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Discover the secrets of successful property management and investing on "The Property Investors Handbook" podcast. Join Colleen Sutherland as she shares expert insights and strategies for acquiring, managing, and maximising returns on real estate investments. Whether you're a beginner or seasoned investor, this podcast is your essential guide to navigating the world of property investment. Tune in and unlock the keys to financial success in real estate.
Produced by Pod Pro Australia
Welcome to the Property Investors Handbook Podcast, where we dive into the nitty gritty of property management to empower your investment journey. Today, we're privileged again to have Colleen Sutherland, the seasoned owner of Sutherland's Property Management Group joining us. In this episode, we're Tackling the art and the science behind managing multiple properties.
Cause there's a lot of people who once they start, they, they build a portfolio.
Colleen is here to share her wealth of knowledge on systems and strategies that help streamline this process and make it easy for clients to to manage multiple properties at a time. Colleen, great to have you with us. Thanks Adam. Excellent. All right. So let's get started managing multiple properties.
I'm sure just to start off with, I'm sure you've got a lot of clients who have multiple properties.
Yes, we do. I know from two up to 28. Wow. Yeah. Okay. And, and that's not even huge is 28 is not huge, but
Well, just talking about numbers then, I mean, we've talked plenty of times about the benefits of using a property manager versus self managed.
At what point, at what number does it become really incredibly difficult for somebody doing it on their own?
I don't, if they're doing it right, it shouldn't be difficult at all because you're just, you know, multiplying the same leases and, and doing the same thing 28 times. It's just depends on where those properties are situated.
They're the things that can get a little bit tricky. You know, we've got one One owner who has, or two owners who have properties on the Gold Coast, which is, we've managed all their properties on the Gold Coast, and then eventually they kept coming out to us with questions for their ones in Brisbane and just over the border in Kingscliff.
And They would ask us the questions and it's like, what is your property manager doing? And he goes, oh, I don't know. And then eventually they get jack of it and go, can you manage this one in Brisbane or Kingscliff or wherever it might be? Because I need the consistency across all my properties because I don't know where they are up to as well as I know what the, where the Gold Coast ones are up to.
So by default, We've gone to Brisbane and Kingscliff. Sure, yeah.
Yep. And I can see the benefit in having one property manager doing an investor's their, their whole portfolio, as long as it's within the area that you can, you can manage. So you get to know the owner, you get to know what they want, what they expect and really then it's just rolling that out across each of them.
Yes. So with one of the guys. We know exactly what he wants cause he answers every maintenance question with, yep, keep it in tip top condition. And you're like, righto. So that's good for us because we know exactly what we need to do. Whereas to another property manager that might not mean the same thing and they don't know exactly what tip top means.
So they've got the continuity. when they, they've got, and that's only if the agent is willing to go that far. Sure. So we're willing to go that far simply because we've got quite a few now that have got properties in Brisbane, which is just over an hour away from the Gold Coast, from where our office is.
over an hour away from the Gold Coast, from where our office is. And the only tricky, the main tricky part is leasing, so our leasing consultant will go up there and get it leased. Then we do routine inspections, which we go every four to six months, depending on your program, and then lining up the right trades.
to go and fix. Sure, because you'd need different
trades people in different areas if it stretches that far.
Well, the plumber and the electrician and that sort of thing, they won't go that far. So yeah, we have to have a different set of trades.
I mean, just talking about that, you think about what would be involved for an owner to do this themselves if they're Like you just said, different trades people, they've got to get different people in every area and the amount of time and effort that would have to go into that again just screams why not use a property manager who can handle all this for you?
Well, It depends on whether the owner is, has the time and then has the knowledge. But time would be a big factor if he's got a broad area of where his investment properties are. And then it logistically, it might just prove to be impossible and you'd have to get a property manager there.
But the other thing too, Colleen, would be that you would have the technology and the systems and processes.
You, you manage. Hundreds of properties. So to you, a group of five is no big deal. You slot them into the same systems and procedures. You get the same checklists and notifications when things need to be done. That would be very daunting for an owner to have to do themselves without the built systems, processes and technology.
