PM Collective - The ART of property management
The ART of property management with Ashleigh Goodchild is a leading platform supporting collaboration not competition through an online community and events throughout the year with one purpose: to create happier property managers. She creates connections for property managers looking to create momentum in their careers and personal life. Join Ashleigh and her guests as they discuss challenges, struggles, mental health, mindset and give advice to property managers and anyone in the industry. To get the support in your property management career, join our PM Collective Facebook and Instagram community.
PM Collective - The ART of property management
Controlling Quality Clients in Property Management
What if you could take full control of the quality of new management in your property business? This episode is a goldmine of strategies on how to accomplish that. I had a penetrating conversation with Megan Taylor, Head of Property Partnerships from Longview, as we dissected the importance of focusing on where and on whom you allocate your time, energy, and expertise. We unpacked key strategies to keep in mind while making these critical decisions, underscoring the truth that it's not just about the property, it's also about the person.
But what is a good property management business without robust referral partnerships and client relationships? Megan and I took a deep dive into the different ways to nurture relationships with referral partners, ensuring a steady inflow of quality new businesses. Highlighting the relevance of face-to-face networking and digital content creation, we also examined the telltale signs of dodgy partners and how best to navigate such situations. To cap it off, I shared my unique approach to initiating new clients into the business, hinting at the critical role of personal interaction.
Lastly, we switched gears to explore personalized care and quality in business. Delving into the differences between in-person appraisals and online client management, Megan shared her perspectives on the benefits of in-person appraisals and building relationships with referral partners. We also touched on the need for setting clear boundaries for property management and the crucial role of sharing insights in business growth. So, buckle up and get ready to absorb insights that will skyrocket your property management business to new heights. You won't want to miss this!
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PM COLLECTIVE - GUIDE AND SHAPE AN ENJOYABLE FUTURE
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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. So today I have the lovely Megan Taylor, who is the head of property partnerships from Longview, joining me today. Megan, thank you so much for joining me.
Speaker 2:Oh, thank you so much, ash, for having me on. It's always fun having a chat with you, so I'm looking forward.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it's a shame we're on other sides of the country, because you're someone that I would probably catch up with a lot more often if I live near you. We met last year at a conference and you're a good human being and, yeah, i do. There's quite a few people actually over Easter. I wish I lived to be closer to be able to see you all the time. So for the moment it's just all on social media. Now let's start off. Can you just explain to me? head of property partnerships? I haven't heard that title before. What does that mean?
Speaker 2:Well, i guess for us, and for me particularly, the word business development sounded incredibly transactional and for me I really don't like the idea or the reputation around business development managers that they list and flick on a client. Business development it's about developing a relationship and relationship management. Relationship management, as another title, also didn't sit quite well with me either, because it felt like it was almost therapy based, whereas property partnerships to me it's in regards to property. I'm partnering with the client with their property. But also the way that we have our relationship set up here at Longview is that I also work in partnership with their property manager.
Speaker 2:So I don't just list and flick on my clients to a property manager. We work as a team. So that's why we have property partnerships as the name of what we do. But I do give you that it is a new title. It kind of made it up. It's like people who name their children absentee and they just decide to make it up. But it was because from the outset I just didn't want it to sound like a transactional relationship, because that's definitely what we do not have transactional relationships here.
Speaker 1:Yeah, i don't know who I was talking to the other day, but it was the first time that someone said something similar to me as well, that they didn't like the word BDM, because it was like, you know, you're here for one reason bring in the list and that's it. And I don't think I'd ever given it any thought before. But the word partnership is a nice word to use. It reminds me of you know, i always have one random comment in each podcast, so this is the random comment for this one When I had my kids high school interview and they go to a Catholic high school and my youngest just had it the other day And all I can say is that I'm lucky that he's got two older siblings, because it was based on his interview performance.
