The PROPERTY DOCTORS, Sydney Australia Novak Properties
NOVAK PROPERTIES CREW and PROPERTY LEGENDS in the industry share their experiences and knowledge. Hacks and tips to make you a smarter property GURU :) Learn with exclusive content, advice, insider info and HOT real estate industry PRO SECRETS. For sale, for lease, residential, commercial, buying off the plan, finance, mortgages, interest rates, first home buyer, investments - all topics covered. The untold real estate info you've been waiting for.
The PROPERTY DOCTORS, Sydney Australia Novak Properties
EP.1377 BECOMING A GREAT PROPERTY MANAGER TAKES DEDICATION
Unlock the secrets of efficient property management with Cleo, a seasoned expert who reveals how technology and AI have revolutionized the industry landscape. From the dynamic Northern Beaches of Sydney to the challenges of new legislation, join us as Cleo shares her insider knowledge on navigating these changes while maintaining a passion for matching tenants with their perfect homes. Discover how the shift toward high-density living is shaping property management, and learn why staying updated is crucial in this ever-evolving field.
Cleo's journey is a testament to the rewarding nature of property management. She offers invaluable advice for those eager to start a career in real estate, emphasizing the importance of professionalism and choosing the right agency. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just starting out, Cleo's tips on career growth and flexibility will inspire you. Find out how connecting with the right people and demonstrating commitment can open doors in this welcoming industry. Don't miss this chance to gain unique insights and guidance from a true professional dedicated to her craft.
Beautiful Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. This morning we've got a special topic for you. I'm standing in with Mark at the moment and I work with offices all over the country, some in New Zealand. So I'm a business consultant, predominantly working with real estate offices, with systems implementation and all angles of their business. This morning we've got the privilege of talking with Cleo, and the topic for this morning is going to be how the most amazing property managers work and the things that they do to make your property management, your investments, safe and profitable. So, cleo, let's just kick off with a bit of background. How long have you been a property manager?
Speaker 2:I get asked this so much like I think I started in 2009, so a long time ago.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and over the time you must have seen quite a few changes in property management. I mean, what are the key ones? Obviously software and things like that, but what are the things that have impacted your, the way you do the job in the office each day?
Speaker 2:You know the tech side of it. Definitely, over time, I have found that the way we advertise property and the way we find tenants has become so much easier over the years as well. We do also have a lot of new legislation that's impacted us as property managers that has, in my opinion, sometimes made our job a bit harder. So those challenges and hurdles are something over time that we've had to overcome, and there's, you know, more yet to come as well. So it's a constant learning curve in property management. It's not like, you know, you do your certificate a few years ago and then that's it, you're done. You all your knowledge is set. You're constantly learning and um, you're constantly um upgrading. So, yeah, um, even though you're getting older, you still need to keep up with. You know what's going on in our industry.
Speaker 1:And I think that one of the big changes that's probably going to assist us dramatically over the next couple of years is the implementation of AI, and I'm just seeing the tip of this coming through in a number of offices, certainly in property management, helping us write descriptions for properties, helping us certainly get things internally in the systems for property management job descriptions and all of the process and procedures natural go-to to GPT at the moment and now using things like uploading sources so that we can get combined output from various inputs. Just in terms of the working environment, what's changed over the years for um, I guess the the, the availability of properties? You're, you're in the northern beaches of sydney and um. Has there been enough, uh, new properties built? Or there's been a big change, certainly in your suburb from um to much higher rise, with a number of high rises. What's that mean to the tenants and landlords around the area?
Speaker 2:Sorry, we got audio. Yeah, you're just buffering a little bit. Sorry, I'm just going to close this one. I've got some builders on site, yeah. So in regards to the, you know the office environment. What was your question? Again, Wayne, Sorry, I got distracted.
Speaker 1:So we've seen a lot of development and high-density living coming in the area around you and so more dealing with strata, or is it a different demographic of tenants over the houses and things that we might have had 10 years ago?
Speaker 2:Yeah, definitely, especially in DY, where we're based, we do have a lot of apartments that were built circa five, six years ago and obviously more especially around our office. We have Maramborough, we have Delmar, we have Carlisle. We have so many new developments and what that you know. We learnt to deal with strata more, with building defects, compliancy, all that sort of stuff, whereas just managing the you know 1970s red brick beauty, you know units where you might have a leak here or there, that was pretty much it, you know. So we have become more complex in managing big apartments with, you know, excess of 50, 60 units.
Speaker 2:So, um, the boutique block, the blocks of 12 units, you know long narrow being in motorvile newport I used to manage, you know, in dy. You've got those in addition to the ones that you've got you know, lots of apartments in. So, yeah, we've had to pivot with that too. But stock levels are so low on the Northern Beaches from when I started, extremely low. There are so many tenants looking for property, so many friends and family that are asking me for help because I think there was that pause in development and there's just not more. You know, what we've got is what we've got right now. So it has been tough and just a big change in property management. I used to do 15 open homes on a Saturday when I started. Our guys are doing three or four now and that's all.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and on that side of things life's changed, definitely for tenants. Where do you reckon you help tenants most? Do you help them manage through if they get into the odd spot with arrears and things like that, or whether they've got repairs? Where do you get the most satisfaction and you think that tenants do out of what you're doing on a daily basis?
