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
Your Million Dollar Investment Deserves Better Than Facebook-Trained Property Managers
Ever wondered if the person managing your investment property actually knows what they're doing? You're not alone, and the answer might shock you.
Property management is facing a competency crisis that few are willing to discuss openly. Behind the polished brochures and branded email signatures, many property managers are asking alarming questions in online forums about basic legal requirements and procedures they should already know. These aren't complex legal debates – they're fundamental responsibilities when handling properties worth hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars.
Many agencies, particularly those focused on sales, view property management as a secondary business – a steady income stream that supports the sales team while building an asset (the rent roll) that can eventually be sold.
This is precisely why boutique agencies like Exclusively Managed exist.
We're deliberately small by design because it allows us to offer what high volume agencies can't: real relationships, genuine compliance expertise, and true accountability. We're not distracted by sales targets or trying to manage hundreds of properties with junior staff. Instead, we focus entirely on providing the specialised knowledge and attention to detail your investment deserves.
If you're an investor, don't fall into the trap of assuming all property managers have the same training or knowledge.
Choose expertise over ego, precision over volume, and outcomes over appearances.
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/
Donate to the sleepbus foundation here.
https://www.sleepbus.org/services/sleepbusfund
Welcome back to Talking Property Management, the podcast where we cut through the noise and pull back the curtain on what's really going on in the property management world. I'm Samantha Eason, principal of Exclusively Managed, and today we're diving into something a little confronting and there is a part of me that likes doing these episodes for our listeners why the property manager you choose is one of the most important decisions you'll make as an investor and why, unfortunately, most landlords are still getting it wrong. Most landlords are still getting it wrong. You'd be forgiven for thinking that every property manager understands the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act inside and out, that they're across minimum housing standards, break lease processes, smoke alarm compliance, even entry condition report standards and legislation that's meant to be the bare minimum right. But here's the truth. I spend a fair bit of time reading property management forums and, honestly, some of the questions being asked are terrifying. These aren't grey area legal debates. These are entry-level questions, things every property manager should know before they're handed someone's $800, $1 million, $1.5 million investment, $1.5 million investment and here are just some of the few examples I've seen from so-called professionals that I'm going to read out to you today. I'm just checking when does everyone do their end of financial year run to the owners On the 30th of June or the 1st of July. So there's a bit of an issue with that and that would be that the Trust Account Administration Act and legislation or the Financial Administration Act prevents agents from doing end of month before the end of the month. So you're unable to do it on the 30th of June, you must wait until the 1st of July, and so many agents make this mistake, which I still don't understand because they're audited often. But it is something that is well known as to, legally, when we are able to complete end of month, and what that means is when you can close off your month in the trust accounting reporting software that you use. This one is a little fun because it's the legislation is even written on the form. So I'm not sure what property managers are doing when they're completing entry condition reports. But I will say, from some of the ones that I've collected over the years, not a lot, considering the very little information we receive.
Speaker 1:Would you sign an entry condition report if you didn't agree with what the tenant wrote? I believe the tenant damaged the door frame when she moved in. She sent a photo, but my dated photo of the entry condition report shows no damage. Firstly, you are to sign the report before you give it to the tenant. It is clearly stipulated If there is anything that you disagree with on the tenant's comments, that is when you have a communication with the tenant and outline your evidence and their evidence. If you have a clear photo showing that there is no damage and now there is damage obviously that falls under the tenant, it's responsibility and you clearly write to them. I've this photo attached, dated, this date, time stamped, date stamped, showing no damage. It appears this damage has been completed or, you know, attended to after you moved into the property. Very likely you're not made aware of it and it might have been done from your movers or whoever was assisting you moving in. That's it, case closed. If she wants to continue, dispute resolution form 16. That's not difficult, but what is strange is that it clearly states on the front page of the entry condition report with the property details and the tenant's details when you sign the report.
Speaker 1:You cannot provide a tenant. I just that's, I don't, I don't know, I don't know. With regards to a takeover management, am I allowed to request a copy of the lease from the property manager before the 30 days are up, just so I can contact the tenants and let them know. This one really frustrated me because so many property managers in this post were writing frustrated me because so many property managers in this post were writing. It's so frustrating. Why do you need the tenant's details? I hate it when property managers do this.
Speaker 1:This is another really annoying thing with regards to the legislation that property managers do not know. If I have signed a management agreement with a client and they are currently with someone else client and they are currently with someone else, I'm well within my rights legally to start managing that property from the start date within that management agreement. So if it starts on the 1st of July, I have access to managing the property from the 1st of July. I don't care if they have to provide you 30 days notice before it ends. That isn't stipulated within the legislation. Days notice before it ends. That isn't stipulated within the legislation. I am well within my rights to manage the property in that time. If I choose to take a fee or choose not to take a fee, that is within my rights. There is nothing stopping an owner from requesting that their new property manager has all documentation, contact details, lease information, etc.
