PM Collective - The ART of property management
The ART of property management with Ashleigh Goodchild is a leading platform supporting collaboration not competition through an online community and events throughout the year with one purpose: to create happier property managers. She creates connections for property managers looking to create momentum in their careers and personal life. Join Ashleigh and her guests as they discuss challenges, struggles, mental health, mindset and give advice to property managers and anyone in the industry. To get the support in your property management career, join our PM Collective Facebook and Instagram community.
PM Collective - The ART of property management
The Art of High-Touch Property Management
Giselda Accinelli from M-Motion Prestige Properties in Queensland shares her property management journey, focusing on delivering exceptional service through personal connection and a quality-over-quantity approach to business growth.
• Based in the Sorrento bundle area with a beautiful office that feels like home
• Growing steadily with about 70 properties, prioritizing quality management over rapid expansion
• Recruited a trainee property manager she met as an Uber driver who demonstrated exceptional work ethic
• Passionate about providing personalized property management that justifies higher fees (7-8.5%) versus discount agencies (5%)
• Shares story of a $1,800/week property severely damaged under a discount agency's management
• Emphasizes the importance of regular property inspections and personal contact with tenants to identify issues early
• Cautious about excessive automation and AI, preferring to maintain control over critical processes
• Views property management as building long-term relationships with owners and tenants
• Trains new team members thoroughly by focusing on fundamentals and gradually increasing responsibilities
• Believes in the value of introducing team members to owners to build trust and transparency
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Welcome back to one of my favourite guests, and that's Gisela. Gisela is from Emotion in Queensland. Is that right? Did I say that right?
Speaker 2:So perfectly.
Speaker 1:Excellent, and I'm so excited to have you back. I mean very much. This is very much just a catch-up, isn't it, between us two? We haven't spoken to each other for maybe it's probably been nearly a year, absolutely, and I just want to see what you're up to, where you've been, and why not just record the conversation so that I can use it as a podcast.
Speaker 2:Oh, why not? Why not? It's fun because it's, like you know, drama and trying to stir some chaos in the world of in the sea of tranquility.
Speaker 1:Exactly, and I just loved our chats last time and I, you know, posted that at the time. It was one of my favorite podcasts to record, because, number one, I hadn't sort of spoken to you before, but number two, you just had such a refreshing outlook to property management and it was just really refreshing to sort of hear and see. And so really, what we're going to do is we're going to check in with you with sort of what's been happening in the last 12 months. So, yeah, tell me exactly what's been going on. Where are you at?
Speaker 2:tell me exactly what's? What's been going on? Where are you at? But basically we moved offices from where we were. We are now in in a very lovely area that is the Sorrento bundle area and uh is uh. The offices are absolutely lovely. You know, behind me, you see, like I made it home, you know they brought my paintings, so I feel like I live more here than at home, so might as well make it nice. And yeah, we are steadily growing.
Speaker 2:We are at about 70 now and there's been a conscious choice to aim for quality, not quantity, not quantity. I have taken on board a trainee because we were looking about taking a potential property manager for later on. Obviously, with 70 property, technically it's not needed, but it's so hard to find somebody with the right mindset that it matches my craziness, you know. So is when I met Andrea and she's a pocket rocket, she's a Latino, you know she did their license and I met her as an Uber driver and she was like I'm thinking about this and my son in the back was like mom, I think she's meant for you. Funnily enough, when she's done the license, she got in touch and I got her in purely as a trainee. She's 50, so she's never done it. But you know, when you get somebody with unparalleled work, ethic, drive, desire to make a difference that matches everything you have envisioned, and I'm like, oh hell, yeah, so you're in, so good.
Speaker 1:I was speaking to my business partner today and we've got a mutual sort of friend business owner in Perth and we were just talking about recruitment and he was saying how this person goes into a bar or into a restaurant and into the hospitality market and if they see someone that they think's got great potential, excellent customer service and all of that, she actually sort of says to them are you, you know? Are you working? Because you, you know, go to uni or what's your plan. And if they're working to go to uni, she leaves them alone. But if they're just working in the bar and don't have any other plans, she suggested to them that they get into real estate and sort of recruits them that way, which is great. And just reminded me when you said you got in the Uber.
Speaker 2:It's absolutely like that, because every time we had headhunters, you know oh, I've got this property manager, I've got this property manager. Sometimes you remember we discussed that last time Sometimes property managers are pretty burnt and pretty mentally driven. The drive is gone, so they're just there to cash a paycheck and that's fine. But that's not what I want. As I said to you last time, my full drive is about quality of service, is about personal contact, is about caring about the property and the asset you know. And it's not all about just making money because you know, after a certain amount, you know what are you going to do Put them in the bank and drag them into your casket one day. I'm 58 this year. If I can pay my bills and I can go on holiday a couple of you know times a year I'm very happy to make a difference in other people's lives. And this is the whole thing that we've been driving the past year, saying to people I don't care if you're a tenant, if you're an owner, if you want to give me your management, tell me if I can help you, if I can help you.