Speaker 1:He may not have got into the school, but he at the school talks about the community and how, like, while you, while the student is at the high school, then as a partnership and as a community, it's both of our responsibilities to bring that child up. So it's the school's responsibility as well as the parents responsibility, and your partnerships sort of reminded me of that. Like while you are under the care of Longview, there's a community of people behind you to support your investment journey, and so, yeah, that just reminded me of that high school interview into what you're doing And that's a really nice way of that. People who are listening will take that on board And that's how you want your clients to feel. So, again, a nice little feel good way to start our podcast. So we're going to talk about how to control the quality of new management into your business.
Speaker 1:Now I for those that haven't listened to the podcast that I've done with Darren Hunter, where we talk about sort of eight reasons why you should say no to a business Megan and I today are going to really talk about more. You know, the inside the business Like the way that I sort of see it is that you all know that you should go to the gym to become fit. Yeah, we don't always do it. Well, i don't do it, But I know that I should do it A little bit similar to Darren's eight strategies that he shared with me. I know that I should do it, but it's really, really hard to say no, and that's why I want to talk to you and have that discussion about how we can control it, because I find it so hard.
Speaker 2:I can understand that because you got into this, because you want to help people, and by saying no to someone, you're saying no to offering them your help and expertise. So I really completely understand that And I think for me I guess the way I look at it is about where you spend your time and who deserves that expertise and that help. So for me it comes down to the person, to the property, and whether or not you know if it's worth the time and the effort And I don't mean it in a transactional sense. Is that person that we're wanting to help really they need that help, they need that expertise And it isn't just for them a transactional relationship, because we really want to build those relationships.
Speaker 2:We're actually called Longview not because it's somebody's surname. It's actually about the way that we look at property investment. So when we're bringing on clients or talking to clients, we want them to understand that we're in it for the long game. Property management is what we focus on. It's not a convey about towards the sales team. It's property management for the long term. So people who often talk to us I hope that they slowly start to understand that that's what we're about here And if they're up for purely transactional fee based service, then that's not who we are and that's not what we do.
Speaker 1:So let's get to the real basics and at the start. So to make, bringing back to how to control that quality, what does the new management journey look like to clients? that approach? Would they be more likely to approach you through reception website personally, like what? how does that work in your office more?
Speaker 2:We do get leads through our website but actually a lot of our relationships and business comes through two main funnels. One is through our existing clients, so they're referring friends and family to us because they're happy with their property manager. But the other one and again this is because we don't have a sales team is through our referral partnerships. So with mortgage brokers you know in Melbourne we have house and land, there's a lot of land that people like to build on. So house and land builders and you know financial advisors and actually sales only agents too in other at other real estate agencies.
Speaker 2:So they come to us because they've been recommended to Longview for that specialized property management service. Because for someone to refer their client to a third party that's a huge risk And you are attaching your recommendation to that agency. So it's a huge trust game. But for clients that come through to us, you know they've already been sold what Longview is and that I guess they refer the person that they've engaged in whether it be a mortgage broker or house and land person has said I highly recommend you go with Longview because they look after all my clients and I know that they're happy And that's a huge compliment really.
Speaker 1:Yeah, And so you know it's very easy to then control the quality by having those quality. Obviously your existing compliance already quality, And partnerships are also quality as well, And so it sounds like that then that same community relationship base of we're all on a journey together has extended out to those referring partnerships. To really break it down for people because I'm big on referring partnerships as well Did you find that you needed to go out and find them or did they find you? How has that happened over the last number of years?
Speaker 2:I would say majority of it we've had to go out and find And so we've put in a lot of time with networking and going to these different functions you know developer functions, you know B&I, all of these things to try and find these people to create, because a lot of the time these referral relationships are people you already get along with And then, if you get along with them, you find that their clients are very similar type of client as well. And that's where a lot of my relationships and my team's relationship has been built has been built on going out and sourcing and finding these referral relationships. One of my team during COVID, you know, Melbourne was locked down forever. He spent the whole time on LinkedIn sending 200 messages a day to various referral partners saying I'd love to connect, I'd love to connect, I'd love to connect And that's all he did when there wasn't a lot happening. He was absolutely going out there and prospecting referral partnerships And it's been amazing for him, You know.