Speaker 1:From a landlord, and it is frustrating that every single property manager I take management's of gets a bloody bee in their bonnet over this, because they don't understand the legislation. It is so frustrating. In this situation, though, I would just go straight to the current owner and just go look, I need the management agreement and the lease agreement from the previous agency. They're not assisting you in this. I've requested maybe even the owners requested it. I'm trying to get the upper hand, because tenants do feel very confronted when, a random Monday or a random Friday, they get told that they are no longer, you know, meant to be paying rent to this agency. And guess what? They've made a payment that Friday, and it doesn't go to the new agency until the following Tuesday or Wednesday, and it doesn't go to the new agency until the following Tuesday or Wednesday, and they're officially in arrears, and it is a huge slap around. Not only that, they don't believe us when we're telling them that we're now the property manager.
Speaker 1:It is very frustrating. So why? You know property managers have to be so difficult. You've lost the management for a reason it is due to incompetence. Nine times out of ten, this one. I can't understand this.
Speaker 1:Hi all, I'm new to the PM role and have my first QCAT application. The principal is unsure in this area too. I'm not even going to read the rest of the post right now because I can't understand why you would go into real estate, be a principal and licensee of an agency and not have your head around property management. Property management so and that is my biggest issue with so many agencies because they're sales focused. I'll jump into that in a minute, but they are like. I'm going to be very honest here. A lot of agencies have the rent roll as an asset to the company, pays the wages of the staff in the meantime, but it is essentially the company's asset.
Speaker 1:Wondering if anyone would be able to help me here the property looks abandoned, yet all the furniture and belongings are still there. What do I do? What do I apply for? Do I apply for several orders? Does each order cost an amount?
Speaker 1:This is what's the scariest part. Though the lease has expired and she's received a notice to leave, I cannot contact her and obviously zero rent has been paid. Landlord is thousands out of pocket. And the kicker here is this should have been dealt with ages ago and obviously zero rent has been paid, landlord is thousands out of pocket, and the kicker here is this should have been dealt with ages ago. So this poor person is new to the PM industry, has been thrown a severe situation and is receiving no support from the principal and licensee of the agency, who likely well, no, not who's likely like this person is 100% accountable for this. Like as the principal, your job is to oversee your team and your department and the issues.
Speaker 1:Let's say that this principal was not in property management. I find this absolutely ridiculous. What I do like, though, is the support within our industry, and someone provided her with the exact way to act, and I just don't know how, but several other people have questioned if she's even vacated, um, like the tenant. And then someone else was like, go straight to q-cat, which is not the answer, because you can do an abandonment, abandonment notice, um. If the tenant doesn't respond, you have full rights to attend the property with a locksmith and get the locks changed, um. So I just don't understand how agencies can do this to their staff and to their clients, and the fact that these are questions are being asked publicly is exactly why investors keep ending up in qcat hearings and losing thousands in compensation claims. I can't stress that enough.
Speaker 1:And a lot of these posts are anonymous within the forums, and the reason is is because, unfortunately, people are being belittled for not knowing. You know common sense things and the post, like the group that we're in as property managers, is there to support property managers, and these agencies are failing and no one wants to talk about it. So I'll talk to you about the big brands, the ones people default to because of the name and you know their names. And here's the problem. Franchise agreements don't enforce internal training standards. That means a franchise can look polished on the outside beautiful signs, branded notebooks but they have zero legal training, zero process and no idea how to manage risk within the office. They sell the brand to you, but they don't back it up with consistency or accountability.
Speaker 1:The office would be run by a receptionist turned property manager who's had two days of training, but because they've got a gold logo on their email signature, people assume that they know what they're doing. And here's the spoiler they don't. And what do you do in that situation? Who do you choose? Choosing anyone or a franchise agency is where it goes wrong. Here's the catch that gets every investors every time. They assume that all property managers are trained the same way and that all officers have minimum legal knowledge, best practice understanding, so they go for whoever is the cheapest or whoever knows the area. Or, worse, they go with a large agency, thinking that that means safety. The worst decisions come from assuming a name equals knowledge or that a real estate office with a sales team knows how to manage rentals. Property management is complex. It requires up-to-date legal training, emotional intelligence, negotiation skills and strict operational systems, not a photocopied lease template and a half-watched REIQ webinar. And this is why the boutique and personalized service wins every time.
Speaker 1:Boutique agencies like Exclusively Managed aren't trying to manage 1,000 properties. We're not using a junior with three months experience to manage your $1.2 million investment. We're small by design, and it's because it means you get real relationships, real compliance and real accountability. I'm not distracted by a sales team. I'm not cutting corners and we're not guessing our way through tenancy legislation by asking strangers on Facebook. When you engage a boutique agency, you're choosing expertise over ego, precision over volume and outcomes over optics. If you're an investor, here's what I need you to hear today. Don't assume your property manager knows what they're doing. You need to ask the hard questions what's your training schedule? How do you manage lease renewals around minimum housing standards? How many properties do you personally manage? What's your qcat experience? And if they hesitate to answer, run because the right property manager isn't just a line item on your tax return. They're the difference between a high-performing portfolio and a legal disaster.