Speaker 2:I do really enjoy placing people in homes and finding the right tenant for the right property. It's, you know, like the Cinderella shoe. I love that and I do like helping people in that way. Of course, maintenance and getting things completed gives me satisfaction, but they can be a lengthy process. You know, some repairs have gone on for years in my portfolio and when you finally think you fix that roof, it comes on back to bite you again. So, um, you know, I do still find satisfaction in that as well. But helping tenants, helping people find property, that's that's kind of our main job really, without reletting tasks. And then once you find the most, you know, greatest ideal tenant and they're in there for a year or two and then you watch their family evolve and they might buy a property. That's really nice too. You build rapport with people over time, especially, you know, in doing this so long I've got some tenants that I've had for 10 years, you know, and you know we're like friends.
Speaker 1:Also, cleo, you work in a team. You've got a couple of people that help you there and the team dynamic that you've got. How does that work with you? Who have you got working with you? How do you split the tasks and how does that fit together?
Speaker 2:Well, I have a full-time assistant. That's like a leasing officer as we used to call it back in the day, but they help with managing the tenants. I'm the first point of contact for all our clients, our landlords and our owners. I am available, still, for tenants as well. Collectively we work together but we kind of split it in a way where you know my assistant will look after all the tenant inquiries and then I'll aid her in hairy situations and then I also go with the landlord and then it always overlaps anyway regardless.
Speaker 2:It's not like a you know, red line in the middle that you can't cross over, where it's a very fluid sort of arrangement. And then we have our leasing team, um. They help with all the re-letting and the open homes and the leasing um. But the day-to-day um operation is split between two of us um, obviously the senior has over 10, 15 years experience and then um, the assistant who wants to be a senior, eventually, you know, might come in with two or three years experience and together we, you know, learn from each other and, to be fair, like I, learn a lot from the younger ones as well, because my technology skills and all that you know they offer a lot and they do keep you vibrant and you know they're very valuable to our team.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you're one of three teams in the agency that's structured that way, so the agency's got a bigger end role, but it's a very efficient way of managing it and I guess for investors the perspective is that when you get these efficient teams you get really good returns on your investment and great management efficiency. But you also get the ability to split out the roles into where the expertise lies and I think that's one thing, that in Cleo's team and in the wider team that Cleo's part of you get that efficiency across using experts in every step of the way. Cleo, what do you think is the satisfying parts of being a property manager? What do you enjoy about it most?
Speaker 2:I do enjoy the task-based things. I do like completing things and having a challenge and getting through those task-based operations. Obviously, the people I love to talk, as people might have already acknowledged- I love having a chat with owners and tenants.
Speaker 2:And I do love where I live. You know I love property, I love where I live. I love the Northern Beaches. I've grown up here and you know housing is one of the most essential things and I love helping people with that. So all of those things combined, obviously our work environment, our colleagues, all of that stuff as well, I do enjoy. There are so many things I wouldn't be doing this for this long if I didn't enjoy it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and Anne, I've known you for a great deal of that time as well and you know the growth in both your career and just the diversity of the skill set and things that you learn has been, you know, wonderful to watch over the years. If you and Cleo works in a very buzzy sort of environment, the office there is go and vibrant and you know it's a great environment. Cleo, if you had advice to somebody that might be watching this, who's young, maybe thinking about a career and not decided on what they love and what they might do, would you have any advice to a person that might be contemplating something in the in the property arena that leaning towards property management?
Speaker 2:yeah, definitely um. I would say sorry you might be, you're buffering a bit um yeah, this is the advice to the 20-year-ago Cleo.
Speaker 1:If you were giving yourself the younger Cleo advice, what would that be?
Speaker 2:Look, it was how I started. They said pick an agency that appeals to you. So go online, do your research, look online, speak to family and friends Having a foot in the door is always important and then have a chat, have an interview, go into the office, you know, Feel like it's an interview process. I made sure I went in like it was a job interview, corporate attire, all that sort of stuff. I took it very seriously and you know, real estate is a serious, you know role. People think, oh, we just joke around and have a good time. But it is. It's looking after millions of dollars of people's property. So it is a serious role but you can have fun.
Speaker 2:So pick an office that you feel that you are appealed to like, whether it be location or the staff, or you might speak to family and friends and then just turn up and have a chat and most likely there'll be some position that they will put you in to start, whether it be reception, whether it be an admin, um, and you can work your way through real estate however you choose. That's the beauty of our role. It's not set in stone and you know we've had many young people that started a PM, that are now in sales or now in media. So there's a lot of opportunity. Just have a go. It's one of those jobs that you can just turn up and have a chat and you know either the licensee or the manager. They'll see a spark in you and they will give you an opportunity.
Speaker 2:That's how I started. I started at Ray White Narrabeen and they had the four offices there and I just turned up on the day and they needed a leasing consultant and it just so happened that way. So I was very grateful, Stayed back lots of late nights, so I was there the last person to leave for probably three or four years to make sure I'd done everything perfectly and right. Um and but that was my journey and that's you know how I how I chose to to start in the industry and here I am.
Speaker 1:So yeah, yeah, and what a great journey it's been. And when Novak properties acquired the rent role there at from very white, that was a turning point for everybody's life. It was a. It was a great stepping stone forward. Thanks so much for spending the time. I'm going to go out on a bit of a limb here and say, if you're watching this and you are one of those young people who are contemplating something and you want to talk to someone, clearly cleo's got an amazing background and heaps of information. Um, you can actually find her on the website. So so I think, if you were contemplating the role, give cleo a call and she'll have a chat with you and then, if you want to take it further, you can set something up with the agency. But uh, it's a great way to start is just having a chat with someone friendly. You've already seen her on the screen this morning. So, cleo, thanks so much for that great advice and good overview.
Speaker 1:Okay, thanks very much, bye for now.
Speaker 2:Bye for now. Thank you so much, wayne. See you, bye, bye.