Talking Property Management
Welcome to Talking Property Management; the podcast that pulls back the curtain on the real world of managing investment properties in Brisbane.
I’m Samantha Eason; Principal and Licensee of Exclusively Managed, Property Management agency located in Brisbane. Each episode, I share the untold stories, hard lessons, and everyday realities that come with property management, from difficult tenants and dodgy maintenance to untrained managers and costly mistakes that could’ve been avoided.
This isn’t a sugar coated industry podcast. It’s honest, practical, and straight to the point, with a few laughs along the way. Whether you’re a property investor, landlord, or simply curious about what really goes on behind the scenes, Talking Property Management gives you the insight you didn’t know you needed.
I’ll be sharing real life experiences, expert advice, and proven strategies to help you avoid pitfalls, protect your assets, and get the most out of your investment.
And who knows… I might just be talking about your property manager in the next episode.
Talking Property Management
Vacancy Days: The Silent Profit Killer
Every vacant day chips away at your property investment returns. While many landlords focus solely on securing premium rents, the smartest investors understand that tenant turnover silently erodes profits faster than almost any other factor in property management.
The numbers don't lie. When tenants move out, you're not just losing one to three weeks of rental income. You're also facing cleaning costs, necessary repairs, potential property updates to stay competitive, advertising expenses, and letting fees. These combined costs make tenant turnover one of the most significant yet underestimated threats to investment property profitability. Even when tenants are contractually obligated to return properties in pristine condition, the reality rarely matches expectations – leaving landlords to cover the difference.
When turnover becomes inevitable, minimising vacancy periods becomes critical. The moment a tenant gives notice, immediate action is required – identifying necessary work, beginning marketing efforts with "available soon" listings, and coordinating showings while the property remains occupied (with proper permission). This proactive approach allows most properties to be re-leased with minimal downtime, often just 1-5 days instead of weeks. Ready to transform your property investment strategy?
Start by focusing on tenant retention as your primary tool for maximising returns.
If you have any questions or scenarios you would like us to discuss on an upcoming episode, please email samantha.eason@exclusivelymanaged.com.au or visit https://www.exclusivelymanaged.com.au/
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Good morning. Welcome to another episode on Talking Property Management. It's freezing. I'm so bloody cold. You may just hear throughout this episode me warming my hands up sporadically.
Speaker 1:So I'm Samantha Eason, and today I'm talking about a topic that hits the bottom line harder than most people realize. It's tenant turnover. Whether you're managing a single residential home or a portfolio, or even commercial leases, high turnover is one of the fastest ways to watch your returns drop. The good news is it's also one of the easiest things to manage well, when you've got the right systems in place, of course. So why is turnover so costly? I'm going to start with the simple truth.
Speaker 1:When a tenant moves out, you lose money. On average, you'll have one to three weeks of lost rent. There can even be longer gaps if you have a commercial space. There are costs for cleaning, repairs and touch-ups, and possibly even capital improvements, just to stay competitive. Yes, it is the tenant's responsibility to clean and, you know, do any repairs that they've caused to the property while they have vacated. But I'm going to be honest here not always are they completed when the tenant moves out, especially when a lot of people seem to book cleaners late. And that can work out well if you've got a new tenant lined up and you may not have, you know, a massive loss in income. But there is also the possibility that you as the owner need to do some repairs to keep the property in a well-maintained and clean condition. So while the tenant is responsible to return the property to the standard that they moved in in with, there is also that possibility that you as the owner are required to do some maintenance as well. Add that all together and turnover becomes one of the biggest hidden costs in property management.
Speaker 1:Keeping a quality tenant for longer that's one of the smartest moves you can make as a property investor, and I do see this a lot. Where a client will want to obtain a really large price in rent. They may have a good quality tenant in place and they take that gamble of offering that lease to that tenant with that larger price. The tenant moves out. They then realize that they have to do some work to the property to get it rented and they end up losing money, whereas if they were a little bit on the safer side, moderately increased the rent, they wouldn't be in that position where they have to do so much to a property. They could keep their tenants in place. There's no outgoing fees like the letting fee or advertising and whatnot, it is definitely smarter to keep your tenants in, especially if they're quality tenants.
Speaker 1:So what causes turnover? Sometimes it's life, job transfer, growing family or a change in circumstances. You can't control that, but you can control the avoidable things Poor communication, maintenance issues left unresolved, lack of proactive contact near the end of a lease, tenants feeling undervalued or unheard. And that's why I always say good property management isn't just about collecting rent, it's about building trust and being responsive. Being an honest landlord and investor will work in your favors, more so than not.
Speaker 1:So how can you reduce the turnover? A few practical ways. Sign a long-term lease where possible. You can input increases at the 12-month mark. Great tenants should be locked in, not left to a month-to-month arrangements or six-month leases, because that's when they can leave with minimal notice. Stay on top of maintenance. Your tenants are more likely to stay when they know you care about the property and you care about them. Fixing things quickly makes them feel valued and keeps your asset in great condition.
Speaker 1:Be proactive near lease renewal time. We like to start our renewal discussions early, so offer options to your tenants. We also at Exclusively Manage find out before we reach out to our clients if tenants are planning to stay and why, and also, if they're looking at vacating, why they're not willing to stay. This gives our client the time to respond before they give notice and it also helps us protect the client's asset and ensure that it's moving forward, not backwards. Listen and adapt.
Speaker 1:The smallest whether it's installing air conditioning, sealing fans, replacing curtains, carpets, minor painting, can be the difference between a tenant renewing or walking away. There's a few things you can't control, like really awful neighbors and things like that, but nine times out of 10, if a tenant is in a property and you do keep it well maintained and up to date and you work with the tenant on reasonable requests, you're most likely to keep that tenant. If they do leave, how can we reduce vacancy? So when a tenant gives notice, what can we do? And this is where timing is everything.
Speaker 1:The second you receive a notice to vacate or there is any implications and you know talks from the tenant of them looking at vacating, you need to get permission to access the property, identify any repairs or improvements that are needed and get the property advertised straight away. You can use phrases like available from coming soon. Most tenants are searching online, setting alerts and planning weeks in advance. So giving your prospective tenants that chance while you're also actively doing repairs, getting touch-ups completed and whatnot, you're going to work for yourself in that situation with getting the property on the market online and ahead, and that's what we like on the market online and ahead and that's what we like. If you and your outgoing tenants are cooperative, you can even show the property while it's still occupied, which we love to do. Queensland is set at only having two viewings a week now, once notice has been provided, unless the tenant agrees. But just it is important to follow those notice requirements and treat your tenants respectfully. If this is done well, this means you could re-let your property with zero vacancy days and on average, most of our owners have one to five days of vacancy rates and we absolutely love that.
Speaker 1:Turnover is normal, but excessive, unnecessary turnover that's a sign something needs to change. Just to recap on this episode keep your quality tenants through long-term leases and proactive maintenance. We like to start our renewal conversations early so when you do get them, respond to your property manager. It helps them help you Market properties immediately when a notice is received Within reason. I'm not going to market a property two months in advance. Six to four weeks is where the sweet spot is. Be responsive. Tenants really do notice this At Exclusively Managed. Our goal is always to minimize downtime and maximize income for our clients, and reducing tenant turnover is one of the fastest ways that we can do that. Thank you again for listening to another episode on talking property management. If you found today's episode helpful, please share it with another investor or leave us a quick review. I'm Samantha Eason and I will be here next time.
