Anywho, I let it slide for a while. But I now have something I would like to share. One of my greatest joys here at work is listening to Fleur, Gina and Claire doing their ‘thing’ on the phone. I love how they are so transparent and go about setting expectations. Fleur was just accepting a new tenant for a property that has a lovely front lawn and a nice concrete driveway, but very little room for error on the turnaround …  So Fleur talks about the lawn and the damage that can be done by cars on it (especially in winter). She explains to the tenant that this would be considered damage and they would need to remedy it (Fleur goes on to explain how) so it would be best to not allow guests to park on the lawn etc. This tenant has no illusions whatsoever about where cars can be parked at that house. Now whenever an inspection is done it is a simple matter of monitoring the situation.  Brilliant.

Expectations prevent so many problems. Telling owners and tenants alike the complete picture in as concise a way as possible makes business clean and clear for all concerned.  Unfortunately, sometimes, despite being fully informed, some people still choose poorly.

Claire was very clear with an owner who has procrastinated over some serious maintenance. She was very clear on what was needed and the cost involved.  She was very clear on how it impacted on the tenant and what actions the tenant could take if the maintenance was not done in a timely manner. (This normally produces a fast resolution.) Nothin’, Nadda, zip and zilch! – So now, as the tenant indicates to us that she is indeed taking action to ensure the work is done, we have no issue or concerns in passing this information on to the owner. We take no joy in it either, but we know we have not dropped the ball.  We (Claire) have fulfilled our duty of care beautifully.

And despite the fact that I want to say long and loud:  “You pay us for a reason, LISTEN when we advise you …” I kind of think the message gets through anyway. Just sometimes it gets through the hard way.

Transparency. Expectations. Love’em.

Literally putting down one phone to pick up another to put that down to see two people queuing to see me to come back to voice mail and half a dozen emails while I’ve been gone.  It is crazy. (So I am on leave for one week.  I will not be checking my emails, I will not be answering my phone.  I am in Property Management Detox! – Yeeeeeeeaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh………………………….) 

I did take an afternoon to go to Waitangi for the Ray White Zone awards … (goal in site!) and Carey Smith spoke.  I found it inspiring.  He did remind me that I can be so focused on my ‘crossing things off my to do list’ that I don’t take the time to actually be totally present with what is in front of me right now, be it a potential landlord or a leaking toilet. I confess to struggling with the whole reactive/proactive tug of war that I swear all property managers’ deal with.  It is such a reactive job.  But the only way to stay sane is to have some semblance of control.  To be proactive.

But making the time to do that over the last five months has been my greatest challenge.  I cannot wait for the changes to cease and for some familiar stability to come back into my world! Speaking of stability …

I’m sad. We are loosing Hayley. Hayley Russell came to us in August.  No experience in property management but she came from a management role and she has plenty of customer service experience.  Hayley has been a breath of fresh air.

We nearly didn’t hire her as she ran the risk of simply being too nice!  You know, not enough mongrel in her.  We didn’t want to break her!  Now I want to break her partners legs … he has received a promotion that involves leaving for Tauranga – and Hayley, despite my best efforts, is packing up and moving with him.  Our loss and Tauranga’s gain.  Seriously, any property management firm down there looking for a property manager, call us for Hayley’s phone number.  You will not regret it.  She is so nice people don’t want to let her down. She just has to look at you with those big kitten eyes and I swear you’d rob a bank to pay your rent.  Only four months in, so she still needs a little support but I have never seen anyone take to a job so easily before.  She has grown into it wonderfully and she will truly be missed.

However … as much as Hayley will be missed I am super stoked to have Fleur Dobson and Claire Hewertson.  Such depth of experience, such integrity, such laughter!!!  (Just between you and me I am a little in awe of the company I keep nowadays! Shhhh … )

And in months to come I will introduce you to Gina. Gina is also super nice, but I suspect this kitten has a little more scratch ability!  Time will tell.  What I will tell you is she is super excited to be joining us as are we.  We approached her because we see a depth of intelligence that we believe will grow her in to an outstanding property manager, and one thing I know about Allens … sorry, Ray White Allens, is they totally rock at supporting people as they grow to what ever they want to be. We don’t just grow your business … We grow people!

