PM Collective podcast. Today we have a lovely Kensley Oxley joining us from Inspection Express Kensley welcome.
Speaker 2:Thank you, ash, good to be here.
Speaker 1:Well, Kensley is a previous property manager, previous guest on the PM Collective podcast. I can't remember what topic we had last time, but I've got a funny feeling. It was to do with getting back to work after maternity leave.
Speaker 2:Was that the?
Speaker 1:topic.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and then just keeping in touch whilst you're on that leave as well. So I think we had an additional guest member which was my daughter. I think she was like 12 weeks old at the time.
Speaker 1:And then, how old is your daughter now?
Speaker 2:Two and a half.
Speaker 1:Two and a half Gosh. Time flies when you're having fun, doesn't it yeah? I don't think you have time on the weekend. I follow you on Instagram for those that don't follow Kensley, because you have a wonderful Instagram account as well, and I think what did we have the falling asleep in the lounge room, or something like that, before your daughter?
Speaker 2:Yes, that's right. And she's two and a half, you reckon she's still asleep through the night. It's not happening, but that's all right.
Speaker 1:I mean it's annoying for other mothers to tell you but it does get better and it won't be forever, but you just have to get through those difficult times. So today I'm really excited to chat to you about inspections in the future of inspections, because I like to expand people's minds when it comes to what is possible and always staying ahead of the game as well, having the guts sometimes to step out and do things completely different to what you're used to, which can be uncomfortable as well. But let's just go straight back to the start, when you and I were in property management in the early days and we had the good old carbon copy note card. I mean, that's what I used to have. Is that what you used to have as well?
Speaker 2:Yes, I readily remember using such old dinosaur software, but it was like having a little checklist paper and having a digital camera with you and then hoping your SD card would save the photos and you could upload them. So yeah, I remember doing that.
Speaker 1:And I remember. One of my fondest memories of the carbon copy was when I sent my business partner out to do a retail inspection one day for me and it came back and I'm not bullshitting you here it came back with a great line through the centre of the carbon copy and then he had hand written, everything looked great and I was like Bill, I can't give this to a client. I was like, yes, but you can't. You can't do that. That's not how it works. The client stopped having to pay for it and hence he's never done a retail inspection again in his life, which is actually probably his tactic as well, I think. When it came to it but don't you reckon like I don't even know what was before the carbon copy Like I don't know if you know, was that like the original?
Speaker 2:I feel like that would have been the original and maybe back in those times people just like got busy and they're like, oh, we'll just see it when they move out. Let's hope for the best. I don't know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I think so as well, because I can't think of what it would have been. And this is going back about 25 years ago. And it's really interesting, isn't it? Because back then I always, you know, harp on about this. No one really complained about being busy back then. But if you think about it your routine inspections you physically had to get writer's cramp writing this stupid carbon copy. Like you said, you had to take photos, make sure that it, you know, download them. When you got back to the office you had to print them and then you had to put them with your end of month statement so that you didn't have to pay for postage again and posting them out to the client. And then to break it down even more, like your street directory to even get places you had to put up a street to write three and match CS6 up so you could see where they get to. So we can write about the time taken to do routine. But surely we were taking a lot longer back then to do them.
Speaker 2:They really, really brought in the local agent. If you didn't need to pull out the referdex on the street directory, you were a local agent. Absolutely absolutely.
Speaker 1:So now we have stepped away from that, thank goodness end, and I think this is probably the era. Then you came into where you had like programs like GDs. So GD did that. Those old software schools I actually can't remember, did they have an inspection product in them or not?
Speaker 2:No, it was so basic and it had the feature, obviously, to remind you or schedule any upcoming inspections, but it was still. You had to print out the notice, post it to the tenant for their inspection and then, once you actually got to the inspection, you still had to go out with maybe a little checklist or piece of paper for your shorthand notes, take your photos, come back into the office, type the word document, upload the photos into the word document and create it. That way it was just like if you're managing what back then 120 properties you're doing what 60 routine inspections a month. Like times that by times that it was just such big waste of time.
