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One agency has slashed the time it takes to check its tenancy applications after appointing a specialist leasing consultant.
Ray White Croydon principal Tamara Lloyd told RPM that the Melbourne agency now checks its tenants within 24 hours.
The process used to take 36 to 48 hours before a leasing consultant was hired 12 months ago, Ms Lloyd said.
She said having a leasing consultant is a key selling point, even though the office’s management fees may be higher than some of its competitors.
“A lot of clients will still go with us because they’re more after the service than saving a couple dollars per month.”
With a portfolio of about 350 properties shared between three property managers, Ms Lloyd has found that a leasing consultant allows property managers to focus on their day-to-day tasks and be in the office more regularly.
“The property managers like it, they find their job more rewarding because they’re not getting so many complaints since they’re able to attend to things in a more timely fashion and they’re not falling behind,” she said.
“Also, because we do a lot of open homes we’ve got under 1 per cent vacancy, and that’s partly because of this process of having a leasing consultant. I actually don’t know, as a smaller business grows, how you would run a business without one.”
Ms Lloyd noted that while all businesses are run differently, a dedicated leasing consultant has allowed her to offer a premium level of service while alleviating some of her property managers’ stresses.
“I don’t have the property managers over-managing properties because it is all about the service for us, so it just helps to run a more efficient business,” she said.
The leasing consultant looks after most open homes as well as the application checks, private inspections and tenant sign-ups. Other tasks include organising leases and communicating with landlords after open homes and private inspections.
“We’ve worked on this process over time and it comes down to communication,” Ms Lloyd said.
“She has to really communicate well with the property managers, so they’re happy with who’s coming into the properties that they’re going to be managing.”
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