Speaker 2:I've just been recently to a property, and that was last Friday that I think. I mentioned it in one of your posts. This is a property $1,800 a week, gorgeous, view to dive, five-bedroom, two-bathroom, really. You know, I can give you later the address. You can see it online as stunning, managed, or better say, mismanaged, by one of those five percent included mega companies. Tenants with 38 area notices abandoned the place six weeks before place was locked down and completely molded. And she was like how much would you charge me? And I said well, minimum, minimum, minimum, just to make you give you the opportunity to get to know me seven plus, but normally it's 8.5 plus. And oh, I used to get five. And I said to her how much did it cost you that five? You know? And I said one. I don't know if I ever told you, but one of the the thing that your friend told me, this is when you buy a ferrari, you pay out a million dollar, right for it. Would you give it to the cheapest mechanic to to look after and to tune it? Why, in the bloody world? And I said to her listen, I think your property is worth at least $1,800. And that's because there is another one similar on the market for at least $2,000. This company is putting it in for $1,600. If I rent it at $1,800 for you, my percentage difference is already covered and you still get extra money. My percentage difference is already covered and you still get extra money Plus.
Speaker 2:I mean, it's like when people don't have the passion for it. You know like I feel, as I think I said that before, I am privileged when somebody picked me as a property manager and that's the biggest asset. So I still, I'm still there. You know, I'm still absolutely in. I get excited when I get in certain places and when the house is not a multimillion-dollar home, I get excited of making a difference in that owner, property and investment, because not everybody can afford a $5 million home.
Speaker 2:You know, and it's been interesting, the people that knew me two years ago in a previous company they're coming out from the whoop-whoop now and they were like oh, by the way, my tenant is leaving, can you take my property back? And I'm like why didn't you give it to me two years ago when I you know, oh, I'm so sorry, I understand if you don't they said no, I'm flattered that you still have me. But you know there are damages, there are things, so you have to fix. You know all the headaches and stuff like that. So that's what's been happening, but it's been exciting.
Speaker 1:I was just writing an email for the database and like for the PM Collective database, and it was exactly on that topic and it was that you know owners, they're trying to save $500 a year, for example, in fees, but what's it actually costing them? You know it only takes two missed rent reviews or you know an extra one or two weeks in marketing delay or whatever like that, and then that client's lost it anyway and it's that, yeah, the savings that owners are trying to get is actually that $500 saving is going to cost them $5,000, probably down the track. So it's really it is a bit hard to get the message out there at the very start, because I think that it's hard to show that you are good at the very start. It's something that you've got to show along the way. So how are you dealing and how are you differentiating those clients at the very start, before you get in?
Speaker 1:Because one thing that I'm struggling a little bit with is that we're doing so much online. We're not always getting the opportunity to see the house and and all of that. So what do you have? Any not negotiables before you take on business? How does that look well?
Speaker 2:the thing is that is, you know, taking a new business for me, definitely seeing a property. When somebody asks you how much for for the rental, how much can you achieve. You know, if you look on rp data or you look on old pictures or whatever, you don't get the full feel of the street of the neighbors if he's a certain level property. I go even for a drive at night sometime because I want to see the, the whoop, whoop that I get around. You know everything. One of the things that we discussed in the email before we got in is like why am I against too much AI? You know what I think we are missing and we are in danger as property managers is losing the pulse on the reality of it. Anybody can say anything to sign a form six, that's simple. Oh, I can get you this, oh, I can get you that. And then when the property has been empty for three, four weeks, you know where are you really making a difference is I always say to my, to my owners, and I said I can't produce a tenant for you, but but if he's out there I'll get it. The reason why I get normally two months ahead of time. I think we discussed that in the past. I still am with the same principle. I put my property up about two months ahead because you know, on an REA you bump the advertising right, so I normally bump it close to vacate, so I get the full new. But there is still so many people relocating and sometimes people they have to give notice, they need this, they need that. So many times I went to open homes and nobody shows up and you're there like a tutu, you know, like waiting there for nobody, but then you miss out Regularly. You get the other email out oh, when can I see it? And I'm like I was there half an hour ago. The open home was listed. So I said to people, if I put it two months before, I said, well, the property at the moment is tenanted, I can't disturb the tenant, put an application in, show me that you're serious, and then I'll take you in no matter what and I open for everybody else. Well, that's been working great in that sense because I need one tenant right. So that's just been.
Speaker 2:And talking about, you know, missing out an owner, that just passed me two of the properties that I listed two years ago Now the tenants. One is vacating in September and they were still leased at 580. Two bedroom, one bathroom, very close to the water. And I said that's a little bit underpriced. What can you do? And I said, well, minimum $750, $700, but I will be happy with $650. And I said, listen, we can go down, we can't go up, right, so that's exactly how it works. Let's put it out to Mansahid. I leased it at $700. She's jumping and he's. I leased it at 700. She's jumping and it's already leased when the lease finishes up in the beginning of September Leased, signed, deposit paid.