Speaker 1:Then we move on to your standard type. Let's just talk about your standard software built into the system that a lot of us use these days no third party, but just the system. I think that they are satisfactory. I think that they are okay there are five out of ten. I would say, in fairness to the main, the property, these property, trees, consoles and all of that. In fairness, they're not inspection programs and they're not designed to be amazing inspection programs. They're designed to be a trust software and that's what they are and that, like I said, they do a satisfactory but a lot of us.
Speaker 1:What happens is we just get into a bit of a rut with how we are doing things and not looking at the future and what could be and the client experience as well, which you're going to ask us about today. So I would be honest to say the client experience is probably not fantastic. Just with your normal built-in trust software that you currently use gets a job done, but it's not going to be the way of the future. So right now, your client gets the report, they get the photos and you generally have to manually enter your maintenance in separate. No videos, no, nothing, just that. And clients just expect that, but they're certainly not wowed by it. Like it's just a checklist thing, so do you have anything to add on to that? That's pretty fair comment to say.
Speaker 2:I think so too. The reporting is obviously because it's a mandatory under whatever the legislation is, when we think about a routine inspection report, and the purpose of that routine inspection report is obviously reporting back to the client about the condition of their property, but also to you know. It's so vital to have it syncing and saving and being able to have photos and videos, because those reports have been asked more and more from insurers as well. So it's about making sure that we're making it as easy as possible for whoever's going out there to inspect it to collate that data and save it back so that you know it's usable.
Speaker 1:Yeah, do you want to? It's a very subjective question, I think, but in terms of what makes a good versus a not so good inspection report for people that are using these softwares or using the trust software, I find that I've actually done an example where we've compared a lot and it's really interesting how people do their reports very differently and we don't necessarily talk about it, but I've seen some people where they will do comments in every room. Some people do loads of photos but then just do one general commentary. Some people do photos Like have you noticed that as well when you've looked at it?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So I think that was really drawing back to my experience running a very big outsourcing company here in Western Australia. So you know, when you're running an outsourcing company, you ask the client, you know what type of report would you like to see, and the feedback is so varied because it really depends on how that property manager which was trained or what they think is important. What I'm seeing in Western Australia is a trend away from the paragraphs. That's, you know property managers think that landlords are wanting full paragraphs and just a lot more photos, because that's become a lot easier for property managers now to include a lot more photos, even being able to do some short videos in inspection experts, which I'll cover. But the moving away from the paragraphs because I think when I was talking to some other property manager, like within the industry, she's like oh, don't you think the landlord be upset that they didn't get a full novel I said try your next routine inspection, just point out the things that you know need to be pointed out, as in maintenance or if there's something the wrong that tenant is doing, and see what the landlord's feedback is.
Speaker 2:Because what we're also finding is landlords are short of time, so when they're clicking on the report. They just want to see what are the issues. What do I need to action and lovely look through so that they can see what's going on. I don't think that they're really that and the battle is getting them to open those reports in the first place. How many times is your PM said, oh, I said the landlord the report with their maintenance, but he hasn't responded. So you know, it's so varied and again it's back to what they used to. And then when I was saying to her, like don't put so much text in there, because the landlord isn't paying for you for a learning report, they're paying for you as a property manager, your experience, what you're looking for, our defects, anything that could be an issue down the line that's what they're paying for is your industry and property experience.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they are, and I think that's really great to share that. They want your experience in your opinion that everything's fine. And our job is to make it as easy for the client as possible and look fast. And I agree I think if I was to do a survey on my clients, most of my clients would probably be more likely Just just tell me what's wrong and if anything needs to be done and if it's all fine, I don't really need to be bothered that much. And so sometimes things that can be done a little bit different would be doing that report for processes and your compliance in your office, but then sometimes just a quick email or an SMS to the client or a video message.