Honestly! I live in a home and all I do with the curtains is open and shut them! Where is the need to pull them down, swap them round, loose them, replace them, steal them, and basically give property managers all manner of grief??!!!

Don’t they know that investors do not like being told that the brown Aztec curtains that have lived there quite happily for 10 years are now orange? Or missing …  Ok, so you might think it is obvious why the investor does not like being told that, but bare with me. The plot thickens here …

The real issue with missing curtains is that if they are over seven or eight years old they have absolutely no value in the eyes of the adjudicator.  None.  Zip.  Nadda.  Ain’t worth a red razoo.

I have just been to Tribunal and part of the claim was $800 odd to replace the missing curtains. How old were the curtains? I am asked. Well at least five years I answer truthfully. Ok, comes the reply. Then they only had 1 or 2 years of life left in them.  The value of the replacement curtains is taken and divided by the expected life of the old curtains and allocated an amount per year. Less what they had ‘lived‘ left in this case approx $100 that the owner was awarded.  Hmmmm …

My protests of “But the owner may not of chosen to replace them for another 10 years!” Fell on polite, but deaf ears. Nor was my cry of, “He had no choice but to replace them because of the tenants actions”, heard.

I was however enlightened on the subject of ‘Betterment’.  (I am grateful for the lesson.) It is not upon the tenant to leave the property ‘Better’ than when they moved in. They aren’t really even expected to leave the property in the same condition.  Oh don’t get me wrong.  Damage will always be pursued through the tribunal system.  But basic wear and tear, basic lived in stuff is absolutely acceptable. But that isn’t what I am talking about here.

Really, *sigh* … what I am whining about, and procrastinating over, is the fact that I have to make another one of those phone calls.  And I don’t really don’t want to!

So I am feeling humble.  And sheepish.  Let’s not forget the sheepish.  I am probably feeling more sheepish than humble …  Though what sheep have to do with feeling embarrassed (definition of sheepish) I have NO idea … and this from a sheep farmers daughter. Yes yes, back to the big why I’m feeling sheepish.

As you know we have had a huge change here and we have been lucky enough to have Vanessa in here. (Vanessa being one of our business owners and Company Directors). Well I heard her talking to a sweet elderly tenant of ours the other day. This lady has the beginnings of dementia and I have had the pleasure of dealing with her before regarding a maintenance issue. An element on her stove needed replacing and I wanted her to tell me the brand of the oven so I could inform our sparky.  (Yes for all you PM’s out there, I should have simply looked at a photo!)

Now in the phone conversation with her I was polite, patient and what I considered to be suitably professional. I got the result we all wanted and I hung up happy – and apparently oblivious!

During Ness’s conversation with her, she asked Ness if “that Diane” was still employed here. Ness, very proudly, said yes, yes she is. “Oh” came the reply … “that woman is so rude! She made me get up and go and look at my stove there and then”.

This for me was a gentle reminder, well, not really so gentle actually!  That not everyone’s experience of me is what I would like it to be despite me delivering what I think at the time is professional service  Some people experience me as strong, forceful, and sometimes what I think is obvious is in fact, far from it … And I can’t really control that. Which for a control freak produces some serious soul searching and some very indignant self talk!

So I took this on board and tried buttoning back the ‘professional’  speak to be more friendly, and had a tenant come back and say my standard wasn’t high enough!!! Ahhhhh!!!!

So the point, I guess, is that I continue to work on my self awareness everyday. I don’t always get it right, but I do care, and I do shift my behaviour to always try to be better. Allens has an underlying motto, an ethos, of ‘Better Than Before’. If I take that motto, and one from the delightful movie The Robinsons ‘Keep Moving Forward’, then I may, just may, stay sane.

Oh … sorry … you want to know why we are turning yellow and grey???  Well! Exciting stuff … as of early October this year we will become Ray White Allens! Yep, we have gone international and all that that implies.