Speaker 2:I think what's that farming phrase? like he was laying the seed and then now he's just got this amazing crop of referral partners and these great properties clients who are very similar minded. It's very easy for him to bring those clients on. There's not a lot of conversations about fees and charges, Yeah, But he put it like it's not easy. There's a lot of years of relationship and trust building that goes behind that, But definitely we have to go out and find majority of those relationships.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, it's good to know that, like I really love teaching the real, practical how to physically do it. And I'm glad you mentioned LinkedIn, because everyone knows a half on about LinkedIn. I absolutely agree that that is probably where all my referral partnerships found me Mine probably, i would say found me more than I found them Actually, just to give people a different angle. So that was me always like posting information that I knew would be relevant to their clients And I would still connect with them on LinkedIn, but I wouldn't send them a personal message because that's not something that I personally do, but at least that I was there in their feeds And I think that I'm up to probably about 15 buyers agents now And I agree that not only bringing a good number of leads each month, they are just easy because they pass the client onto you And there's not really any discussions on the fees or anything like that, because it's not about that.
Speaker 1:So they're a very easy way to naturally build up your new business as well with people that you like. And I've come across a couple of duds referring partners, and those ones they're all the same. They're a pain in the butt. Their clients are a pain in the butt. So everyone seems to use like-minded people, so they're generally a pretty safe client, i find, when they come through with the referring partners.
Speaker 1:So you've got definitely, like you said, attending, if you're an in-person, face-to-face type relationship builder, the networking B&I's functions And then if you're more online, then just getting that content out And also don't be afraid to even write a blog or a video or something that you think might be helpful for their clients and send it to them. Or, even better, actually doing like a Zoom interview and say, hey, i'd love to do an interview with you, my clients and we do one together and you put on your YouTube and on your social media And that's another way, like you're not asking them for the business, but you're saying, hey, let's do an interview together and you can start, like soft, having that relationship with them.
Speaker 2:No, i always, whenever I'm approaching a referral partner, it's never to say I want you to give me your business. It's how can we support each other's businesses? You know, i often say look, i've had a look, you've got some amazing Google reviews. Obviously your clients love you. Can you tell me more about your process? So I always put it back on them so they can talk about themselves.
Speaker 2:And then you know, when I understand their clients and their type of clients, that's when I can and often has anything. if you give someone plenty of time to talk about themselves, they then want to then hear about you eventually. You know it's that, what do they say? the law of reciprocity. So they want to then hear about you. Then you can say, oh sure, happy to talk about our amazing property management service, but it isn't I don't go into this for the transaction as we've discussed. It's really.
Speaker 2:I just understand that I want people to understand that I'm interested in them and their clients and what they do. And often I usually find, as far as not a red flag, i'll call it maybe a beige flag or an orange flag. But if I get called by a referral partner saying, hi, i'm just calling to find out what referral fees you pay. I'm guessing those relationships aren't gonna be that great because they're in it for referral fees. It's not in an. I love working with people where they want their clients to be cared for and looked after And those are the relationships that work the best for us.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I'm glad you brought that up, because out of sort of let's call it sort of 15, five agents that I've got, there is one that has a referral fee system and the other's doing and I actually bring it up in the discussion and ask them about it. But the one that does collect a referring fee, i am actually okay with it because they have quite a high volume and it's actually one of their business plans. So they're actually having different trails from settlement agents, finance, property management And that's like a business. I know how their business runs, i know that that's their business model and I'm okay with that. Totally me too. But don't yeah, i would hope that people know that, like you don't.