Speaker 1:If you want to be fancy, just saying, hey, no, done your routine inspection, everything looks looks bad, just one plumbing item, and I'll click that through on the maintenance for you. That's actually what I want. But then you have to have the rest in the back up because, like you said, if she is the fan, give me a way back to her as well. But in the short term clients just want that piece of mind that it's all fine most of the time anyway. So let's go into the. We talked about the old stuff. We've talked about sort of the current, what people are doing, but now let's talk about a bit of the future and I'd love to hear, and for you to share, some features of Inspection Express. That makes the client experience better and helps us move as an industry into providing some really great management styles as well. So tell us all about that, yeah.
Speaker 2:So my appointment at Inspection Express was probably no surprise to other agents that I've spoken to.
Speaker 2:I've been using the product for over five years now and the big feature cell for me was the paperless property condition reports initially and I felt like Inspection Express really led the charge there.
Speaker 2:So you know, I asked around, spoke to other couple of industries, like it is so surprising how much Inspection Express has grown organically here in WA, just word of mouth and hearing how good it is. So the paperless property condition report, when we're talking about clients experience it's not only just the landlord but the tenant as well making it an easier step for them to send you back the property condition report. Because you know, you remember what it's like. You had the two pieces of property condition reports paper. Then you'd print out the photos, attach them and then they were like this thick and you're trying to post them and cost of postage has gone up and it's a nightmare. So I found that my follow-up from my property condition reports it was a set and forget almost and my return rate for those reports that were digital, paperless, the return rate got up to like 95% within our office of getting that PCR back within the deadline fully completed and then you just moved on, waited for the next six week or eight week inspection.
Speaker 1:And just on that as well. Like this is using new products. It's about creating efficiencies within your team, and that is just one game changer. Efficiency hacking 95% back. I mean the time by not having to write yourself a little diary note of you know who's come back and who has. That. That's really, really awesome.
Speaker 2:And then it also saves you at the exit inspection. There's no gray area, there's nothing that the tenant can say oh, I didn't receive my property condition report or, you know, I didn't have time to complete it. It's like it was there. You had easy access to it. We couldn't have made it any easier for you. So unfortunately, this is the report and you know most of the time that a tenant was returning those reports within a three-day period and you know sometimes the tenant would quickly flick it off and other people would rewrite but you know that's up to the individual. But at least all of that data was there for the property manager. Also, the tenant as well sent them a copy of that once it was completed. So that took off one extra checklist of not having to send them a copy back admin-wise. So that feature was, yes, the big game changer that I initially loved about Inspection Express. Now the routine inspection, as you know, if you've got a portfolio, you know I'm going to say 150 seems to be the norm at the moment. Your time's that by doing four inspections per year. So there's a lot of time out on-road driving to those properties completing those reports. So there was lots of little features in Inspection Express that made my job when I was a property manager easier. So with this click of like one button, once you've been out, done the report, taken as many photos as you want, you can also do 30-second videos. So say, for example, there was a leaking tap, you didn't have to wait to time it when it dripped. You could do with full 30-second video. There was also a tenant action item in the report. So separate to what you want to send to the landlord, maybe just a little cleaning item for the tenant to remind them next time. You can sub-ed that, add their photo, draw on the photo if you really want to highlight it Again. 30-second video you can do even with our bigger integration partner that have. You know, maintenance we're finding that's a big tech stack at the moment is maintenance software. So we've worked really hard with TAPI but also to property me.
Speaker 2:So if there was a job that needed to be done again, that leaking tap for example you could upload that. It would upload it as a draft job. It wouldn't send it right away but it would upload as a draft and then you can assign it from there. So in that report, whilst you're all out on site, you could do those three things jump back in your car, finalize it, and it would send three things at the one time the landlord report, the tenant action report and post your job maintenance. That was the biggest game changer. Instead of coming back, copying and pasting off the PDF, yada, yada, yada, it also then automatically saves the PDF report back into your software. So amazing, right, exactly.