Speaker 2:Point being is that there is a lot of care. When somebody message I want to see it, I call, I do so. That's exactly where you know. As much as I need to get to know my tenants, I need to get my owners. There is a property that I've been having difficulties at the moment because it's very close to us, water pontoon, five bedroom, two bathroom. But the high-end market is shifting because I think with the dropping rates we're having people with a lot of financial. They're now starting to think I'm not moving. I see where it's going and I might buy Right, because once you lease a property at $1,800 a week, that's not an I need, it's an I want Right and I won't right. So they are.
Speaker 2:So this property that another agency told them, I said, oh, you can lease it out for two too. From the beginning I said, personally I don't think we're going to go over the 18. But I said I'm happy to start with two regardless. If we get inquiries. Why not? The more you get, the more I get. It's not really you, you know, it's absolutely fine. We are losing it now at 1680 because there was too many properties on the market.
Speaker 2:I said this property similar to yours they are advertised at 17 and they have been on market for 100 days every week is obviously damages and stuff the owner has been likely following it and understanding that you're always fearful of. Would they think that I'm not doing the right thing? We got a crazy application from somebody with a neapolitan mastiff. So I mean I you know it's bloody, slobbery, big dog. And I said to her listen. I said the inquiries are not too big.
Speaker 2:The dogs is coming in January February. Put them in until January February if there is any particular issue. We got anyway, you know, full stops and checks and we are on on the ball all the time. You can breach, you can remove, you can do, but at least you get close. So she end up deciding to lease it for, I think, 14 months, because I said no, you, we don't. We're not going to stop the next list, the next lease in july because it's midwinter and we're going to have exactly the same problem. Let's push it to october, when it's good season is coming.
Speaker 2:So if they decide to move, you know it's a lot of everything to consider, but that would have not been possible if this were just bots, ais, and you know what I'm saying. So owners are very stressed out. They spent $2.5 million buying the property. They spent another $100,000 cleaning it, renovating it, doing this, and there is no inquiries. So they are absolutely stressed out. So you need to show them that you are with them and for them and you are doing everything you can. So sometimes it's even just a screenshot of my phone with me chasing the application. I said it's done. I think there is a lot that is getting you know, like the biggest complaint from tenants and owners I don't get in touch with the people. I keep leaving messages, I keep getting automatic answers, but I do not get anybody to talk to.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's a big problem. It's a bit generational though as well, with the young people. And I tell a story about how I was over in the US a number of years ago and I was listening to a lecture on multi-generational workplaces and there was, I had put my hand up to sort of say how do I? What was my end, how do I get my team to do more phone calls and you know, and reducing the SMSs and the emails? And it was funny that when I was asking that I was trying to, I was basically asking should I keep on encouraging it or should I just move with the times? I wasn't sure the person next to me was a young person and he put his hand up and he said sorry, before you answer that, can I just say that in my office I want to know how I can get people to do more emails and SMSs, because I'm sick of them sitting on the phone for too long and having a chat. So both of us had the same problem, except I was trying to encourage the phone calls and he was trying to encourage less phone calls from a time point of view.
Speaker 1:But I think that with like exactly what you're saying with the apps and the programs. A lot of apps, and I'm not going to mention the names, but there's a lot of programs that we use, lots of them, not just the software but everything. And it does encourage that automation, it encourages the owners to have somewhat control of their money and all of that. And I think, while it sounds all fancy now, I do have that concern that fast forward five or ten years. If we're putting too much power into the landlord's name and into their I'm sorry, too much, um, yeah, responsibility and and um and all of that into the landlord's um hands, they're not going to see the need for us.
Speaker 2:So why are we? Because that's exactly the point. If you put robots flying in and checking this and checking that, why do they need you? You know, for me at the moment, you know, I know the legislation in different states is different. In Queensland it's very much, you know, like in the past it was all tenants, no owner. Now it's shifted completely the other way around and we are the the balancing thing between the two because obviously, without tenants, you have empty homes so you can have whatever you want, but if you don't have tenants, you know you've got an empty shell.
Speaker 2:So I I said that all the time and it's one of my mantras is we are a partnership, owner-tenants-and-us, and there is no substitution for me being in a property to look at the eyes of the tenant, if I can, to see If I see the house messy. It's not the house necessarily messy. I've done beds for my tenants when I've done inspections because they forgot. But sometimes there is that messy of I'm in trouble kind of situation. There is a messy of I don't care, I'm letting you know stains and things that are starting to evolve to a point where there will be trouble. So then at the point you slide in and says is everything okay? Your house is not as usual, you know. It's, oh, you know, just broke up with a boyfriend or with a husband or whatever. So there is a lot going on. And then you start to monitor the rent and then you start to monitor it. So there is a lot of gut feeling that goes with who we are to maintain. Because then, yeah, I mean I've got an eviction going on at the moment with somebody that honestly, I can't fathom. How can she stay there? She's not vacating. 30 days unpaid rent and, you know, seven days in a row. Immediately I get breaches, unremitted breach. I go immediately for QCAT and for eviction. It's going to take to go to QCAT hearing eight weeks, wow.
