What to look for in a good managing agent

Professional qualifications not just at the corporate level but also individually are a prerequisite. It is essential that those that deal with the property management have the knowledge and experience to ensure that the block and those that occupy it fall within the law and comply with regulations. With professional qualifications comes regulation as all professional bodies require compliance with rules and impose regulations that work for you and safeguard your money.

Agents of course handle money and maintain accounts for clients. Crooked or fraudulent dealings will undermine any regulation
that exists. The second thing I believe you should look for therefore is honesty. Seek an agent that you can trust. Here personalities are important and instinct certainly comes into play. As I have said qualifications are important but additionally you might look at the track record of the agent. An agent with history and longevity will have been trusted during this period, can establish a track record and perhaps less obviously know how to run a business, a factor which while indirect is perhaps the most important in ensuring that they do not have to find another means of making money.

Many of the complaints lodged at managing agents result from a lack of communication. Simple things make all the  difference:- providing notice of issues that arise and will affect the property; bulletin boards; regular meeting with therepresentative bodies; all the way down to the very simple things like returning phone calls promptly and dealing with issues effectively. Most agents will of course profess to communicate effectively but ask them about staffing levels    and compare this to property they manage. Do they have a policy such as returning calls within a certain period of time? Have they even thought of one?

It is not only the speed of communications that causes irritation but often the attitude. Those who you do business with should be professional, courteous and caring and you should seek a good attitude in the business as a whole as well as the individuals that you may deal with regularly.

Property managements is the most complicated area of the property industry and requires many disciplines. It is fair to say that the majority of individuals who pay for the service have no idea what it involves and in this respect my advice is to look for like for like experience. Each property requires different management skills, knowledge and experience and so you should find out if your prospective managing agent can demonstrate that they can manage/have managed property similar to your own in type, size and use. Can they show they have dealt with complicated financial issues such as you may face?

Armed with these pointers I would suggest that you obtain as much as information as you can about the agent you are thinking of employing. Compile a shortlist of perhaps three to five agents as this will allow you to draw comparisons. Access websites that will give you a feel for the company and what they do and conduct interviews of personnel within the prospective managing agents. Once the choice is made seek proof of professional qualifications and references from those that use their service.