One of the biggest concerns for overseas investors in Australian property is how their Melbourne property will be managed and rent collected from afar.
At MICM Property we act for a large number of overseas owners and offer a total trouble free service handling everything on your behalf including payment of all accounts, transfer of funds into your bank account and sending your monthly statement.
Why Choose MICM Property for Melbourne Property Management?
How do You Find a Tenant for my Property?
When You Find Prospective Tenants, How Do You Qualify Them?
How Frequently will you Inspect my Property?
How Often do You Carry out Market Rental Reviews?
How frequently will you Pay Rental Funds into my Account?
What is Your Process for Dealing with Rent Arrears?
How often do I Get a Landlord Statement?
Can you Pay all My Invoices Associated with the Property?
What is the usual length of the lease?
What is going to Happen after the Tenant’s Fixed Term Lease Expires?
How do you Deal with Repairs and Maintenance?
What is the Difference Between Urgent and Non-Urgent Repairs?
Do I Require Insurance?
Are There any Other Associated Fees Involved?
Are MICM Property’s Fees Comparable to Other Companies?
Why Choose MICM Property for Melbourne Property Management?
MICM Property is a trustworthy company in Australia and has been offering property management services to overseas clients since 1993.
Our reliable specialised team of Property Managers, finance and Support staff ensures your property is managed to the highest standard.
Our senior managers review service levels to meet our clients’ expectations and monitor market rental trends to provide regular input and training for our Property Managers.
Our clients are provided with a dedicated Property Manager as their one point of contact but have access to our senior staff at any time.
Our Leasing Department operates seven days a week from a network of six offices to ensure properties are let to the highest calibre tenants in the shortest possible time.
Our Property Managers’ focus is on how to get the maximum income return for your investment and ensure your property is maintained in a good condition assisting in higher capital growth.
How do you find Tenants for my Property?
At MICM Property we concentrate on marketing your property to the greatest number of potential tenants to ensure a quality tenant in the shortest possible time frame.
We use:
Extensive online and e-marketing – using leading websites, including:
Micm.com.au, realestate.com.au, domain.com.au, realestateview.com.au
Open for Inspections
MICM Property conducts private inspections and advertised open for inspections on weekends and mid-week ensuring convenient property viewing times for prospective tenants. The MICM Property courtesy car is available to transport prospective tenants to and from your investment.
Our Office Network
Our conveniently located offices are open 7 days a week. Professional leasing consultants are available at each site to make the task of looking for a new property hassle free.
Our Client Database
MICM Property maintains an extensive database of potential tenants who receive email details of properties that meet their search criteria. This includes relocation agencies and major corporate companies.
Company Branding
Strong company advertising provides optimum exposure to people searching for properties for rent. Our marketing communications continue to reinforce MICM Property’s position as an industry leader.
- We aim to have a leasing consultant accompany all prospective tenants during inspections. This means that our leasing consultants can answer any queries immediately and ensure that any facilities such as pools, gyms, car parks, and security features are identified.
The above factors insure that MICM Property has one of the lowest vacancy rates in Melbourne.
When you find Prospective Tenants, how do you Qualify them?
To ensure tenants of a high calibre are selected, MICM Property completes an extensive background check on each applicant, including:
An identity check – MICM Property requires all applicants to confirm their identity and current address through a ‘100 points’ system.
Previous tenancy – All applicants are required to provide references from their past and current tenancies.
Verification of employment – Along with any previous tenancy checks MICM Property also confirms an applicant’s current employment details and history.
Any student applications are processed with a parental guarantee and a MICM Property approved cleaning contractor is compulsory for the first three months. In addition, students must provide confirmation of income or financial support.
On completion of the relevant checks, your property manager will provide you with a detailed report for your approval and instructions.
How Frequently will you Inspect my Property?
As your managing agent, MICM Property will conduct regular inspections of the property. This includes:
Ingoing Condition Report
A condition report based on a physical inspection of your property will be completed prior to your tenant occupying the property.
Routine Inspections
MICM Property conducts routine inspections of your property every six months. Upon completion of the inspection, you will receive a report confirming that the inspection has taken place and detailing the conditions of your property and information such as if any maintenance is required.
Vacating Inspections
MICM Property will conduct a comprehensive inspection when your tenant vacates. The condition of the property will be compared to the original condition report, and variances other than ‘Fair Wear and Tear’ will be the responsibility of the tenant to repair.
How often do you Carry out Market Rental Reviews?
In accordance with the Residential Tenancies Act 1997, rent cannot be increased more than once during a six-month period, and cannot be increased during the term of a fixed term tenancy.
At MICM Property, all properties undergo rent reviews on an annual basis to maximise your rental return – generally prior to the anniversary of the lease commencement. If the tenants are on the periodic lease, we will closely monitor the rental market to ensure you are receiving the maximum return. The rental can be reviewed every six months.