Speaker 2:So the biggest issue that I've got the owners of this place. They're pensioners, they don't have any income, but so they put every money in buying this property and their livelihood is attached to the rent that they get. They are beside themselves and I'm like man, I'm here, I'm doing it for you, I follow everything, we are ready to rumble and I've been texting this woman about 50 times. How can you be squatting? I even didn't give the property to a friend of mine. She was all good on paper, every box was ticked, everything was checked, there was enough income, and she suddenly poof and that was the beginning of the tendency, two months in so and I'm like how do you think this is okay? How can you do this to somebody?
Speaker 2:And if you don't jump early enough, thinking about the other property, with 38, I read, and the system is not following anything and owners are absolutely beside themselves. You know, I can't sleep at night, I don't know what I'm doing. And I said I got you man. I said I'm here, just let me run it for you. I just another property, just recall fifteen thousand dollars for them, with insurance and damages and this and this and bond, and it was held by a bigger agency, very renowned in the area and nationwide, never breached, never followed. So arrears galore that if you, you know better than I do that if you do a couple of mistakes, the insurance is going to turn down any claim, qcat is going to to sell you. Sorry, you have to start all over again.
Speaker 2:And I'm like, are we insane? You know there is and everything is because of my point of view, there is a lack of care factor and the fact, like you, whatever you know, and and that's what is missing in a lot of people, the phone calls sometimes is more of a temperature gouge of something, but it's as well as a text message, because whatever it's easier, you know, it doesn't cost much to be the text messages or phone calls. Sometimes, when you have owners that are business people, they're not going to be able to call you 95, mate, because they are doing their own business and you are there holding their fort and holding their assets. So if they call me at 7 o'clock, yeah fine, I'm all good. You know I'll talk to you when I'm cooking pasta or preparing dinner, but it's not. It's always been chats and friendly situation. You know, and it's interesting because you know one of the, the points that we discussed is, like too many agency, that they hold sales and rentals.
Speaker 2:You know, like the, the, the rentals become the, the, the placeholder yeah and that's something that does absolutely drive me in, because every principal they never understand. They haven't done normally principal, their principal of a company, but they hardly ever been like property managers, like going and doing inspections and stuff like this. Right, they're business people and people do not understand what we go through. No, they don't understand the stress, the abuse, the, the, the, the, the, the victories. And you know, know property managers that they love what they do. They should be standing up and understand their damn value and understand what they are worth and make sure they are recognised on bloody move on. That's as simple as it goes.
Speaker 1:Well, you identified two sort of main roles, and that was number one, identifying risks, and number two, offering support. And the truth is is that investors can manage their own property if they wish. They can collect the rent straight from the tenant, they can go in and do an inspection, that's all fine. But they can't probably manage risks as well as we can, because we have managed thousands of properties over our time and have that experience which they just will not have. And then that support is also something that is really, really important, and I know that for me.
Speaker 1:I get a lot of clients these days that might call me up and just say Ash, I've had a lot of maintenance, I'm thinking of selling, or I've just had a bad tenant, I'm thinking of selling. And then that support that I would give them is listen, yeah, I think this is actually a really good time to sell. Or I normally ask them what are you going to do if you sold it? What sort of like what are you going to do with your money? Tell me what you're going to do, because if you were just going to stick it in the bank, I would probably say hold it. But then an owner might say, oh, my wife's about to have a baby and we really want to buy our first home. Okay, great option. I think you should sell it then. So that type of mentorship and support of someone they can ask is really what they're wanting, and you can't replace that and same with the risk, exactly like what you were saying.
Speaker 1:We had one the other day where the lady was. We did an inspection. The lady was on the couch, house was like like all completely locked up. She was clearly in a depressed state and straight away property manager calls me up and you know this is one that we're just going to flag, keep an eye on, check in with her, give her that support, identify if there is any issues that come up. And if they do come up, we'll be onto it straight away because it does look like it's a high risk situation. So it's stuff like that which I guess what we're not doing is. We're not marketing that well enough to our clients. We're marketing the wrong things, and's we? We just need to be marketing that risk value and that support.
Speaker 2:So lonely because the thing is that when we were talking about there was, there is facebook is flooded with outsourcing inspections. Yeah, and I'm like for crying out loud, the inspection is the is the most important time. Is that the most important time when you, you know your property? So the thing is that if I get in today, mary, tomorrow john, the following time, peter, what's the history that they know about this property, what's the emotional attachment that they have with the owner and understanding? You know, when I'm talking to Andrea and she writes the letters to the owners we were sending. We've just been this morning to check the water meter of this woman that she's not paying rent, and she came back and said, no, she's still there, she's not going anywhere. We got the water meter but I said, send him a report and let him know that, regardless, the house is in great condition. At least, if nothing else, he knows that we are there. We are proactive because we've been there, like four weeks ago, because there was another issue. So I don't have to send him another report, but the simple fact that he's there with a heartache and knowing God knows if she's trashing my home now or she's breaking everything, it's a lot, but for the same token, even a tenant. You know, like, if you have a tenant with some kind of issues, they know they can call me and I tell them. If I can help you, I will help you. If I can guide you, I will help you If I can guide you, I will guide you.