Speaker 1:actually the good people to deal with are the ones that just want you to look after their client, and you will, and you know it can work both ways as well. So remember that. So red flags, beige flags, orange flags what would be something that you see the most come up Like? okay, so referring partners is fine because they're pretty safe. Someone calls your office or calls you. If you could just talk me through the actual steps, because I always find it fascinating how different offices work. Someone calls you up and says, hey, i've got a property. Do you visit every single property or get a face to face with every single client?
Speaker 2:I always try, because that's when our conversion increases, when we can have that face to face conversation and really understand what their needs are. But I guess for me I don't do a standard listing kit. I don't go out a meter client and then go through my 10 pieces of paper. I usually, when a client calls me asking about a property management service, the first question I ask them is what's the most important thing to you in making this decision as to who your property manager will be? Now, inevitably, most landlords generally say I want a good tenant and I want the best possible rental. But then they also back it up and say but I want a better tenant more than I want higher rental. So that's usually what most landlords say.
Speaker 2:Now, i know that that's what most landlords say, but I never tell them that. I let them tell me. I'll say, okay, that's not a problem, i can talk to you about how our services definitely can help you with that. Is there anything else that's really important to you? And sometimes they go, no, no, that's about it. And then I'll say, okay, have you ever been a landlord before or have you been a tenant before? And so then they'll tell me and I go. What was great about that relationship? What is something that you would love to replicate for your tenants? So I do a bit of discovery And yet generally, if I can feel that I'm talking to a red personality you know the bang, bang, bang, bang. I just want to get it done. I want you fees, i want to know, i want to know what's happening. Now I'll generally say I really want to make sure that I don't waste your time. So, to be prepared as possible, i'm just going to ask you a few discovery questions so that when you and I meet we're making sure that I'm not covering anything that's not important to you. So I do ask a lot of questions at the start so that when I go and I can then understand who I'm talking to when I go and see them, my kit I guess my listing kit is 100% tailored to that personality type. So if I know that they're a percentage person, then I'm going to tell them about our days on market and our competitors' days on market. If I know their relationship base, and I'll bring my testimonials that talk about our communication and how much we care for clients. If I'm talking to an educated investor, then I'll be talking to them about our processes and how all of our team works together. So I don't have a one-size-fits-all, but certainly when a client calls a lot of, it is just me asking a lot of questions to understand who I'm going to be faced with when I go and see them.
Speaker 2:What I also understand when I talk with those people is that, especially first-time investors, they don't know how to ask any other question. But what are your fees? That's the question they know to ask. So then I'll say, okay, so tell me why fees is an important part of your decision-making. And often they'll say I don't know. Someone just told me to ask that question. I'll say, okay, great, well, do you know what the fees are for? And so then I'll try and explain the fees. But I'll say, look, i'm never afraid to talk to you about my fees because my fees are fair and reasonable, but I want you to understand what you're paying for. So if you're going to call somebody else and ask them their fees, you know the right questions to ask. So you're comparing us on the same level. So that's generally how I deal with a lot of calls that do come in, and usually you can find out if you're dealing with someone who is just fee shopping And often that can happen when they've got an existing property manager.
Speaker 2:They're up for a lease renewal. And there's clients who do that. Every time their lease comes up for renewal They sanity check their fees. They're being charged from their agent purely transactional. So they'll call five of the local agents, find out what the fees are and then go back to their agent and try and crunch them or not. So with those clients and you can usually pick them up pretty quickly because they just talk about fees and charges and their properties tend to it And they don't really have any detail to give about their property manager. And I would say I'm happy to talk to you about the fees. I prefer to do this face to face. when can we set up a meeting? And if they don't want to do the meeting, then I'll know it's purely transactional.
Speaker 1:And would you still like to send them off the fees anyway? so they've got them.