New IT systems, new marketing, access to wonderfully up to the minute information and resources – including a few new staff from the existing Ray White business here in Whangarei who have been invited to join us.  And some new business cards that’ll show every freckle (read wrinkle!) on my face!!! Oh well, you can’t control everything … (not for lack of trying …)

For us in Property Management it also means new properties, new owners, new tenants, and new staff. We have two more very experienced property managers coming to us, and I’ll introduce them in weeks to come, but suffice to say I am fair vibrating with excitement! The only down side is we loose Vanessa out of our office … *sigh* … it’s been fun.  Oh well, our loss is the sales team’s gain.

Click here for Monty’s (Our Company Directors’) blog …  It will be much more information than my scattered thoughts …  Catch up again soon, when I can catch my breath …

Here’s a sneak peek at the official release hitting papers this week!

Exciting changes ahead here at Allens

As part of our commitment to building a stronger real estate agency able to better serve Northlanders we have made the decision to take another step forward. Currently operating as Allens Real Estate, as of 1 October 2011 we will be joining forces to partner with the Ray White Group – offering our customers even greater value through our collective expertise – and will be known as Ray White Allens. Still locally owned and operated, the company will now be backed by one of New Zealand’s and Australasia’s largest real estate brand, and we remain as committed to upholding our traditional family values and community involvement as we are to progress and innovate.

Other than a name change it will be business as usual.  We’ll be based in the same locations, with the same friendly team and culture.  Becoming part of the international Ray White Group simply means we can provide you with cutting edge technology which will result in far superior marketing and greater local, national and international exposure for our customers properties.

Over the next few weeks you will start to see some dramatic visual changes take place as we rebrand our three offices at Whangarei, Tutukaka Coast and Bream Bay.  Also undergoing a makeover will be the Allens Minis, website, stationery, flyers and marketing – as we take steps to become ‘Ray White Allens’.  (Our Company name ‘Goode Leith Realty Ltd’ stays the same – simply our trading name and external look will undergo a change.)

Although we may be taking on a new name (and some bright new colours), of course, as we build a stronger real estate company – some things will never change – and we’re proud to have the same friendly faces and community spirit that make us who we are.  We will always be proudly Northland owned and operated.  The new Ray White Allens will take on our national and international competitors with a spirit to make Northland proud.

So here I am being a ‘Property Manager’ …  I’m feeling a bit “set-up” about having to raise the bar and write a ‘blog’ …  Ahh well, having to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes and all that … So here goes …

Wow, where do you property managers find the time?!  Talk about 55 balls in the air at one time - seriously!  My brain had to come up with a ‘category-memory-mode’ to keep up with all the individual jobs, properties, landlords and tenants on the go … and notice how everyone sends you an email, or phones you, launching straight into the request … my hand is frantically scribbling down the point of the call, while my brain is whipping into it’s ‘category-memory-mode’ retrieving essential data:  Who is this?  From where? Are they returning my call?  Am I supposed to know something about this?  – You property managers seriously get the ‘high five’ from me!

I have met some amazing tenants, landlords and tradesman over the past few weeks – people really are such fun – the physiology of it is just so interesting - the tenants who phone you the day they miss rent (love them) and then the other end of the scale, the ones who just will not answer your calls (got that one sorted – surprise visit in the afternoon, just nowhere to run!).  No matter what walk of life, people are people, and what a great industry to sample such a cross section.

So these past few weeks …  I feel like I have dealt with everything: Absconded tenants, blocked toilets, lovely little old ladies who have dementia and want to talk for an hour, Court, and … less than clean tenants.  Talk about a steep learning curve!  Getting just the right level of “Yes, I want to help, but no I can’t spend all day on you” is quite a juggle.  Thank goodness so far everyone is just soooo nice.  (I can just hear Di sitting on my shoulder giggling “you think that’s everything?  Wait till next week…”).

I have to say our contractors are brilliant.  They rush up to our emergencies at a drop of a hat, are reliable and do a fabulous job – We couldn’t do it without them … even if they are a little bit too cheeky!