Speaker 2:One of the things that is important to understand that this is something we were discussing in one of the points that we made. Not every owner should be an owner, because there is a lot of owners that they do not understand that, yes, the tenant is there to pay. You give them a roof, absolutely, but you need to give them a home, and I understand that. Maintenance. You know, like, oh, I had so much maintenance. Yes, but they are paying your mortgage In the meantime, you're getting re-evaluation of your asset. If we maintain it, if you lived in there, you will be paying your mortgage, you will be paying your mortgage, you will be paying your maintenance. So you're gonna have the, the house, falling on you. So the expenses are going to happen regardless of everything, isn't it? Yeah, and it's well, that's true.
Speaker 2:You here to and I agree with you we should market more the, the value that we bring, because I see more and more properties and I see more property management advertising on facebook five percent discount, discount here, discount there. And I'm like you know the famous pay peanuts, get monkeys, eh, and it's absolutely fine. If you want to go to a company like that, just collect your rent and sit on it, that's absolutely okay, you don't need to pay an extra 5%. But again, are they collecting the right rent for you in the sense of value the property? If you go to market with an undervalued property, your property is not going to sell the same way.
Speaker 2:You know, like if, if you have a property that is not checked, that is the problem, that the property might be disrepair and I mean nothing lasts forever. Lasts forever. I mean only the Colosseum in Italy is still there after, you know, 2,000 years. But in modern construction it's a continuous upkeep. And again, you might not be the right person. You know I had this discussion with my own son that is a tenant. Oh, but owners should not have properties if they can't maintain it. I said, mate, mate, slow down a bit. Let's understand that owners have a lot of expenses and right and council tax and and water and maintenance and this and this, and that it's not that they're sitting on a nest egg of you know and you pay. You know the famous positive and negative gearing. So it's and a lot of them are mums and dads that they're really trying to buy to, hoping for a revaluation and making some money. But in the meantime, if they don't maintain, instead of having an asset that is valued more, they have an asset that is to be knocked down.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, that's exactly right. Tell me about the. You know we touched on the AI and you know the concern with that. Is there any tech or AI that you currently use at the moment that you use sort of appropriately so it's not taking over your role? Or are you just like anti, like don't have anything?
Speaker 2:Well, you know, chat GPT, the only thing that I use it is simply because I, like you know, being Italian, and sometimes the way I say stuff, it doesn't come across to the English-speaking native the right way. And I like my adverts to be exciting, to target certain people and to be, you know, personal, trying to be emotional. So, you know, I write all the generations I want to put and then I say Chad GPT grieved me an amazing, exciting advert, da-di-da-di-da.
Speaker 1:That makes me sound like an Australian.
Speaker 2:Not only that, but like a freaking whiz. That I love, you know. But beside that, I don't know if I heard so many people telling me, even on property main, you know, you have tons of automations are you?
Speaker 1:you're on property man. Yes, yeah, are you using any of the triggers? You need to. You need to get on that.
Speaker 2:The thing is that if I take, you know, even for the payments, so many times they come in, you know tenants make the wrong reference because I use the TEN reference to put it. I put it in the letter so that the owner, the tenants, are putting the TEN reference and it locks it in for them, right? Obviously, if I possibly had 1,200 properties like you do, it would be a different game. But at this stage you know, like there is a lot of tenants that they still put in their name and it's grey, and it's not done right and it's whatever. So I like the pulse and like I put in voices as soon as they arrive, I put them in.
Speaker 2:Possibly again if I would have to grow to over three, four hundred properties by myself and I'm too old to think I want to go any further than that, but that's all good is. I would try to see, but I will be leaving because if AI stuff up something, you are the one to fix it. And you know, like I have a nightmare story where I had two tenants, same last name. One was paying $900 a week, the other one is paying $2.50 a week and the money of the $2.50 has been receipted with the money of the $900. So it's been switched and then disbursed and I'm like crap because none of them were put in the course. So at the moment my focus is teaching all my tenants to put references. Let them know that you need to be locked in.
Speaker 1:What bank do you use, pardon? What bank do you guys use for your trust? Westpac, see, with Westpac I do the payway match, so the tenants have got the code and then it downloads into one file, so the one file gets receipted. If there's occasional, the odd person that pays directly into the trust account, that's fine, but the majority of people are paying and I just download, or we download, that one file and then it's receipted. So is there a reason why you haven't sort of jumped into that step? And the only reason why I ask is because I do see this a bit when people say, maybe if I was bigger, like in terms of the portfolio, but then wouldn't you rather make those changes when you've got?