Speaker 2:And then after the paperless property condition reports, if we're looking at it all together, so say, your tenant returned your paperless property condition report, which is fantastic you're coming to do the exit inspection. At the exit inspection, in the palm of your hand you can see what your in going comments were if the tenant made any comments and what their photos were, but also to all your in going photos. So that was all there in your hand. Do you remember what it was like? You used to have to take the word doc out and you'd have a black pen and a red pen. You'd be writing everything down and then taking the photos and then linking them, and oh, it was a nightmare, whereas this put it all in one spot and from that you could write your comments that you wanted to say about the final bond. Finalize it, it would sink back again into your software and then sharing that report is. There's always an option for a like a website link. So you didn't have to worry about the size of the PDF report because it was created. The link that you could send back to clients and it really summarized it at the final showed clearly for the tenant what the in going comments were, what their comments were and what they need to get their bond back. Game changer for me, but roll on to the beginning of this year, heading back into PM.
Speaker 2:The next big game changer and I was quick to jump on is virtual tours Bowl. Virtual tours can be used for in going routines or finals, much like the same. So you would take where. Hang on a sec, I'll show you how big the camera is. Yeah, it's literally this small. It's a little inso360 camera has a camera on the front and the back. You put it on a tripod and you place it in the center of the room and from your device, through the app, you would simply click and within three seconds it would capture a full 360 photo of the room.
Speaker 2:So what I was using this for was the PCRs and the finals, not so much routines, maybe a little intimidating. We might get there with tenants, but for the PCRs and routines they were a final. Should I say they were great because it gave you a cover. All right, the best inspectors right there going to take a million photos. We always used to talk about how many photos did you take for that? Four by two, and if you got over 1200 photos you were doing amazing. Right, but even the best and the most amount of photos, you can still miss something. Yeah, this is a good cover all.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so we've done the final. So the Ingoings with the 360 camera before, and even my rookies, like my junior, we're able to do a 3x1 on a large block within an hour of using Using a 360. So I shared that as an example and I'm gonna go through with you in a minute some times as well. But how quick it gets done and like now, like with, I think, 360 cameras, is sort of a bit of it starting to become a bit of a given, a norm for the ingoings and outgoings. But routine inspections, I really like the idea of doing it for the routines and so yeah, so you guys can do inspection express, does the routine inspections using a 360, if you need to yes, correct exactly so I like that because I think we quite often, sometimes we talk about you know, sometimes you know you think property managers go all.
Speaker 1:If you're you know you're doing it in less than three hours you must be cutting corners and you know you say they sing and it's like, no, like.
Speaker 1:The idea of creating shortcuts and efficiencies in business is never to Reduce the quality of work you're doing, and I think that this is a perfect example of getting things done quicker but actually actually being more efficient and specific with your like, with the end result. For example, there has been times we've all done it you do a routine inspection. You maybe take the photo from a different angle every now and then so that you don't count behind you know, I mean, of course it's not a regular, but this is when you've had to do that. So, yeah, we buffer it a bit, but that's a little bit, absolutely. And so 360 camera is great, especially when you've got juniors in the office. Can you imagine having juniors and people with you know, not not a huge amount of experience Going out and doing the routines and as a business owner, you could be worried about them doing that and you know that happens. But if you give them a 360 camera and send them out doing a routine inspection, there is nothing they can't. They can't hide anything like. How good's that?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so good, and I've also seen it implemented in Officers that have like a pod system, right. So they'll have someone who's dedicated to do the report, someone to do the maintenance and then they'll have it like a senior PM Overseeing everything. So with the 360 inspections, especially for the routine, it's allowing that property manager to fully look through the report and also make their own subjective view.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely. And then it's also a gainer 360 camera. If you have maintenance on a property, it allows a property manager to really be able to go back into a previous report and see what they're talking about or even show that to an owner. So I think it's something. I mean, I don't even know what the stats are of people using 360 cameras for, like, in going outgoing routine inspections, but I'm kind of guess and say it's pretty low stats at the moment.
Speaker 2:It is low stats at the moment. I think the biggest hurdle at the moment is that you have a different mindset, right, and there is some limitations, obviously, when we're talking about Exits and they normally, you know, are the most contentious part of the report and it will end up in court, right? And so the courts are quite slow to catch up on some of this technology because you can really only present them Photo A and photo B. What's the difference? Right? So you can always screenshot any of the photos out of the 360 report. I think the difference with the 360 report is Eliminating those arguments preventing you to getting to that court step. That that's my mindset on it.