Speaker 2:Sometimes I generally don't like to, and what I'm working on at the moment is I'm trying to do a little video link to every single one of my fees, where it explains what the fee is. So, rather than this is our management fee, this is our letting fee, this is this and this, i wanted a video to showcase it and explain it, but I'm not there yet, so everyone else can do it and then pitch the idea. But we do sometimes. But I also know that if I'm sending it off, i'm probably not going to hear back from them again. So it's something I do as a last resort for me personally, and I would rather sit down and explain the fees and deal with the objections face to face than what do they say? spray and pray. You know, just send it off and hope that it comes back And just don't think it's managing that relationship.
Speaker 1:So the next question I've got for you, and then I'm going to come back around, because we both have very different styles And so I want to showcase both, because there's going to be two different people. You know, listening to this, some will be doing your way, some will do it my way, so I like to explore the options for different people. What database do you use to keep track?
Speaker 2:Leads that come in. So we were on for a very long time in Spectre Real Estate BDM but just recently moved across to HubSpot because all of our client information can be in the one spot, which is great for marketing. So we've just moved across to that, which is very good Yeah excellent.
Speaker 1:So the way that you do it is the way that if I had an employee, I would want to do it your way.
Speaker 2:But I don't do it that way.
Speaker 1:I'll admit there's probably some laziness in my position and I guess I'm a little bit different and some business owners out here listening to it might also understand. Like I don't actually track numbers. I don't really care for numbers. I only have started recently tracking because people have been asking me what numbers are you doing? It's not something that I have really monitored A very lazy mentality. Do not recommend it, and if I was employed by someone I wouldn't have that mentality, but I do So. I did an in-person appraisal, probably about a month ago and.
Speaker 1:I swear to God, it was the first physical in-person appraisal I had done for about three years. Now I bring in about 300 managements per year. Okay, so you pictured that. Like you know, i've done that for the last couple of years. One was in person Wow, and it's because, like, our clients are all interstate quite often and all them just might be referrals and they don't seem to want to catch up in person.
Speaker 1:So I want us to just touch on that marketing for those that are listening, and obviously there's lots of different states listening today. So some of them will have a lot of in-person local investors and some will have a lot of online ones. There will be a time all my clients are online again. So it's good for me to listen to this because it's a refresher for when that time comes. And I've got all the local investors to not be complacent and send out my fee schedule and to go out. But I guess for me I think about like wasting my time And I sort of think, oh gosh, i'd rather get the beef schedule. So at least when I see them.
Speaker 1:I know that they're interested. Based on that And that's my mentality I totally accept that it's probably a lazy mentality, But then I don't think it is.
Speaker 2:I actually think that's awesome, that you can do that as far as especially with those numbers and everything, i think that's fantastic And if that's what your clients need, then there's no point on you forcing your agenda on them just because you think it's the better way to do it. If it's working and they've got this great relationship with you, then great. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I think for me there's probably two approaches. So one is the clients that call asking about our services. That's probably the approach that I do take, because often they are local residents living in Melbourne.
Speaker 2:If we do have house and land referrals and those types of clients, their properties are being built and they are purely investment. They're savvy investors. They're not the ones that I'm gonna go out and meet face-to-face and talk about it Again, because referral partnership referrals to us are a lot warmer. So you don't have to spend a lot of time building that rapport, the cold leads that are sent not that they're cold leads coming in, but the ones that are just calling. I have to work on that relationship and building that.
Speaker 2:The other reason why I do that is because I find I don't have to have that fee conversation so much. So where we're located is extremely competitive And, as I always say, we're not the most expensive agent in Melbourne yet, but we're also not the cheapest either. But we're constantly being compared to really cheap agent And so that's why I try and showcase a point of difference of that personalized care, and then I don't have to fight for my fees. They can see the difference. So that's why I do it that way. Getting the best fees for me is the best way for the business to grow, but also to grow in the right way. Rather than just numbers of properties, i want the quality to be as high as it possibly can be.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I fully also respect that. Actually going out and looking at the property and also meeting the person physically as well is going to bring up any red flags or concerns. And I haven't had too many bad experiences but I have had some where I should have looked at the property first and I didn't. And you live and learn, don't you, from it. But it's obviously a very good habit to identify those, i guess, to maintain that quality. That is probably one of the main ways to actually do it as well. And it goes even deeper, like when you meet a client and you can see what type of person they are, whether they're the numbers driven, their relationship driven. It also extends to the service that they're gonna receive. Are they someone that's gonna prefer phone calls or SMSs or emails? They want you just to go ahead with work, get quotes. All of that behavior is gonna flow into how they get looked after.