Speaker 2:less so you can test it out. It makes a lot of sense what you say conflicts. In the business that I witnessed they're always being related to wrong payments, wrong allocation, wrong invoices. Do I trust AI that much? Not that much to say. Do I want to risk, you know, like if I had more properties and I end up? I remember I took a property from a big agency that trusted I can't do this. Sorry, All good, I don't know. This meeting has been recorded. Good Now, somebody tried to call me. How do you stop people calling?
Speaker 1:you? Oh, I think you just would normally put it on like aeroplane mode. Don't do it now. No, no, it's all right, Okay, yeah.
Speaker 2:Because he's possibly going to call me again, but hopefully not. That's all right, right, okay, yeah, because it's possibly going to call me again, but hopefully it's. Uh, it's no, it's one of my owners that I call. The money's finished. Um, so the thing is that with uh with, I took this property from another big company. A tenant pay like twenty thousand dollars rent or something like that. They allocated to the wrong people, they disbursed to the wrong tenants, that sorry, to the wrong owner. The owner end up having it in his end of financial year and having to pay taxes on that and then they figure out that all was wrong, but he paid already the taxes. So it's like a bloody headache. The point again is like, if I automate all that, am I worth it? You know, like, if I can't, like I don't know, maybe I'm a control freak, what can I?
Speaker 1:say I think there's a really good balance and it's good to chat about it and I love that, like I love to for people to hear, like, what you are worried about, because there's a lot of people that have that same worry. So it's about sort of just having that sort of that open chat about, like you know what your people are scared of with doing or why they're hesitant. And I think that, like, a lot of the stuff that we use is definitely not necessarily client. You know, even with like I'm a fan of offshore, we appropriately used outsourced inspections but it doesn't replace the property managers also doing them if that makes sense. So we've never lost touch and we've never given something to someone for 100% control. So our property managers are very well aware that they are still 100% responsible for every single thing that goes out, no matter who sends it out.
Speaker 1:And saying that, I do have some people on my team who don't want to use offshore and they have the same hesitations. But I mean, I say offshore but also with automations. But there are different ones. We upload our properties through PropertyMe as the uploader and we have a trigger that what happens is, every time we publish a property, the owner gets automatically emailed an SMS to say congratulations, your property's online. So it's a trigger that happens automatically. It works beautifully. I don't have to worry about owners. What's a?
Speaker 2:plotter Are you talking about? For?
Speaker 1:listings For listings. So we list our properties for rent through PropertyMe.
Speaker 2:I do have the same. I use them through. But the only thing I don't know if possibly it's not completely set, so to speak. Uh, I've got like four listings out on uh, on property me, sorry, property me. On um, yeah, yeah, property me technically, but they use only rentcomau or ire for your uploader okay, no, I haven't done ire yet.
Speaker 1:Oh no, no so where are you uploading it? So if you've got a property coming up for rent, um, where do you upload it? And like, where's the initial place you upload it for?
Speaker 2:it to go out. We use Vault.
Speaker 1:Yep.
Speaker 2:So everything goes on Vault and Vault is the one that puts it through with IRE and domain and a few other bits and bobs. I mean that's for the sales. So normally I have multiple locations because it becomes that if they pay this and they have to pay that and they have to whatever, whatever might as well, and plus they put it obviously online on our website. So I do the whole nine yards on that that potentially can be joined in, because sometimes when I have to change a price or drop the price, I've got three different places where I have to run around oh really.
Speaker 1:So you can't just change the price in vault and that updates it everywhere, so vault change.
Speaker 2:Uh, vault updates obviously rea, domain and whatever. But rentcomau that is on the one that I've seen at the moment and it was available used on through PropertyMe. That's a separate one, so you know I put it on in there and then on the website it's completely detached because Vault doesn't fit the website.
Speaker 1:Oh see, that just might be something to potentially like look at when you have time, just as a streamline, something just as simple as looking at that project, because for us, yeah, we go straight from PropertyMe as the uploader. That automatically goes to realestatecom domain and our website and IRE as well. Now there are some smaller websites that it doesn't go to. However, I'm not that worried because when I've looked at the stats in the past, the other websites have brought in 0.5% of the inquiry.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, ire is sorry.
Speaker 1:realestatecom is obviously the that's the main one and that's all that I care about. But what's great is, like I guess, that trigger. So for us, like I said, it has an automatic email and SMS to an owner. So I know that they've been advised Things like that from a management level. I guess when managing a team it's nice to know that those things are happening, a little bit like the rent review that I've got to just check for one of my clients who called me up before speaking to you. He rang me up and he said oh Ash, I'm not sure my property manager has issued the rent increase because she had mentioned that the lease was returned late. And I said no, I said our form tends to go out straight away regardless of the lease being signed for a rent increase in WA. So I know that that trigger and automation happens automatically in the back end so I can confidently say to the owner that that wouldn't have happened. But I'm going to just double check and see. So it's sort of for me like that's where it's peace of mind that I know things have been done.