Diane – you are seriously talented at this Management role – I have been so proud of you.  Listening first hand, how you deal with the inevitable ‘disgruntled issues-in-the-closet’ that get aired when there is a change of property manager.  Absolutely, beautifully handled – with every case.  Your added stress of two ‘newbies’ in the department – asking questions left right and centre, training, teaching, coaching, keeping an ear out saving us from making mistakes we don’t even know we are making! – pure professionalism.  You deserve a sunny trip to a deserted island to get your sanity back … Oops sorry, can we make it a weekend to Auckland so you can be back by Monday?

A great team in here – Claire, Hayley and Diane – it has been an absolute pleasure to be part of it.

Just quietly loving it … I think … Well today anyway.

Off to make some calls… why are they not sending back their lease renewals? Hmmmm …

Vanessa McKenzie
Company Director and currently an ”Allens Property Manager”

We have had major changes here and Tracy, our other Property Manager, has now also left our team. So in the short term, my wonderful boss has put aside her director’s hat and replaced it with a property manager’s hat. She is in here, daylight ’til dark giving it everything she has. Kind of like Undercover Boss, but not the ‘undercover’ part … Needless to say I think our outstanding relationship with the powers that be will even be more wonderful now. Hehehehehehe…

So we are heads down and tails up, which is why I’m not spending much time on this blog. I just wanted to give you a heads up that the next blog you see here will be from our ‘guest blogger’ …  My boss – reporting from the front line.

I seriously can’t wait to read it.

One thing that sparks me up instantly is an inadvertently dropped “truth”. Words unconsciously uttered that suddenly shift how I see myself and my world. Exciting stuff for me!

So remember I told you about the landlord who helped shape me as a property manager?  The man who was, and is again now, my partner in “The Dance of  Property Management”?  Well he has been back in the country and we were talking over coffee. The fact that he was back a mere three months after leaving indicates to the savvy that something out of the ordinary had transpired.  Well done those of you who joined those dots … 

Okay, okay!  I’ll share his wise utterings. (I still smile when I remember the look on his face as I suddenly got lost in the concept of what he said and had to grab my pen to write it down … priceless.  Here it is:

Integrity is a spectrum. We choose where we place ourselves in that spectrum.

I think I have made it abundantly clear how important integrity is to me both personally and professionally, so you can imagine how this casually uttered pearl of wisdom sparked around my brain, It was like a tumble lock slowly shifting, changing and clanking in to the correct position to open.

Now I know I may sound overly dramatic about the whole issue of integrity, but here is why.

A ball had been dropped by Allens around one of his properties. And as manager of the department he was looking to me to see what Allens thought about this.  There were no demands, no righteous indignation, no thumping of a fist on the desk.  Merely a polite and gentle, “Well, this is how I see it, what about you?” and a pause, then a further “See what you can do”

So I take the trip down the rabbit warren that is our office to Vanessa’s desk (Director of the company in charge of the rental department) and I go into bat for the owner. And this is where another dance takes place.  Have you ever been so blessed to have a boss that invites you to tell them why they might be wrong?  One who says, well this is what I think and this is my decision based on that, but keep talking … I want you to make me change my mind.  A boss who is completely open to whatever you throw at them and is actually not just open but genuinely enjoys the process of working through stuff?? You may be getting a glimpse here of why I am a loyal Allens gal through and through.

Anywho – Ness and I to-ed and fro-ed, yes but, no but, but what about and have you thought about … for two days.  And at the end of the two days we reached a result that Allens could live with and that the landlord can live with.  But more importantly to me I think, is we reached a result I can live with.

The reason is because the decision aligned with where I place myself on my integrity spectrum, and where I believe Allens stands in that spectrum. I have a very wise boss because every time she gives me an opportunity to professionally stand where I choose to stand personally, she creates a deeper respect within me for her, the company, myself and the process.

It is deeply satisfying to know and experience that I will never be asked to represent myself or this company in any other light than one that reflects my personal placement on my integrity spectrum.

