Our aim is to offer our landlord's the best possible Investment management service by achieving the best rent returns, providing you with best possible tenants, keeping expenses to a minimum, achieving maximum capital growth and keeping you informed every step of the way.

Outlined below is a summary of the Management services we provide our investor clients.

Letting

Advertising:
We prepare all the advertising for the property. We advertise in the Queanbeyan Age on Friday and in the Saturday Real Estate section where applicable. We find the Internet is a powerful advertising tool and upload a description of your property and the price on our home page. We also display your property in our office window.

Advertising in the Queanbeyan Age and the uploading of your property on the Internet is at our expense. There is, however, a fee for Canberra Times advertising and this is discussed and agreed upon prior to placing the ad.

Our Internet site can be found at www.maxwellandco.com.au. Our e-mail address is maxwell@mak.net.au.

Inspections

We arrange to show the property to prospective tenants by appointment and/or on Saturdays. We carefully check applicants personal, credit, employment and previous tenancy references to make sure we get the best possible tenant for your property. Once we believe we found the right tenant, we advise you and give you the chance to make the final decision.

Once the application has been approved by you, we arrange the preparation and signing of the Tenancy Agreement and can sign the Agreement on your behalf. On signing the agreement we collect from the tenant four weeks rent as a bond on unfurnished premises and six-week rent as a bond on furnished premises and either two weeks or one calendar months rent in advance, depending on the tenants chosen method of payment. The rental bond is then forwarded to the Renal Bond Board, where the money is held until the end of the Tenancy.

Before the Tenancy commences, we do a thorough Condition Report on the state of the property. We also take photos of every room and the exterior and garden as a further safeguard.

Administration & Statement of Accounts

We liase between the tenant and the landlord. Rent is collected by us and deposited into a trust account. On the last working day of the month, we transfer monies electronically into you elected bank account and forward a statement of monies received and expenses incurred to you by mail, together with the original invoices paid on your behalf. Funds transferred into a bank account are cleared on most occasions by the next working day.

Arrangements can by made for us to pay disbursements, such as unit levies, water service charges, council rates, insurance, pest control, law mowing, etc. Where the property has a separate meter, tenants are responsible for paying for water usage. We arrange this payment.

Repairs and Maintenance

We are aware that labour can be expensive, and thus endeavour to keep these costs to a minimum. If any maintenance is required, we can arrange for one of our tradesman, or your preferred tradesmen, to carry out the work required. If the cost exceeds the amount laid out in the Management Agency Agreement, we will contact you before any work is undertaken. Alternatively, you might like to carry out repairs and maintenance yourself.

Emergency repairs are at the agent's discretion when and only if you can not be contacted. It is therefore important to inform us of any change of address or telephone number.

We highly recommend that professional companies regularly maintain the pools and lawn. If this is the case, costs should be covered through the rent.

More generally, we recommend that you keep your property in good condition. Letting your property become 'run-down' will not only lead to expensive maintenance and repair costs in the future, but will also effect the value of the property, the amount of rent you will receive and the type of tenants you will get renting your property.

Remember that repairs and maintenance to a rental property are tax deductible. See your accountant for details.

End of Tenancy

We will notify you when the tenant gives notice of the end of tenancy, and ask your instructions on re-letting the property. We will carry out an extensive Bond Report to check the condition of the property. Expenses such as unpaid rent or damage can then be claimed from the bond money.

In extreme cases where a dispute may arise over the bond, we will arrange for the case to be taken to the Tenancy Tribunal and will act on your behalf at the hearing.

Insurance

We strongly suggest that you take out Landlord Insurance. This insurance cover includes: contents such as floor coverings, light fittings, paint work and window furnishings, malicious damage, vandalism and loss of rent and public liability of up to $10,000,000.

If the property is a strata unit, the strata body will have insurance, so you will not need your own. We will be happy to arrange and/or pay the insurance for you out of the rent collected form the property.

Landlords Responsibility

A wise and prudent owner will:

• Ensure that there is the necessary equipment available (eg hoses and sprinklers) to encourage the tenants to maintain the grounds.
• Prune trees and shrubs at least once a year , we are happy to arrange this if required
• Maintain the property and allocate funds to prevent deterioration (painting and carpeting where necessary, for example).
• If travelling or residing overseas, appoint a Power Of Attorney to act on their behalf. Remember that our authority is specific and may not cover all eventualities.
• Advise agent of any change of address, telephone number or banking details.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will my property be looked after ?
We will ensure that the tenant is looking after the property by doing routine inspections every three months. You will receive a written report of our findings. If we are not happy with how the tenant is maintaining the property as stipulated in the Tenancy Agreement, we will discuss our concerns with the tenant and confirm the conversation in writing. We will advise them of a re-inspection in approximately one week to ensure that they have rectified the problem. If the problem continues we will discuss the issue with you and ask for your instructions in regard to terminating the Tenancy Agreement.

What if my tenant doesn't pay their rent on time ?
We find that the majority of tenants pay their rent on time or in advance. We do arrears check two to three times per week. If a tenant is behind in paying the rent, we follow these steps.

Step 1: If the tenant is three to four days in arrears, we will telephone them to remind them that their rent is in arrears. We will ask them when they will pay and diarise it to check that they have been true to their word.

Step 2: If they still have not paid the rent, on the fifth or sixth day we will send them a letter and telephone them again to warn them that if the rent is not paid, we will have no option but to terminate the Tenancy Agreement

Step 3: The Tenancy Agreement stipulates that once a tenant is 14 days in arrears a Termination Notice must be sent to the tenant. If we get to this stage, we will call you immediately to ask if you are happy for us to serve termination. We find that in most cases, if we serve termination, the tenant will quickly move to pay their rent up to date.

How much notice does a landlord have to give if they want the tenant to vacate the property ? The landlord must give no less than 14 days notice to a tenant within the last 14 days of the Tenancy Agreement expiring. If the Tenancy Agreement has expired, the landlord must give the tenant 60 days notice. This can be confusing so please contact our office if you are thinking of ending the tenancy.

What if the Landlord wants to increase the rent ?
The rent cannot be increased during the fixed term of the Tenancy Agreement. However, the Landlord must give the tenant 60 days notice of a rent increase. This can therefore be given 60 days before the Agreement expires or any time once the Agreement has expired.