Speaker 1:But one thing that I would say to everyone listening to like it's absolutely fine to be hesitant in different.
Speaker 1:You know, property Me has some checklist triggers, automation, that's all started, and you might not be ready to do that.
Speaker 1:You might not be ready to use it as an uploader, you might not be ready to look at a VA, for example, or whatever it might be. What I do encourage you to do, though, is you know what's available and you still do demos, you still watch the webinars, you still show up and find out about it, because, even though you might not want to use something now, in six months, three months, 12 months, when you've got a pain point, then you'll go oh, I know how to fix that, for example. You know that, with your receding, you're happy to do it at the moment because you've got some control over it, but you know, in six months time, if that becomes a problem or overwhelming, you know exactly what you need to do. You know you need to go get payway match and you need to do it. Don't have to then go and do all that research. So, for me, demos and new tech is important. Just to know what's available makes sense when you need it.
Speaker 2:So that's my little takeaway tip for everybody that's absolutely make make a lot of sense, because sometimes the fear of of change stop you from improving and growing. And and that's absolutely, and you are absolutely 100 correct is that sometimes it's like before they're using vault and they're paying vault and I'm like am I doubling up and putting two advertising and being charged double because I advertise through vaults and then it's going to go through, uh, through property, me, because I looked into? And then sometimes life gets in the way because obviously you have a million things to do and you wish to be in the middle of a plateau so you can like okay, let's have a look, what can we change? And that's never happened, that's all good. There's always something happening, you know, that will make you grow.
Speaker 1:But you might even have someone listening today who uses VOL and says, oh my God, gisela, you need to get on this. This is going to solve all your problems. Feel free to reach out.
Speaker 2:I would love to have anybody just to reach out. I mean, the only thing that annoys me I'm a big emoji girl. You know, if you look at the advert that I create for our website, I like the emojis and the things. That makes it a little bit. You can't use emojis in Property May. You can't use them on Vault, and I'm like people pull a finger. Come on, this is going to bring some excitement in this bloody thing because you know, renting a property I call it as is a tinder of real estate yeah you know they don't read anything and they just go picture price, picture price, picture price.
Speaker 2:And I'm like, come on, let's give them some, you know, excitement and in connection to the property you know, get them excited about the property as well.
Speaker 1:Um, now I want to um ask. I've got a really quick question that I'd be gutted if I didn't ask you before. Um, before we sort of finish up, but, um, it's just actually around the trainees. So how are you like, how are you in how you bring her into your team? Are you just having her work alongside you? Are you getting her to start with certain basic tasks? Can you give just as a brief idea about you? Are you getting her to start with certain basic tasks? Can you give just as a brief idea about how you've got that to start?
Speaker 2:first, first thing that she started on I mean, obviously she's got a license and etc. Etc. I gave her a form 6 and a form 18 and I said you need to study those very, very well because everything is based around for us, anything that you do. Then I gave her a full lease, uh, a form 18a as a lease in general and explain so, and then I started to. The first thing that I put her on to do was obviously routines. She's done a couple with me. Uh, I pointed out to her where I wanted to look little details, little little things, you know, checks, making sure that if the tenant was present felt comfortable to confide any issue, because they're not whinging, they're just helping us to maintain the property and they are the keepers of the property, so we need to listen to whatever they say from the routine. That obviously is less details.
Speaker 2:She got in to do uh, entries and exits and she's been a gun because after after learning to do a good routine and understanding the core behind the check, your entry report of the beginning of this tenancy, because you don't know the property getting you know where it's here, but keep an eye on everything, any damage, and but she's got it a lot in her, like the, the eye, the, the desire, the, the, the, the, the will of doing it the right way. Then she's because she's from Uruguay, know, like her, english is not great as well. So she used ChatGPT, the same way you know, to fill out everything and it's amazing. So at the beginning you kind of follow. I've been following up her routines and her thing just to see how she expressed what she explained. Obviously, when you don't know an owner, some they need to have certain wordings, some they're a little bit worried about. So you kind of nourish her in and I said to her the more you get in, the more you will know your property, your owners and everything else. So you will feel you know, you will know more. And now she started to do like a leases.
Speaker 2:Obviously she's not into Form 6 or trust accounting at all, but uh, lisa's the first time she was keep missing details and I think she's done the same list 50 times. Because I said this is how it has to be, this is go and get your old leads, pull it up. Same conditions, different date, follow it up. And she was keep missing bits and pieces. But what I loved, she was really taking it hard, like she was really angry with herself, right, because she was stuffing it up, and I said woman, I said shit happens all the time and I do it still after several years. The problem is not the mistakes you do, the problem is that you can fix them. So check, fix and we are at the point now where she can go easy and I'm like well done. You know not one problem, can you check it? You know she's 15. She's amazing, love her to bits and so she's moving on doing everything. Today she's out doing, you know, entries and exits, and yeah, so she will be.
