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One experienced property manager has signed up to an intuitive new platform called Managed, which connects her business to its landlords, tenants and tradespeople. She says that not only is it easy to use, it’s also been a “massive” value-add in her business.
Director at Property Alchemy Penelope Valentine said that traditional property management is fragmented, with not one supplier that can offer you everything.
She said that property management accounting platforms can be cumbersome, holding money and dispersing funds on behalf of investors, but thanks to the Managed app, Property Alchemy’s payments are now fully automated.
“Our management fee is taken out of the rent and the rest is distributed directly into the owner’s account through the banks,” Ms Valentine told RPM.
She said that any repairs, maintenance or strata bills come directly from the investor.
“So, the investor signs up and they have a payment form, so it can either be with a credit card or with their bank account, so all their bills are paid directly from their own bank account or credit card.
“As the property manager, we orchestrate all the payments and we make sure all the payments are correct and that they sit in the account for payment, so we put in the due payment date, but then the money is paid directly from the investor.”
Ms Valentine also said that as the property manager, she no longer has to do that “painful” end-of-month routine.
“Making sure all the payments have been allocated out properly, it all does seamlessly.”
She said that it is a huge time saver, and the investor gets everything they would normally get — so, they don’t feel a difference.
“They have full vision of all the payments coming up. So, they basically can have a six- or 12-month vision of how much money is coming in each month with the rent and then what is going to be coming out,” Ms Valentine said.
“So, obviously we can forecast water payments, rates payments, and then we can put repairs and maintenance as we get the[m] get done as well.”
Growth
Ms Valentine said that the extra free time gives her more time to create better process for Property Alchemy and develop the business.
“We work on the business making sure our customers are receiving a seamless experience with us. Also, business development is a massive part of what we do. We are completely independent so we need to really get our name out there.”
She said that she has had positive feedback from her clients.
“They love the fact that they can get their rent as soon as it is paid, [which] is a massive benefit to them. A lot live month to month, so for them to have to wait to get their rent can put them under financial pressure.
“And the other thing is the transparency. They have full vision of all the money that is coming in, and what is going out and the forecasting helps them with their planning as well.
“It is definitely a point of difference for us. It is one of the first things that we talk about.”
Ms Valentine said that she has been in real estate for 16 years and has always had a leaning towards property investors and property management.
“In my previous role as the co-founder of Rent360, we were always looking for new technologies to be able to leverage. So, I saw something online come through very early in the piece about Managed and it really piqued my interest.
“Anything that can create time savings in property, management specifically, is something that I was really interested in.”
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