Alex Whitlock, co-founder of Managed and director of REB, has described how working with a sales agent revealed what is most missing in property management relationships.
Whitlock, who has been an active property investor for more than 30 years and now works at the centre of the property management industry, said the realisation came when he decided to sell a property through Sydney-based agency Chan Yahl, with director William Chan.
Whitlock had known Chan socially for several years. When the time came to sell, he told Chan he was looking forward to working together but added a caveat.
“I said, ‘Look, I don't really want to do too much, William’,” Whitlock said in The Property Management Excellence (PMX) Podcast with Real Estate Gym owner Tom Panos.
Chan’s response was immediate and uncompromising.
“He said, ‘Alex, look, I’m really sorry, but you’re going to have to do the things that I tell you to do to get success. I’m going to make sure that we sell your property for the maximum price, we’re going to have a great campaign, we’re going to get a lot of prospective buyers along – but you’re going to need to do what I tell you to do’,” Whitlock recalled.
Whitlock took all of Chan’s suggestions on board and carried out extensive work on his property, including redecorating and landscaping it. By the time the campaign launched, the property looked better than it had when he bought it.
“He got me way above the sales price that I expected to get,” Whitlock said.
The insight Whitlock draws from the experience is not about real estate sales techniques. It is about the confidence to lead a client to the best outcome, even when most property managers feel they need to compromise and accommodate them.
“At that point of inflection, where I started my relationship with him, he dictated the terms to me to get the best outcomes. I don't believe in many cases that PMs have the confidence to do this with the owners they onboard,” he said.
He also said that the first meeting between a property manager and a new owner is the single most important moment in the relationship, but it is unfortunately the one most frequently wasted. Rather than educating the owner on what will be required, what to expect, and how the relationship will work, many property managers accept whatever terms the owner sets.
“I’ve only got to be told to do it once. And then I start to do it, and then I don't question it again,” Whitlock said.
Owners are not resistant to being led, Whitlock said, but are in fact waiting for someone to lead them. However, most owners never encounter that property manager.
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