Speaker 2:You know, she came in as a trainee, so to speak, and then I was talking to Michael and I said you better give her an offer because she's ready to go anywhere. You know. I said I know because I trained her and she's I would hire her on the spot. So he actually offered her the position, even if we have, you know, 70 properties, and I said that will give me more time to go and be with owners and I sell, that, sell us, you know, and sometimes, like today, I took her with me to to a property because I said I want when we got, when we are not overly busy. Come with me. I want you owners to meet you. I want owners to understand it is either your face or my face that are going to be there. We are going to be holding your property. That is for me, personally speaking. I would never compromise with human factor and contact to owners, but not to get them just to sign.
Speaker 2:If it makes any sense, signing a Form 6 is easy. I always say signing a Form six is the wedding day, the marriage come the following day when you have to lease, when you have to maintain, when problems happens and you have to resolve them. You know what I'm saying. This is going to just tell you everything. Yes, I do. And then the following week, you know, know things are changing. So it's extremely important to have that kind of concept. That's why I love property management. It's a long run. It's a long-term relationship with my owner, with my tenants, with my team, with you. Know, that's it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you ooze the love of property management and I think you'll be an absolute wonderful mentor for her, which is wonderful. Now, last last question, and now this is a weird one. Okay, and I hope I'm not putting you on the spot and you have to keep it clean. It can't be. You know, it's a clean question. I went to a networking event and the. We went around the table and introduced ourself and we also had to say what our guilty pleasure was and I thought, oh, I really like that. I'm going to start introducing that into my podcast to ask my, my guests, um, at the end of the the episode, what their guilty pleasure is. I'm putting you on the spot, so apologies for that in advance, but yeah, Well, me, I'm an open book.
Speaker 2:I'm just trying to think about not getting too many Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep. So let's clarify what's English means. Guilty pleasure Is something that you do or you know is.
Speaker 1:Well, I'm going to share mine. I'll share mine and then you can speak. Mine is and most people might know this it is a KFC burger dipped in gravy. That's okay. Like that is my guilty pleasure. Like if I really have had a crappy week or a good week could be a crappy week or a good week and I just want to like either reward myself or drown my emotions. That's like my go-to and that generally just is like my thing, that I do. That I love.
Speaker 2:Well, for me there are a couple of things. Number one on the food or drinks I love Amaretto Sour. I'm not a big drinker.
Speaker 1:Hold on everyone. That one paused just as she said. I think she said a margarita, let's just wait, hold on, hold on, hold on. That just paused and I just was clarifying for the recording that I'm pretty sure you said, margarita Sour.
Speaker 2:No, amaretto Sour. No, amaretto sour, amaretto sour, amaretto sour. I know you have. You never had it. No, no, I have to try if you like hazelnut and stuff like that. It's a sweet, it's sour, it's not too heavy, because I'm a very lightweight in alcohol. So I can have one, maximum two, for a night and then I'm like woo-hoo, let's go. So definitely the Amaretto Sour and, if I can, in my massage chair, because I bought last year one of those fancy UFO thingies that you go in and you go like, yeah, and do you use it regularly?
Speaker 1:Oh, every single day, Because that's one thing that I was umming and ahhing whether to get for the office but I was like, is it just a novelty? Like would people actually use it?
Speaker 2:I have a particular setting and I make. It makes such a difference to me when you go in. It's one of those. It was $7,000, no peanuts, and I'm still paying for it, so don't get me wrong. So I made the most of it, yeah. But every single night I go home, I get change, I put my pj or my tracksuit whatever they might be and I go in there and it's got the music and it's got the shatsu thing is going and I load all my stress on my back. So it's a blessing in disguise and I do a couple of rounds and then I feel like a new person and then I can keep going for the rest of the night.
Speaker 1:That is. Yeah, that's exactly what a guilty pleasure is going home, jumping into the massage chair and enjoying that. So I love that. So that's just a quick note to everyone else that happens to come on as a guest. That's a question I'm going to start asking everyone now. So I love that. So that's just a quick note to everyone else that happens to come on as a guest. That's a question I'm going to start asking everyone now. So I love that. I love our time together and chatting and really really do appreciate getting your energy out into the property management industry, which is exactly what you do every single time we speak and I hope sort of, yeah, everyone that's listened has taken something away, and if anyone does have any smart ideas involved and the portal uploaders and all of that, do reach out, because I reckon we can help Gisela find that a little bit as well. So, thank you, you know I love our time together every time. I appreciate the chat.
Speaker 2:I'll see you next year.
Speaker 1:And I'll see you next year. Yeah, for our annual check-in. Sounds fabulous.
Speaker 2:Unless you come up on Gold Coast before that, and then I'll take you out for an Amarito Sour?
Speaker 1:I think that sounds good. It's good to see you, gisela, yeah.
