The need for rent managers

Two columns ago we mentioned the exciting prospects of real estate investing in the Philippines. And if I may add to the excitement, Professor Eric Soriano, Chair of the Marketing Cluster and Program Director for Real Estate at the Ateneo Graduate School of Business says, “The long anticipated growth trajectory will happen this year.  This time it’s for real.” So if you’re thinking of putting your money and make the most out of it, you should consider real estate. And the fastest and simplest way to take advantage of this growth is to invest in a condo.

I made mention before about “flipping” which can be likened to stock investing: “buy low, sell high”.  You can, for example, take advantage of the low prices of condos in their pre-construction phase (pre-selling period) then sell your unit when it is ready for occupancy. The average rate of return per annum that you can make from this approach is between 15 to 20 percent with practically less or no hassle on your part. And of course there are those who want to invest in a condo in the hope of making money from rentals to take care of their mortgage payments.

While flipping offers quicker return, investing in a condo for rent still has its major advantage because you retain the ownership of the property. Thus, an investor who opts to lease out his condo benefits from passive income as well as (price) appreciation over the long haul -- and that’s the reason why many investors like it better to purchase a condo with rental in mind than to profit from flipping.

But condo letting does not come without its headaches.

If someone, a broker or agent perhaps, offers you a condo (at preselling prices) and tells you that you should buy it in order to gain from rentals in the future, let him sign a contract that he will be there to market and take care of your condo to renters once your condo is finished. If he does not take the deal then that agent or broker is only there to get his/her commission.  I have seen buyers who have fallen into this kind of sweet talk from property agents who promised to help them find renters only to disappear later.

Before buying a condo, look for an agent who is also a rent manager. A rent manager is a “hybrid” property specialist whose job is to find renters in behalf of property owners. Rent managers are the best property professionals that you should seek when contemplating to buy a condo for tenancy. A rent manager does three things for you. One is to do marketing and promotion of your condo to renters. Two, they are also trained to do property management. Three, they are there to help you take care of the administrative aspects of the rent.

Condo owners who rent out their units are usually absentee landlords. The reason why there are so many unrented condos around is because condo owners have no time to take care of their units themselves. And if they are lucky to find a potential renter, the renter usually ends up disappointed on his first visit because the unit is either dirty or needs a lot of fixing, or maybe both. Condo owners also have no time to do billing and collection, much less the time to attend to the upkeep and promotion of their condos to renters.

Rent managers do the crucial part of helping condo owners manage the rental administration, the marketing and even the dirty work. Rent managers connect condo owners and renters in ways that make the whole rent process a pleasant and hassle-free experience for both.

You may ask, where do I find these rent managers? While rent managers are, I would say, are not so easy to find these days but it’s a good thing there are those who aggressively embrace the idea. Leuterio Realty and Brokerage is one of them. In fact, they are the pioneers in the business and are encouraging other realty firms to do the same to help address this long-forsaken issue in the industry.

The said realty firm also happens to be one of the owners of Rent.ph, a property rental portal designed to help property owners and renters find each other. The site is also heavily visited by rent managers and property professionals to promote and list their property there. If you are in search of such type of professionals you may inquire on Rent.ph’s facebook page www.facebook.com/rentph.

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