Yes, but if the property has come over from, you know, You know, achieve agents or that sort of thing. We have to go through with our checklist to see that it's up to scratch and that everything is as it should be before we can start managing the property. And if it's not, we have to work towards getting that sorted and then able to then just tick along.
So they hear a lot from us right at the start. To get the proper instructions and authorizations and payments and things like that. And then after it's all settled in and working well with our systems, then they probably don't hear from us much. Sure. Unless it's absolutely necessary.
Sure. Sure.
Okay, so communication is key in any business. How do you maintain clear and effective communication with tenants across different properties of the one owner?
We would apply the same principles as the owner already has in place for us, especially if they're working. And like I mentioned, When we first take over management of a property, you'll hear from us a lot.
We need your instructions, your authorisation, your spend limits, you want to get to know them. Yes, yeah, but we've already sort of got a rapport with them when, when, because they're a current tenant. And then when they're bringing each property over to us, we'll apply the same principles and then it ticks away.
So you'll hear from us then. We, we'll send out the routine inspection. We send out the monthly invoices. Any little things that we're not sure about, we'll either give you a call or flick you an email. So it then slots into all that communication. forms part of what we do when we take over the management and then ongoing management.
Sure.
So if there's property owners out there who do have a portfolio, let's say two, three, four, five properties, and they've got, you know, they are in the Gold Coast, Brisbane, down to Kingscliff area, and they've got different property managers, what would your advice be to, to consolidate and put them all with one?
Okay, so you've got a property in Burley Heads, and then you've got a property in Tweed Heads, and you've got one in Labrador, and you've got three different managers. They operate three different ways. So you might like the way one property manager manages properties Because she's clear, she's consistent, she's, you know, doesn't sort of give you a bit of a run around like some property managers can.
My advice would be to choose that property manager to do all of them.
One point of contact, you build a relationship and they get to know what, what you like, what you expect. Yes, yes. And and vice versa, you know what to expect from your, your property manager. Yes,
that's right. So And, and in the long run, you've got a better return because everything's a lot smoother instead of, you know, Susie over here is doing one thing and then Beryl down here is doing something else.
And everybody's doing different things not necessarily in your benefit. So you look at choosing the best one and putting it all with one property manager.
And then it becomes. As you grow your portfolio, you buy a new property. Again, easy. Just go, go to the property manager you've got and add it in and I've got another one for you.
Yes.
Yeah.
Easy done. I'll jump with
joy, but yeah. Yes, you've got, and you've got that rapport with her or him and you've got peace of mind. You know, you can go on holidays knowing that your properties over here are being well looked after.
Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, thank you, Colleen, for those valuable insights on managing multiple properties.
I think it's clear that you know, that the message here is get a, get a good property manager to do it for you, get them all with the same property manager. And and things are going to be far smoother and easier and benefit you more in the long run. And of course, it's it's Sutherland's Property Management Group that should do that for you.
So I can see you're very passionate about what you do and you know your stuff. It's been, is it, it's 30 years, isn't it?
30 years this June. 30
years this June. 20 years in
business, but 30 years in the, oh 35 I think it might be. Really? Yeah. When it gets that long, you probably don't remember. They say a year's a long time in real estate, so there's 35.
Wow. But look, the point on that is that what you don't know about property management isn't worth knowing. And you know, this is, this is your business. your investment. This is you know, for a lot of people, property is the thing they'll spend the most on ever in their life. So why wouldn't you get the best to look after it?
So once again, thanks for joining us on the Property Investors Handbook. Join us for our next episode, where we'll continue to explore crucial aspects of property. Property investment and management, ensuring your journey is both profitable and fulfilling. Now, remember to check out Colleen's website and that is www dot.
spmg. com. au
Where you can find all the information there. Book a call if you want to um, find out more about our services, ask any questions and she'll be happy, her and her team will be happy to help. It's Bree there, isn't it? She is, yes. Who's fantastic as well. So until next time, thanks for listening.
We look forward to you joining us on another episode of the Property Investors Handbook Podcast.
Thanks, Adam.