Speaker 1:And customer service is such a funny thing because it's so subjective. And I always use the example of you and I walking into a shop to go buy a pair of jeans and I might be the type of person that the shopkeeper comes up to and says hey, are you looking for something specific, can I help you? And in my mind I'm just like just leave me alone, i don't wanna be bothered when I shop. But then you like that type of person that maybe she doesn't ask and you're like, where is the customer service in here? And so you know, same thing, but I don't like it and you love it, and it's the same mentality, isn't it? I remember being screened out by a landlord because I caught her up just to let her know that the tap was leaking and a plumber needed to go out. And she screamed and said do you not bother me for things like this? I pay you a management fee. I should have to deal with it. Yet you know, landlord B has asked for three quotes to get a kitchen tap that's leaking.
Speaker 2:Repeat you know, and that's the thing. but it's funny. That's why I was laughing before. when you're saying about going out, he reminded me of this property and it's in this particular era that I know very well and I love it and it's very close to my heart. And I was so excited to go out and see this property and the owner turned up in her pajamas It was three o'clock in the afternoon, you know, sandals on. she'd been in the garden in her pajamas. The house was just a wreck And as we were going through I said, oh, you should get some new blinds And she said no, no, no, i'm not blinds, they're fine.
Speaker 2:And she pulled out you know, it got in with dust and put on the ceiling, i was like this is not happening. And yeah, unfortunately I'm not going to be listing this business, but if I hadn't gone out, i never would have known and had those interactions with her And I just would have gone. Yep, this is great And it would have been a huge problem. So, but it's a story as well, and I really enjoy meeting people and I love the stories as well, and I love going home and telling my family oh, guess who I met today? And I really do enjoy connecting with people too. So, yeah, that's why I like doing it.
Speaker 1:Do you as an office and this is something that I learned after speaking sort of to Darren that I probably need to do with my team have you, as an office, gone through and allocated like boundaries, like whether it's minimum price point, distance condition, like, have you guys got a guideline of what you were accepted? if it falls out of that, you just say no straight away.
Speaker 2:We do with some, especially when it comes to fees. So we've got what we call our hit map, which makes it really simple. Because let's say and again I appreciate I'm in Melbourne here but let's say, 7% management fee on a property that's worth $1,000 a week, that's great, but 7% management fee on a property that's worth $300 is actually not gonna cover our costs. So the team can really easily identify, based on rent and letting fees, where they can bring on business from a financial point of view. So we know what our cost to server. And so we give the team indications and actually incentives that the higher they go in fees, the more commissions they're going to get. They don't get commissions based on the rent they achieve, it's based on the fees they achieve. But it does give them a parameter as to what they can list within Area-based.
Speaker 2:Yes, that's certainly something we've been working more on. Beforehand. We had a general radius, but certainly if we had a client with multiple properties in their portfolio, then we generally would try and look after all their properties to make our clients' lives easier. But then what we found is that although it makes our clients' lives easier, it doesn't really make our property managers' lives easier. We're actually sometimes not doing the best service by our client driving an hour and a half to get to their property for one routine inspection. So we are now really starting to review our geographical mapping. But certainly it's always been about fees and trying to incentivise the team to get the best fees possible.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So people that are listening might be starting up or have, let's say, a hundred properties under management and you're really wanting to grow their portfolio. It's really really hard to put those boundaries in place with a low number of stock. I share this because I know there's other people that are going to be thinking it. But my mentality would be I'm just going to take everything because I'm building and then when I get to maybe two or three hundred properties, i'll start tidying it up and geographically positioning them all and things like that. That's my thought. I think there'll be a lot of people that share the same thought. I know that you suspect lots of people Do you think that that is something that is not okay. But do you think people should be stricter with themselves and start those boundaries from day one?