Speaker 1:That's what I was exactly going to say. That surely reduces, because you have got such a thorough like not Notiable Option to show them, yeah, show you your tenant that's arguing about it, yeah, so I absolutely agree with that. I think that's a good point to mention. Do you think there's any other like mindset blocks that us property managers or business owners have with regards to Like implementing the, the 360 camera and that technology into our offices? Do you hear of anyone like talking about?
Speaker 2:any other. Definitely. I think that you know that the section where you're talking about the buffer some senior property managers will obviously talk about. You know, perhaps we just want to be a little bit more lenient on that tenant for XYZ reason. However, you have to remember, at the end of the day, your job is to report back on what it's like back to the client, and I get the reason why you're doing it, but you're not being or acting in your client's best interest, which is your contractual obligation.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's so different to. I hear sometimes of people not wanting to Open up access for the owner portal for clients. It's like why wouldn't you know? Like that, I don't want to see everything. It's like you do want them to see everything because you've been tenants, like it with rent, you want to follow it up with you. Like you want to have that transparency so there's no hidden surprise. So there's definitely people like that as well.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but also to, I think, thinking the outside of the box, for just saying you know that client experience not just only for the PCR routines and finals, but my best example is that I use that 360 virtual tour. I had a client that lived overseas. I hadn't been back to the property in 20 years. They got a five and a half thousand dollar gardening quote and I'm not gonna profess I know anything about gardening a very far from it. Um, so I did them a quick 360 of the external areas and sent it on to them. And, mind you, these clients are in their 70s and they were able to navigate the tour that I had created for them, give real life feedback and we easily move forward with the quote because I could clearly see what was going on.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely so. We've talked about the client experience, obviously with tenants receiving the ongoing report. That's obviously that 95% return rates, so it's really impressive. I think the own experience with routine inspections is also going to be something that I think we need to watch that space that's going to be more and more popular as time goes on. In terms of the, we can just talk about the property managers for a minute. Can we share some like some times of you know how things are taking and maybe you could share it from your experience as well Because I think it's really good for people to hear this from different people of how long you feel a routine inspection should take. You know, using these products or using inspection express, same with like an in going and an out going. And also let's talk about the time on site that let's also remember that it's the actual back in the office time that it sounds like we're saving a lot of by using inspection express. So let's share some times for the property conditional report to start off with.
Speaker 2:So the property conditional report, the time saving is converting those 360s out of those 1200 photos. So a four by two, normally on site, would probably. What take you an hour to do all of those 1200s? If you went through your 360 and then maybe just took the photos of the things you want to highlight and then inside drawers and cupboards, that was taking me on site 40 minutes.
Speaker 1:And we're talking about photos only, not the report photos only.
Speaker 2:We can't promise you that we're going to be making the actual text faster. We've definitely got some features that can save you by, for example, creating template. We've got voice to text options. We've got paraphrases that you can save, predictive texts. But, as you know, no property is the same, so we can't save you so much in that timeframe.
Speaker 2:But the back end timeframe of again set and forget is what I'm going to call it of the paperless property condition report. You schedule it, you send it. It's got inbuilt reminders four days, three days, two days. You also get a full audit trial back from the client, so that time really does save you, and you'll get an email to say, yep, it's been returned or no, they missed their deadline, and you can check it off your checklist. That way Routines, time wise, I would say that you probably. You know, if you've got a new build, you probably need to be there no more than 10 minutes really, just looking for cracks.
Speaker 2:Take your 360 image and move through the property. You've got options to create pathways to make it into a marketing tour, or you can just simply take 360 scans of each room and the client can work through that way. The biggest time saving is the finals for me as a property manager. It was so much time going there taking the photos, looking through the report, but then I still had to go back to the office and preference the ingoing photos, you know, and trawling through and hoping that I took the right angle, or you know, of that room. So a four by two final inspection let's say that the tenant got a cleaner in and it was amazing and it was just a bit of damage that you're looking at. That should again take you no more than 30 minutes and that combining the report ingoing, creating an overall summary, taking your highlighted images and saving and sending it back to your software.
