Frequently Asked Questions.

Quality advertising is essential for finding quality tenants to occupy your property. Our main forms of marketing a property include Trade Me, social media, “FOR RENT” sign boards, printer flyers, newspaper and DLE mail drops. However, every property is unique and as such require unique marketing, we customise your properties advertising to ensure the best response is achieved and the greatest target audience is reached.

Predominately we sign fixed term lease for a period of one year ending in the typical market peak January to March. This is to ensure that if the property is to be released it is being marketed in a buoyant market to provide the greatest choice of tenants and also to achieve the greatest rent levels.

In saying this not every property fits into the same market and so depending on your particular property this may vary. One example of this is studio apartments where shorter term lease of three to six months typically provides the greatest rent level due to their target market being more transitive in nature. As such the market for these types of properties is typically more stable and consistent all year round.

Lease types under the Residential Tenancies Act;

Fixed term leases –

• Fixed term tenancies have a set date of termination, neither party is able to issue notice to the other to terminate the agreement.  During the term of the lease all terms and conditions remain consistent including rent (unless prior agreement or negotiation).

Periodic leases –

• Periodic lease have no set date of termination rather is terminated by either party issuing notice to the other.  Tenants are required to give no less than 21 days notice and landlords no less that 90 days with no reason or 42 days if the landlord has a reason compliant with the RTA.  During the term of this agreement terms and condition can change if notice is issued, such as rent.

Our standard lease agreement is hugely detailed to ensure that your asset is protected and all the terms and conditions are clearly laid out.  This out lines to your tenants, and you the landlord, who is liable for what and what is expected of each party during the term of the lease.  This ensures that your risks associated with renting your property are reduced.  If you would like to see a copy of our lease get in touch and we would be more than happy to work with you to successfully manage your property.

All rents are paid in our company trust account, the Taylor Property Plus (2006) Ltd Trust Account, and this is reconciled on a daily basis and all rent paid processed against the correct tenants ensuring an accurate record tenancy history kept.  This ensures you, the property owner, have current and accurate records of your property revenue and also to ensure your requirements under the RTA are fully met.

Our company has a 2 days arrears policy which means that on a daily basis all rent arrears are followed up.  Most property management companies follow policies such as one week’s arrears which means that if further action, such as tenancy tribunal, needs to be taken your loss can potentially be far greater.  Our policy, an in fact all our company policies, are carefully designed to ensure that your investment is extremely well managed and the risks that come with property management are minimised and, where possible, removed.

Every time a property is advertised our team follows a detailed process and works hard to ensure the best tenants for your property are signed.  All potential tenants are required to register for viewings and this provides us with the ability to follow up with all interested parties and ensure they are provided with everything they require to make the process of applying and signing a lease agreement easy.

All tenants are required to view your property, this ensures that not only they are fully happy with the property but also you are able to judge a huge amount about how someone holds themselves in person. From here all those who have viewed the property are provided with a copy of our application form to complete which provides us with all the details required to determine an applicant’s suitability including occupancy and employment, current and historic tenancy details, identification and personal details.

All applications we receive are processed in a timely manner with applicants kept up to date with progress.  We always complete a range of background checks to determine an applicant’s suitability including, but not limited to, landlord and reference checks, background checks on databases (including the tenancy tribunal history, court history, media and social media, companies office and New Zealand Police, Parole Board and Sensible Sentencing Trust) and credit checks, where necessary.

At the commencement of every new lease we complete a thorough written initial inspection report that outlines the exact condition of the property on the day the lease commenced.  The report includes detailed photos of the property and our final inspection guide that confirms the property was thoroughly cleaned.

During the term of the lease we complete routine inspections one month after the tenants move in and then three monthly for the duration of the tenancy.  During this inspection we inspect the property to ensure that the tenants are maintaining the property well and check for any maintenance that may be required.  An essential part of our operation is our follow through where we notify you of anything may need to be completed, arrange for this to be done and check those repairs to ensure they are of the required quality but also follow up with the tenant to ensure rectify anything they may need to complete.

Our inspection policy assists with compliance of most insurance company policies, but if required we are able to customise this to ensure yours is met.

The frequency of inspections is outlined in your lease agreement. As standard these are conducted quarterly and are to ensure you the tenant are maintaining the property to the required condition and to ensure there is no maintenance or repairs that need to be completed at the property.  Prior to the inspection being completed our team will notify you of this and provide you will a break down of what is required for the inspection and outline what we will be looking at.

We process twice monthly payouts on the 15^th and 1^st of every month, or the nearest working day following.  You will be paid directly into your designated account less any expenses and our management commission.  At the same time you will be sent a statement of account that clearly details all your properties income, expenses and any payments made to you.  For your convenience your end of month statement (paid on the 1^st of the next month) provides you with a full statement for the past month.

At the end of the financial year we provide you with a summary of the income and disbursements for the year – all set for you End of Financial Year obligations.

Our team is continuously monitoring and analysing rent levels and trends in the Wellington market.  At the end of each fixed term lease we complete a rent review of the property to determine the best market rent for it and to ensure that the return from your investment is maximised.  If the case may be that the rent increases, we will negotiate on your behalf with the current tenant to ensure that if they remain in the property and that the market rent is achieved, but if they wish to move on that the new tenants sign for the market rent level.

Our company has a competent and experience pool of tradespeople who are competitively priced.  We arrange all repairs and maintenance on your behalf and ensure they are quality controlled.  When completing any maintenance, we continually keep you up to date with what is being completed, how much it will cost and if there are any other suitable solutions.

With regards to emergency/urgent work we have an after-hours service where tenants can contact us and our property managers will arrange for this to be completed.

All of this ensure that the stress and hassle that comes with property management is removed, as we deal with this all for you.

Taylor Property Plus solely focuses on providing quality property management and does not have a real estate division to ensure that this remains the sole focus of all operations. However, we have a strong network of property professionals so if you are looking at selling let us know and we are more than happy to help with recommendations for salespeople, valuers, etc.

If you are putting your rental property on the market let us know as we are legally required to inform the tenants that this is the case and provide them with the agency details.  We are happy to work with you and the new owners of the property to ensure a smooth transition.