Speaker 2:I think I actually believe that I completely appreciate where you're coming from and we did the exact same thing when we were trying to grow and just took on everything. The problem is that when you do get to a quite a sizeable scale, it's actually really hard to pull that back, because the best way and this is from me looking back now if you understand who your ideal customer is broadly and property and you build on that, then that's who you're going to be building on their referrals, on their friends, on their network Whereas if you just take on everything, then you're going to also take on properties that are hard work and they're really hard, and you'll find that those properties like. I've got one of my property managers. It's the best analogy. She goes Megan, i love my portfolio because I sleep soundly at night when it rains.
Speaker 2:I said I don't understand. What does that mean? She goes because my properties are great and she goes when it rains. I know I'm not going to have to deal with any leaking properties. I went oh, okay, that makes sense. I definitely think if you can try and build with the future in mind, with the end in mind, it will save you a lot of time and you'll find it a lot better and scalable in the future. Not, but I completely understand where you're coming from and, like I said, with the exact same thing. But now we've just got the other problem, where we've got these properties that we took on we probably shouldn't have and they're creating a huge amount of our issues sometimes and create a lot of problems for our property management team.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and maybe, now that I'm just thinking about it, there are definitely lots of boundaries you could take in place. So I fully accept that maybe, like putting all those boundaries in place, might be a really difficult thing to do for startup. But maybe just picking one of those boundaries So it could be a geographical boundary, or it could be a financial boundary that you make, and maybe if it might make someone feel better just picking one of them, so it might be I'm not going to take on any properties under 500 a week or I'm not going to take any properties outside this core area. I think that that would make me feel a bit better about saying no to some business, because I don't feel like being too strict.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, and I think so And remember in Melbourne we've got all these minimum standards now, so it actually is also easy for us to say no to properties that don't meet minimum standards And we can say look, i'm sorry, you need to do this work, and if you're not going to, we just lean on the legislation and say, i'm sorry, the legislation says we can't look after this for you. So that does help. And I think having a standard of a property because you know that's goes back to what my colleague was saying about sleeping soundly at night I think that's a really good one to have, because everything good comes from well maintained properties. You get better clients, better tenants, usually better fees, better rents everything increases when you have a quality property. So I think that's a really good place to start.
Speaker 1:So I've got a. Our portfolio is up towards 900, which is fantastic. It's really good size And we've just brought on a new property manager to handle the growth. And you know these podcasts that I've been recording lately really like a counselling session for me. So I appreciate your time. You definitely helped me.
Speaker 1:I said to Darren last week. I said I really probably should pay you for this console because that's what I felt like I was getting, because with this new, with this new property manager I got, and then your portfolio there I have created everyone geographically, so everyone's got their areas and that's the boundaries. So with the new portfolio, that one, she's come on board knowing that it's going to be everywhere And, while that's not ideal forever, the plan is that when that portfolio builds to say a hundred properties, i will then split it into north of the river and south of the river and then bring another person in and then create two small portfolios that are then geographically designed. So I'm doing that And so I guess I'm sort of saying it out loud because it makes me feel a bit better that I. It is only just a six or so month plan before I separate it And I do not have any intention on leaving that mixed portfolio like that forever. It's just a temporary arrangement while you're building on that. So that's how I've done it.
