Most landlords choose a property manager on the fee and the first impression, then spend a year finding out what they actually bought. The difference between agencies is rarely the percentage. It is how quickly arrears are chased, how carefully tenants are screened, how often anyone looks at the property, and whether you can get hold of the person responsible for it.
These are the questions we would ask if we were choosing, with what a good answer sounds like and what a poor one tells you. Put them to every agency you talk to, including us.
To hear our answers in person, start with a free rental appraisal.
A townhouse two streets from the office and a lifestyle block with a shed, a septic system and half a hectare of grass are not the same job. Before you compare anyone, write down what your property needs: how far away you live, whether you want to approve every repair or none, what compliance work is outstanding, and how quickly you need it tenanted.
That list tells you which questions below matter most. A remote owner should press on communication and inspections; an owner with an older property should press on Healthy Homes. Read what a manager is responsible for on our property management pages first.
You are really asking how much of someone’s week your property can have. A good answer is a number, a name, and a clear line between what that person does and what the office picks up. A poor answer is a company-wide total with no figure per manager.
A good answer is a written process that starts the day rent is late, follows the steps the Residential Tenancies Act sets out, escalates to the Tenancy Tribunal if it is not resolved, and keeps you informed. A poor answer is that they give tenants a bit of time and see how it goes.
Ask for the schedule in writing, then read what sits outside it. Letting, inspections, maintenance coordination, statements and advertising may be included or charged separately, so two quotes with the same headline percentage can differ underneath. A manager who will not put it on paper is telling you something.
A good answer is comparable properties nearby that have let recently, adjusted for condition, heating and parking, and shown to you. Be wary of a figure noticeably higher than everyone else has quoted. A rent set to win your business is a rent that leaves the property empty.
Ask which portals they use, who writes the listing, who photographs it, and who runs the viewings. Viewings run by a member of the team tell you more about an applicant than a lockbox ever will. One listing, phone photos and no viewing plan means a longer vacancy.
Most agencies outsource something, which is fine if you know where the boundaries are. Ask who inspects, who does maintenance, whether the trades are local, and whether tenant enquiries reach a call centre or the person managing your property.
Settle this before you sign. A good answer covers inspection reports with photographs, monthly statements, an end of year summary for your accountant, and the maintenance approval limit above which they come to you first. Being kept in the loop is not a process.
Turnover is normal, so ask what happens when it occurs. You want the file, the inspection history and the tenant relationship held by the office rather than in one person’s head, and a named replacement instead of a gap where nobody owns the property.
The standards cover heating, insulation, ventilation, moisture ingress and drainage, and draught stopping, and Tenancy Services publishes the current detail. A good manager assesses the property, says plainly what is required, holds the compliance statement on file, and quotes any work separately.
How much notice you must give, in what form, and whether there is a fixed term. This clause decides how easily you can leave, and it is set by the agreement rather than by law.
What the manager can do without asking you, especially the maintenance approval limit and whether they can sign or renew a tenancy on your behalf. Set that limit yourself rather than accepting a default.
When rent reaches you, how deductions are shown, and what you get at the end of the financial year. Ask for a sample statement. If it is hard to read now, it will be hard to read every month.
Take the agreement away and read it before you sign. Any manager worth having will expect you to.
An optimistic number wins the listing and then sits on the market. Ask to see the comparable properties behind the figure.
Anything that cannot be put on paper before you sign should be treated as a cost you have not been told about yet.
If nobody can tell you who will actually manage the property, nobody owns it when something goes wrong.
Written photo reports protect the property and satisfy most insurers. A manager who is vague about inspections is vague about the condition of your asset.
Line the quotes up and write out every charge, not only the management percentage. Letting, inspections, maintenance coordination, statements, advertising and Tribunal filing all belong on the list, along with anything charged at renewal. A low headline rate with a charge attached to everything else is not a saving.
Then weigh the fee against what it is meant to prevent. Weeks of vacancy, arrears left to run, or damage found late all cost more than the gap between two rates. What sits inside our own schedule is on the property management fees page.
Every agency says it knows the area. The test is practical: who drives out for an inspection, who meets a tradesperson there on a Tuesday morning, and how far they travelled. Rents differ street by street, so knowing one suburb is not the same as knowing the next town.
Nexus works across Hamilton, Cambridge, Morrinsville, Te Awamutu, Huntly, Ngaruawahia and Te Kauwhata from offices in Hamilton, Cambridge and Morrinsville, with over 50 years of combined experience behind the team. Our property management Hamilton page shows what that looks like for one town.
Bring this list to your appraisal and put it to us in the same words. You will get the fee schedule in writing, the comparable properties behind the rent figure, the name of the person who would manage the property, and a straight answer on anything it needs before it can be let.
Already with an agency? The steps, the notice and what happens to your tenants are on our switching property managers page. Or call the office on 07 839 2222 and ask for a property manager.
No obligation, and nothing to sign at the appraisal.
Ask how many properties each manager handles, how arrears are followed up, what the fee includes and what is charged separately, how the rent figure was reached, where the property will be advertised, what is outsourced, and how often you will hear from them. Get the fee schedule and the agreement in writing before you commit.
Not on its own. A lower percentage on a property that sits vacant longer, or is let to a poorly screened tenant, costs more than a higher fee on a tenancy that runs smoothly. Compare what is included, the inspection frequency, and who you actually deal with.
What matters is whether the people doing the work are nearby, because inspections, viewings and maintenance visits all need someone already in town. Ask where the person managing your property is based, not where the head office is.
List every charge, not just the management percentage: letting, inspections, maintenance coordination, statements and advertising. Then compare the service behind the numbers, including inspection frequency, the arrears process and who runs viewings.
Yes, and you can do it while the property is tenanted. A change of manager does not end the tenancy or require your tenants to agree. Your current agreement sets the notice period, so read that clause first. The steps are on our switching property managers page.
That depends on how close you live, how much time you have, and how comfortable you are with the Residential Tenancies Act and the Healthy Homes standards. The questions here are worth asking either way, because they describe work that has to happen regardless.