Speaker 1:And then hopefully reduce time in arguing as well afterwards, because you've got the before and after a lot more clearer.
Speaker 2:Yeah exactly and the report reading back is so user friendly. There's hyperlinks through to the photos. It's that time saving gone in the days that you used to have to like upload your ingoing and uploading your photo exit and then sharing them through links. It really brings it all in in one. My example also was I had a two by one in Nedlands that was fully furnished. It took me 25 minutes to do that final. Yes, there was some cleaning items, but because it collated it into a shareable web link, I texted it to the tenant, had the phone call with them. Hey, there's just really some couple of minor cleaning items. Do you mind if I get our cleaners to do them? Probably no more than you know, an hour, $150. They said, yeah, absolutely. I then sent the text off to the cleaner of the summarized report and I drove back to the office. There was nothing really else for me to do. That wise to finalise the demo. That's awesome.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So can I ask an honest question with and hopefully you can and I ask because I think there's people out there as well that will think this so if you're an office that currently is using your built-in software and your trust account you bring on Inspection Express, can I do a final without having that original property condition report? Because I guess when we take on new products, sometimes just understanding how that's going to work is quite important because of course over time you're going to have to wait till you've built up so that the PCR can match with the final. So can you still do the final without having the PCR in originally from Inspection?
Speaker 2:Express? Absolutely. Yeah, oh, you can. So we do have some data migration partnerships with other software. So if you're looking to then onboard with Inspection Express, we do do some data migration from previous software. There's nothing preventing you from using Inspection Express to do the exit. So whilst I've done the exact same thing that you're explaining to Ash. So I had the old Word Doc report and I wanted to do the final. So instead of me going out with my red and blue pen, I just simply made the comments in the app plus linking the photos. It gave me a summary report, which was exit. It's missing the in-going, but you would just provide that in-going property condition report plus your summarized final one, which most property managers do as well, which is a massive time spend is creating that summary report right, coming back and then writing a summary that they need to action. So Inspection Express will do that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay, so that's good. So you can still keep the ground running with it, and then, over time, your PCRs and all that will be in there as well and you'll see the benefit. And I think it's really important that we think about that future, because a lot of us are very much now, now. Now, how's it going to affect me right now? But if you're not making these changes now, but with the understanding that it's there to improve your future and having that sustainable rent role like, you're going to get yourself in trouble and you're going to wish you'd done it a couple of years earlier. So that's working with technology it moves so quickly that if you don't stay on top of it, we're going to fall behind even more further. So if you're looking at doing something like this, now's the time to do it and your future self is going to thank you for it. That would be my tip Absolutely.
Speaker 2:And then, not to mention about those 360 inspections if you're going to be using them at PCI's and finals, we obviously have a great upsell that we can convert those 360 inspections into virtual marketing. Probably not needed in the current market because everything is leasing so quickly. But say that the tenancy comes up in six months, 12 months time you've got that virtual tour there sitting waiting to incorporate into your marketing. And I know a lot of officers try to talk about having a point of difference, of having a leasing team. But could your point of difference not be? We have a virtual tour we've created for you properly that always has 24 hour marketing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's right upsell. Yeah, absolutely. Let's finish off by talking about, like the future. Do you think we'll get to a time where tenants can or should conduct their own retent inspections? This is such an asked question. I mean, I'll tell you my like. I always think from a business point of view and I think, if I'm going to be completely honest, proper in WA if you're listening, you know up to four times per year. I know it's a bit different in other states. I think it's a bit overkill.
Speaker 1:I don't think we need to be inspecting properties every 12 weeks. I mean, let people live in the property. So, I'm not a big fan of that.
Speaker 2:Like I do it, but I don't think it's necessary, but it's a revenue.
Speaker 1:You know you're making money, but I would also question the length of time that some property managers take to do it, whether it really is making money or not, because there's, it's probably not, or there's a very small margin.