How often will you pay Funds into my Account?
Rental monies received by MICM Property will be transferred into your nominated bank account as soon as your tenant’s payment is cleared.
A majority of MICM Property tenants opt to Direct Debit and our trust account legislation requires that we allow a 3 business day clearance period before we pay out funds. If the Direct Debit falls on a public holiday or weekend, the debit will take place on the next available business day. Therefore, please allow approximately 4 to 7 days for rental payment to arrive to your bank account after the rental date.
What is your Process for Dealing with Rent Arrears?
It is a priority of MICM Property to ensure that your rental income is received by the due date in a prompt and regular manner. MICM Property’s preferred method of receiving rental payments from tenants is via Direct Debit. To assist in obtaining rental money by the due date, MICM Property has developed a ‘Zero Tolerance Policy’ and will follow legislation which allows us to apply to evict the tenant after the rental is more than 14 days late.
How often do I get a Landlord Statement?
Once rental income is transferred into your bank account, a detailed statement is produced and transferred to you at the same time via email. Alternatively you can opt to have your statement sent by post. Statements are generally monthly.
Can you Pay all my Invoices Associated with the Property?
With your authority, we can pay all or selected outgoings/expenses incurred on the property on your behalf, thus allowing you the benefit of a clear account history of both income and expenditure.
All outgoings or expenses paid on your behalf will be detailed in a breakdown and listed on the monthly Landlord Statement we send to you.
We will also provide you with an end of financial year summary for taxation purposes at no additional cost to you.
What is the usual Length of the Lease?
The standard lease term is six or twelve months.
What is going to happen after the Tenants’ Fixed Term Lease Expires?
We will endeavour to secure a further “fixed term tenancy” with the existing tenant 60 days prior to the expiry of the original fixed term agreement. At this time we will preview the rental and provide a recommendation in accordance with the current market values.
In the event that your tenant does not accept the offer of a further fixed term lease, under the residential tenancies legislation the tenant has the right to stay and continue as a periodic or monthly tenancy. This situation is a common occurrence with the tenants staying on in the property for months or years after the initial fixed term lease has expired. In this case, all terms and conditions of the original lease agreement continue to be in full effect.
How do you Deal with Repairs and Maintenance?
We will handle all maintenance matters on your behalf in accordance with your instructions. Our Property Management team will identify the need for maintenance and repairs either through reports from your tenant or through our regular inspections. MICM Property is committed to responding to repairs in a timely fashion, and to attend to minor maintenance before they become more major issues.
You can provide us with a pre approved limit to handle minor maintenance on your behalf without referring to you.
As your managing agent we have a duty of care to make sure all contractors appointed by MICM Property meet our strict selection criteria to hold necessary qualifications, licenses, and must have Public Liability Insurance cover to protect your investment.
What is the difference between Urgent and Non-Urgent Repairs?
Non Urgent repairs are required to be attended to within 14 days of notice provided by the tenant.
Repairs are classified as urgent if they can have an immediate health, safety or security risk or when the property will be damaged further if work is not carried out quickly. If urgent repairs are unable to be arranged within a reasonable time frame legislation provides tenants with the right to arrange for the work to be carried out to a maximum value of $1800 and seek reimbursement from the landlord.
Do I require Insurance?
If your property is part of an Owners Corporation (Body Corporate), insurance will be included in the overall building insurance provided by the Owners Corporation. However this will not include items such as carpet, blinds and light fittings.
We highly recommend that you consider Landlords Content Insurance policy that covers these items together with, more importantly, public liability insurance – should the tenants injure themselves within the property. In addition, this policy protects you against financial loss if the tenant defaults on rental payments. MICM Property can arrange for a Landlords Insurance policy at favourable rates on behalf of clients.
If your property is not part of an Owners Corporation, it is important that you have a building insurance cover against unexpected damage to your property e.g. storm damage, fire, etc.
Are there any other Associated Fees Involved?
Apart from our management, letting and advertising, MICM Property does not charge additional fees to represent you on the following matters:
- Tribunal (VCAT) attendance – We do not charge to attend any tribunal (VCAT) hearings on your behalf for tenants’ disputes. MICM Property will represent you at no additional cost to attend the hearing (other management companies usually charge an attendance fee of $100-120 per hour).
- Insurance Claims – if you need to make a claim with your insurance policy, MICM Property will lodge an insurance claim on your behalf at no extra cost to you. Other management companies may change $200 to process the application or leave it to the owner to make their own claim.
Are MICM Property’s Fees Comparable to other Companies?
MICM Property’s fees are competitive to the general market. For most of our clients their investment property is one of the major assets that they own and they want the peace of mind of an experienced quality Property Management company.
Some companies may offer a cheaper fee by providing discounted, inferior service with inexperienced staff and a lack of support. However, most owners do not want to take the risk of using these companies.
Many of our overseas clients have been using our service with confidence for over ten years.