Reap the rewards
Thinking of purchasing an investment property? Let Joanna Martinez-Hart from EVES guide you through the ins and outs of becoming a landlord.
interview Monique Balvert-O’Connor / photos Salina Galvan + supplied
Joanna Martinez-Hart is a stress remover and a matchmaker.
As EVES Realty BOP rental property management expert and group manager, she and her team provide peace of mind for landlords, helping them navigate the various aspects of rental ownership. Finding
a suitable tenant match is merely the starting point.
The value of tapping into the services of a rental management team has long been realised, but recent challenges – such as new compliance laws, Covid lockdowns, and huge numbers attempting to find rental accommodation – have made engaging a property manager more appealing than ever.
In addition, certain aspects of society have changed over the decades with people appearing busier with work and family commitments. Employing the services of a property manager to look after rental assets frees up time and gives owners the peace of mind to carry on concentrating with everything else happening in their lives.
Ready to help are Joanna and her large team, who cover the BOP and Waikato regions. Her team members have collated a wealth of experience and knowledge with EVES over the years. They’re loyal to EVES (a company which has been in business for more than 50 years) – which offers great consistency for the landlords and for the tenants whom they work with.
The EVES Property Management team are totally up to speed regarding new compliance requirements, such as the new insurance and tenancy laws, healthy home requirements, and regulations and guidelines for landlords that came into effect earlier this year (some staff members are even landlords themselves). And that’s part of the beauty of using a rental property manager, Joanna says. Having a property manager on board helps landlords pass the sleep test.
“Essentially, we remove any possible stress. We provide peace of mind and help navigate the rental journey,” she says.
All this is of key importance as investing in the rental market remains a preferred investment opportunity for many Kiwis. With a property manager on board, landlords can relax knowing they’ve committed to a solid, well-managed investment that need cause them little, or no, concern.
Owning a quality rental property, like this one from Barrett Homes, can be a secure financial investment.
The positives of investing in the rental market
Owning a rental property continues to be a financially secure investment, Joanna says, with property owners enjoying a good return on their money in terms of rent and capital gains at present (certainly more than they would achieve if their money were in the bank).
Rental property owners enjoy the opportunity this form of investment offers in terms of providing a passive income, and there’s flexibility around choosing the right time to sell.
“Having a rental also provides the option of having a property to move into, if required. It could be that the property is bought as a rental, but the owners later opt to make it home. If owners transfer away for work reasons it can be a good idea to rent their property out, achieve capital gain, and have a home to come back to if that’s how things unfold,” Joanna says.
Hiring a management team for your rental means you don’t have to do the dirty work.
What does a property management team do?
So many things!
“To start with we secure tenants. To do that, we market the property, conduct the viewings and vetting, deal with contracts, initial inspections and hand-overs and liaise with applicants. We make sure the property is presented in the best way and strive to find the best tenant for the property.”
It doesn’t stop there, Joanna adds. There is much to do throughout the tenancy, such as maintenance checks, regular inspections, monitoring of rental payments and liaison with the owners. If there are any payment issues then these too are dealt with by the property management team.
The team also deals with clients giving notice and then the cycle begins again.
On a more advisory level, a property manager can also advise where market rents are at. Keeping up with current market rents (and with maintenance) helps property owners maximise the return on their investment.
Landlords also need not fear they’ve failed to tick all the latest boxes regarding legal requirements
– a property manager will ensure they’re up to speed and there’s nothing to be concerned about.
While it’s not common, things can get complicated and go wrong on the tenancy front. If there’s a need to involve the Tenancy Tribunal this too is an area the EVES Property Management team has experience in. They can remove the “daunting” from the equation.
“Once people use our services, they generally come back to us. They see employing an EVES rental property manager as a good investment. There are no hidden costs, and they can claim tax on our fees,” Joanna shares.
Why now is a good time to employ a property manager Tenancy laws are complex and have undergone change in recent times.
An example is the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act, that largely came into effect in February. Joanna and her team help navigate this. Amendments to the act should not have a negative impact on landlords as long as excellent tenant vetting has been carried out throughout the application process, Joanna assures.
Many layers of compliance have recently been introduced to ensure tenants live in healthy homes.
This shouldn’t put people off being landlords as essentially it is about being prepared to be a good citizen providing warm, dry and safe living conditions, Joanna believes. Landlords can leave this concern to her team as they employ experts to access whether rented properties adhere to the healthy homes legislation. This is a law and a non-negotiable and Joanna and team won’t work with landlords who are not prepared to comply. Most properties do comply with some of the stipulated five standards, she says, and it’s just a matter of working with the property managers to get the property fully compliant.
Managing compliance in general is something landlords can leave to a property manager. The EVES team includes compliance specialists and has access to professional tenancy consultants to ensure landlords are compliant.
Resources, tools, and robust systems required to find good tenants are all part of the EVES team’s arsenal. Tenant selection has become increasingly time consuming because of incredibly high demand. The EVES team deals with the numerous applicants – outsourcing background checks in the process. For a standard three-bedroom home, it’s not unusual to get at least 50 applicants per property these days.
Amendments to The Privacy Act 2020 are coming into effect. This act governs how agencies collect, store, use, disclose, and give access to personal information. The Privacy Office has launched a new compliance monitoring programme to ensure all landlords, managers and property managers comply, which is something a self-managing landlord may not be aware of. A property manager will ensure landlords are not leaving themselves at risk.
And then there is Covid. Throughout the Covid lockdowns, the EVES property management team worked very closely with tenants and landlords to assist tenants in the difficult times and to mitigate loss for the landlords.
Joanna’s FAQ
What happens if a tenancy turns bad? Good tenant selection at the outset is imperative. Ninety percent of landlords and tenants are great. However, when things do go wrong, there are processes to follow in the Tenancy Act, which can be daunting to a landlord, but EVES has the resources to manage this.
As a side note: there is a perception that the law is more in favour of the tenant, but the reality is, the law is there to protect tenants from unfair and unreasonable landlords.
What happens if the tenant doesn’t pay rent? We have good systems and processes in place to mitigate rent arrears. Our property managers are very experienced in dealing with this if need be.
How long will it take to rent the property? There’s nothing to be concerned about on this front as demand is high in this current rental market and Bay of Plenty is a desirable place to live.
What about methamphetamine use and contamination? We tell all owners they should ensure they have comprehensive insurance cover for all aspects of owning a rental – and should take special note of the meth component of their insurance policy. We talk them through the insurance needs.
Should we be concerned about compliance costs and costs in general? Most of the cost is one-off to make rentals healthy home compliant, and then there’s ongoing maintenance. Owners who keep up with maintenance get a better return, so it’s important to expect to spend some money on the upkeep of the property.
Are new regulations putting people off buying rentals? No. Most new landlords coming to the rental market know of, and expect to meet, the current regulations.
Where does the return on investment (ROI) on a rental property sit in the Bay of Plenty? Indicative rental yields for a three-bedroom house (as of June this year) in selected areas with high rental activity are for example: Greerton 4.1 percent; Bethlehem 3.7; Mt Maunganui 3.6; Pyes Pa 4.2; and TePuke 4.3.
NB: A rental yield is determined by the annual rental income divided by the property price.
How can I allay any fears around renting out a property? Give me a call and let our EVES Property Management team assist, so you can sit back and reap the rewards of a sound investment minus any major concerns.