Speaker 1:So I think that, like six monthly inspections is fine. Could a tenant do it themselves? I mean, if they had a 360 camera and it was date stamped, sure I'd be happy with it, but we're not going to provide a 360 camera, are we for each? So that for me is I don't know, I don't want to say never. Say never because, like, if it comes in, people do get their tenants to do it. It sort of wouldn't surprise me, and I probably could argue both ends of the story as well. Yeah, yeah, what do you reckon?
Speaker 2:Look, I think that obviously you would be putting a lot of onus on the tenant to be forthcoming. There could obviously be a lot of tech add-ons to bring out that honesty. For example, in Inspection Express we do have an inbuilt thing that's called compulsory reporting. So, as in say, for example, your office overall wants to make sure that in every routine inspection you've brought, they open the oven to make sure it's clean or check under the sink, so you could probably build that in for the tenant and they must take a like, write their comment and take a photo. I think that is probably where you'd want to put the parameters, put some boundaries, so that you have compulsory things they talk about.
Speaker 2:I think it is a good idea, as we're, like, obviously leaning towards, you know, a much more investor-slash-renta friendly market. We need to do some of those things to make sure that we're getting good long-term tenancies in place. But that would be my two cents If we were going to look at that. I think that there need to be some parameters put in place and I think it could work well, yeah.
Speaker 1:I mean, the only thing is all that just came to mind is I do a lot of the pre-purchased inspections at the moment and I can. I sometimes do it based off a sales agent for example, sales agent's video that they provide and I sometimes it's okay to use for a bit of guidance. Sometimes it's totally crap, but nothing beats going into a property yourself and smelling, feeling it. You know what I mean. And even things like the other day I went to one and it looked like a renovated bathroom. It looked lovely, and then I've actually done the pre-purchased inspection the whole ensuite had been painted white, which a lot of people do these days.
Speaker 1:But I was like saying to the owner listen, I know that it looks brand new from the photos. It's not a problem that it's all been painted white and it's fresh. I just want you to know that you're not buying a renovated bathroom. That it looks so it was more to know that. You know what they put on and it's good. But I did disclose it obviously is the like the sticky contact tiles from Kmart. So the photos, honestly, or even its video trendy, nice tiling, nice splash back. But then it's like when I went I could feel and I could see that it was just stuck on. So you know, yeah, nothing beats an in-person inspection.
Speaker 2:We all know the marketing overlays where you make the grass a bit greener and all that stuff.
Speaker 1:Totally, that's right. Yeah, and I mean, just with AI in general, you just can't trust anything. I think there was even on TikTok the other day there was this like new bold glamour filter and it was, and this girl had put be safe people, because this one looks really natural and it didn't feel. But yeah, next we'll be getting glamour, bold glamour, like you know for your videos, like no belief put over for your man and create what one like that do we like? Make this house look like plutter, it like a what do you call it? Like the filters, but a filter for your house so it looks clean and removes all your clutter.
Speaker 2:Yeah, as you move through. Yeah, that'd be great. Excuse the tenants, 100 cats over there.
Speaker 1:That's right. Something where, like, the filter removes anything that's moving in the video. Yeah, that's some. That's sort of that's where technology is going Like. That stuff will probably be out in one day.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so adding the 360, I'm going to circle back to that quickly. I wanted to mention an amazing feature especially. You're quite unique in your office. You have very low staff turnover, so I can imagine the PM's doing the PCRs, you know, also doing the final, but with the 360, we now have a side by side within the app. So if you had a PCR with a 360 in the ingoing, you can take your 360. It prompts you where to position the camera, where it was initially in the PCR and in the app you can see it side by side moving around as you look around the room. Amazing, so really like having to pull on that person's memory because it's all there.
Speaker 1:Well, and that's right, yeah, and if we talked about the juniors and making sure that they're not covering up things, but, yeah, our staff changeovers, you are completely right. If you've got that again, it just makes it makes it easier for the next property manager going into that role, and this is the business owners. I think that business owners and I'm not sure whether you deal a lot directly with the business owners versus the property management team, but there's a lot of benefits for a business owner to implement inspection express now for the benefit of your business, because at the end of the day, your property managers will come and go and you need to make sure, because these days, what do they do?