Speaker 2:I agree, and for me, i've always managed really widespread portfolios. It never bothered me. I actually really enjoyed the variety of the different areas I was looking after properties. But I think you know, understanding and listening to our team of where their biggest gripes are and challenges are it was with regards to distance. So even though it was fine for me, it hasn't been fine for the team. So we've had to really listen to what they've had to say. But I think area based really does help, because then you get little area experts as well, which is one for your tenants as well. But I think it's. you can't have a perfect plan and usually starts off a bit dirty and a bit messy at the start, but then eventually it does clear it and you can definitely see a way through for sure.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:As we've been talking. It reminded me of something that I've been wanting to a long time ago and I hadn't done it, and someone else can again listen to this and maybe create one. But I think that I'm going to create one and put one in my PM club so that those members have got it as a resource. But you know how we have applications for tenants. I had wanted to create an application for landlords and because we are in a good position where there's not a lot of room left for clients to bring their property on And some people call me up and say, just wondering whether you've got availability to look after my property, i had this idea of creating an application for a landlord.
Speaker 1:So it's like an application of interest. So what they would do is that fill in the details for the property you know three-by-one bathroom and it could have questions like when did you last paint the property? Do you have a maintenance plan? How much to spend each year? Do you prefer phone call, sms, email, just some sort of questions that are subtly finding out what type of person they are. Even things like how often do you expect to hear from your property manager when the property is vacant? How often do you expect to hear from your tenants Just things like that No right or wrong.
Speaker 1:But by getting that application, not only are you looking very like more of an authority because oh gosh, you know, no one's ever been asked me for an application to look after my property, so you sort of get a bit of a tick there It also helps you decide if this is going to be a good option for the team. Like, are they saying they want to be contacted twice a day, every day? You know what I mean, those types of things. I mean you can go on forever with the questions, but I think that I might go and do that because I've been wanting to do it for a while and I just think it's. I don't know why we don't do it more. I'm sure there's a lot of people out there like me that don't really do too much due diligence with landlords before the business comes in. You sort of just go oh hey, you're getting on, except in the fee schedule, let's take it on. And yeah, i don't do. I know there's lots that don't. And yeah, i might do that.
Speaker 2:So I love the idea And I think it would also make landlords think more about their property. You know, I've taken on a client where they don't even know their body corporate manager's name, And so I'm driving by trying to the plaque, but of course it's an old plaque from 10 years ago. It's just crazy. I appreciate where she's coming from, that. You know my property manager looks after all of this for me. But you know what This is a $500,000 plus investment. You should know some things. So yeah, and then we can take it from there. But my fellow co-op is definitely firmly on at the moment, That's for sure.
Speaker 1:Absolutely Well, megan, it's such a pleasure to talk to you. Thank you so much. I'm very appreciative of the time and the insights into how your office works because it's I know people genuinely just like they're not going to call you up and say, hey, can you tell me how this works and how you do that? Because people naturally feel like they're being nosy, but they love hearing about the different ways that operate And it definitely improves everyone's businesses and what they do gives them some ideas or maybe even just reminds them that they are on track and they're doing everything the right way. And I think you and I are a good balance of two different types and styles and how they actually both work, ultimately Like we're both successful in what we do, but they're just different.
Speaker 2:So Absolutely, and I've always had an abundance mindset. I've always been very open about how we do things at Longview, but I'm also so curious as to how other people do property management where they are as well, because, exactly like you said, by learning and sharing. It only has the added benefit of improving everyone's lifestyle, the service to clients and tenants. I can only see good things, so I'm all about sharing, so I don't mind if anyone wants to call me up and ask me how do you do this? I will 100% share it all, so I don't mind at all.
Speaker 1:So good. Thanks, Megan. I'll share your details in the show notes to anyone that does, And people can hold me accountable for the application for landlords. Feel free to message me and say where's that application And I'll get onto it and create one for everybody as well.
Speaker 2:I'm going to put it in a task and follow you up on that one.
Speaker 1:I appreciate it. I've got no one else to be accountable to, so I need someone to remind me of these things. So thank you for your time. I'll talk to you soon, thank you.