And I’ll share a final secret. It truly works. It flows. It is like a hot knife through butter.

*Sigh* … and a very contented one at that!

Is that right?  Have a conundrum?  Or is it that I am in a conundrum??

Anywho …  Val, one of our Property Managers,  is leaving our department.  So we have started advertising the position, and have been fielding applications for the role.

I am, truly blown away by the calibre of applicants, and by the sheer number of applicants!  And I feel more than a little intimidated by the task at hand.

For me it isn’t about finding someone with experience …   Although that would certainly free up my work load for the next 12 months or so!  There are so many factors to consider.  We want them to develop a sense of ownership in the role, while still remaining coachable.  We want their customer service skill level to be extremely high but they also need a little “mongrel” in them.  We want them to have the ability to think outside the square, but to stay within the guide lines.  We want them to be able to grasp the seriousness, the bigness of the role, while not being intimidated by it.  We want someone who doesn’t take drama so personally that they get reactive, but take it as a personal challenge to get control and resolve it.  We want someone who knows about monkeys and which back they belong on.  And we want to be so honest about what they are getting into that they actually understand what we will be asking … because it will change them.  Property management does that.  And we take that responsibility very seriously.

Don’t want much do we?

CV’s do not help.  Interviews are ok, but we are so aware that our interviewees are on their best behaviour; they are saying everything that is professional.  They present themselves in the best possible light.  This is normal.  But we want the truth. We want to know, among other things … how they handle stress … honestly. When someone you are in the process of evicting sits across the table from you crying, begging for another chance or home, how is that really going to effect you?  But no one wants to expose themselves in that way to us. Even when we ask leading questions …

If only they knew that if they did, if they were the sort to be authentic and open and transparent …  Well then we would be in a position to really talk.

I’m feeling kinda speechless.

I am very rarely, as you may have guessed, truly speechless, but I am a little today.  Also a little amused and a little bemused.

Eight months ago I took on a property with sitting tenants as the owner had decided to join the great migration to Australia. Rent is paid consistently, and my only inspection so far produced no real complaints.  It was tidy, it was clean. And it smelt of incense. And the posters on the walls just deepened my suspicions.  Now I can’t legally go nosing through their belongings, and I wouldn’t do that anyway.  But I looked everywhere I legally could for evidence of drug use.  I couldn’t find a damning thing…

The tenancy is in the girl’s name. And today she walks in to the office with the boyfriend who has been living with her since the start of the tenancy and asks to have him added to the tenancy agreement.  Well, ok, the owners had instructed me to do this so we start to go down that road.  I inform her of all the consequences of this action, including that she is in effect gifting half the bond to him.  ”No worries” she says. “It’s all good” she says.

“So, I need to come up with another bond if I move out” she asks …
“Move?” I say … Move?  Ahhh … (you may have noticed a blinding light over Whangarei at about 1.09pm today… It was the lightbulbs going off over my head.)

“Ahh” I say … “so let me guess”  I say, “you have split up and you are moving out and leaving him behind to take over the tenancy?”
“Yes”  she smiles brightly at me. Oh no you don’t! I smile brightly back at her. And while we are talking about this stuff, “young peoples”, I say, “… I want to let you know, that while there is no formal complaint in place, I am well aware that there are parties being held, loud and long parties” … and as they sheepishly lower their eyes I deliver my master stroke … “And,” I say, “… there is dope in the house.” Their eyes jump up and fleetingly meet mine, before dropping again as the blood rises in their cheeks.  At least they had the grace to look embarrassed I guess!

“It’s only when the lads turn up on the weekends” she says … And, I say, “why would I let you move out and leave a young man of 18 there whose weekend habits are guaranteed to rip up my peace and quiet, not to mention that of the neighbours?”

So we do the whole terrorise the teenagers talk, the accountability, theirs and mine, legal obligations, theirs and mine, and the far reaching consequences of a bad tenancy on their renting future … And they leave with a flea in their ear, a notice to vacate form and an application form for the lad and his two 18 year old mates … I need paper to light my fire with.