Speaker 1:They just got, blame it on the previous property manager and then have to deal with it, but having something really eliminates these problems with the 360 is protecting the business owner, and that's why hopefully they're listening to this, that you're making that decision, because it's a good decision for your office and having that sustainable red roll as well. And so, in terms of getting you out to do a demo for those that haven't actually seen inspection express and want to find out a little bit more, I think it's definitely worth speaking to Kensley. Are you servicing WA and any other states?
Speaker 2:No, just WA.
Speaker 1:Just WA. Okay, great, so those that are listening to WA, and of course there's other state reps for everyone else as well. But if you're in WA, are you doing demos in person on Zoom? What's the best way for you to do them these days?
Speaker 2:Absolutely Reach out to me. I will do them in person if I can because that helps me just to gauge what the office is feeling and then answer any questions there on site. But there's definitely Zoom and I am excited part of this role to get regional as well and to get to see some of those regional offices. Yeah, it would be great.
Speaker 1:And get away from the kids for a night here in a night.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's right. Sorry, I'll get a full night's sleep in Esperance this week. Thank you.
Speaker 1:Next minute. Kensley is going from Brute to Bustleton, to Margaret River every good week. And last question as well is there an ideal size rent role to implement inspection express? I mean, does it matter whether you've got 2,100, 110 properties, Any difference?
Speaker 2:No difference at all. I think that it's a great software to have as you're building that rent role. But yes, there's even what we touched base about those larger offices. It's a good cover all for those business owners that they're having that technology. And then, yes, adding promotion that, look, if you're onboarding a PM, we've got inspection express, saving you time. I think that as well is a good point of difference.
Speaker 1:I've just remembered something. Do you know? What else we should quickly mention is that if you outsource your routine inspections, like so, in WA we've got property assist who do a lot of outsourcing for property managers. Now, inspection express does work with the outsources as well. So if you do like, say, for example, property assist to do your routine inspections, they can just simply say to Shannon and the team listen, I'd like you to use my inspection express to do them all. That's how it works, isn't it?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I think as well with inspection express. Being an Australian based company, we have onshore web developers and I've experienced as well from my outsourcing experience. They take what your feedback is on board. They do really work with you. There's the customer service is amazing. The feedback I've heard from other outsourcing companies are like property assist is that their preferred app is inspection express due to the usability, but also, too, they can use inspection express to do your in going property condition reports and your finals Like, as long as they have a login and access, they could be doing that for you. Yeah, amazing. So that's your time saving is yeah. If you're talking about that tedious onboarding, building those reports, look at property assist to help you do those big PCRs.
Speaker 1:Yeah beautiful, fantastic. Well, I'll make sure that you attend in here so that those that do want to connect with Kensley, I'm highly recommend you connect with her on Instagram as well, because because you're great to watch, but also to get in for a demo. Even if you think you are not sure, just have a demo anyway, because the demo is going to at least open up your mind to what's available so that when you are ready to switch over or when you come across any like problems, then you go. You know what, what will fix this problem right now. Inspection express would have you know this job, this problem, easier. At least you have got it in the back of your mind so that you can make a quick decision.
Speaker 1:I'm a big believer that you should always take opportunities for demos and I, like I said, I say to people straight up listen, don't think I'm ready for you right now, but I could be in the next three or six months and let me find out about your products, or at least I know. And so that would be my recommendation for people to just make sure you all over what's available to you for when the time comes. So, kensley, it's lovely chatting to you. Again, thank you for sharing your experience and the chat about inspections. I know I love speaking about it as much as you do and getting people to yeah, just to see what other people are doing, experiencing you know all of that. It's just so important to share that. So I hope everyone that's listened today has got something out of it and hit Kensley up for that demo. Kensley, I will see you soon at one of our coffee and conversations. Thank you for jumping on. See you on Friday actually Friday, yes, friday. I'm going to see you there have a great day.
Speaker 2:All right, see ya you.