FAQs

Our locally owned and operated office specialises in property management and investment. It’s our job to make owning a rental property as easy as possible and give you peace of mind that your property is in the very best hands. With Propertyscouts, you get to retain control of your property while leaving the day-to-day administration to us.

Are you looking for an honest rental appraisal? Well you have come to the right place. We understand the importance of getting it right. In some cases your investment property is purchased on yield, and you need to know the numbers you are given are not compromised to boost up the sale price. You can trust Propertyscouts to make sure you are given the most accurate and uncompromised figures to ensure your investment success.

Other times the property maybe your family home, this may lead you to consider pricing the property to ensure maximum amount of applicants and choice when choosing your ideal tenant. Examples of this would be a 4 bedroom home would attract more the a group tenancy, however your goal is to attract a professional couple of small family, which would align better to the tenancy outcome you home to achieve. We are here to help guide you with good old fashion, honest and reliable advice. We are here to see you succeed, and we will help guide you to the best outcome for your property and future.

We offer 20 years of Independent Property Management Services right here in Dunedin, so we have years of proven history on the Rental Market, so we like to think our knowledge is second to none. Dunedin Market is variable. We are happy to provide you an inperson FREE rental appraisal on your home.

There are several options available.  First, we need to understand your situation so we can recommend a package that is best suited to your needs. 

In all instances, our fees are reflective of the quality of our services and we will be completely transparent about our fee structure before we take you on as a client.  

We are 100% dedicated to providing exceptional service, including finding reliable tenants in a timely fashion.  We don't charge a cent until we have a tenant paying rent. Unlike many other property management companies, we don't charge any fees for arranging maintenance and repairs.  

For more information, get in touch!

Rent is collected from tenants on a weekly basis, beginning with a week in advance. It is stored in a Trust account for safe keeping until it is disbursed to you.

We guarantee disbursements to owners twice monthly. Disbursements are made up of rent payments less any deductions (such as our management fee and any invoices we have paid on your behalf).

Owning a rental property is challenging. You need to find good tenants, deal with maintenance issues, carry out inspections, know and comply with the Residential Tenancies Act, and chase unpaid rent (all while trying to do your day job). As property managers, we’re experts in property management law, and having us manage your property saves you time, stress, and the risk of being penalised for something you may not have realised was unlawful.  

Where pets are part of the application, these are reference checked, and named on the tenancy agreement. We request a photo of the pet so we have clear records of the approved pet at the property. Approving Pets at a property is a big decision to make, at Propertyscouts, we love our pets and believe many tenants make great applicants with or without pets, however we have also seen the damages than can cause.

With this is mind it is important to look at all factors of the tenancy to ensure the focus is not primarily on the pet, but on the tenants and their ability to look after a property well. Each application in our opinion should be looked at case by case, however we respect owners decision around the application and if they are accepting or not of animals.

Maintenance is a big issue for many landlords. Recent media has painted landlords in our opinion to have bottomless pockets, and empty hearts. This just is not true for the most part in our experience. Landlords are people and feel the economy just like everyone else, so our role is to work with you to:

• Plan upcoming larger maintenance
• Indicate what is necessary maintenance and what is suggested
• Navigate tenant expectations
• Work quickly to minimise costs
• Work with well priced and reliable contractors - and because we do not charge to arrange maintenance then we are happy to use your preferred contractors too

COMMUNICATE COMMUNICATE COMMUNCIATE- We are not afraid to pick up the phone to navigate maintenance issues. We use state of the art software which ensures you are always kept in the loop, no surprises!

Yes for the most part we can work in with our owners so they can do their own maintenance, as long as this is not things such as Electrical or Plumbing of course! We can send our owners maintenance works orders just like we do our tradesmen, this will keep track and send you, and us reminders resulting in seamless property management.

We carry out rental inspections every 3 months to ensure that we are able to check the property inside and out to ensure the property is free from damages, and is reasonably clean and tidy. During the inspection we use professional software to ensure we cover all areas of the property with a written summary and photographs. We highlight any maintenance noted or upcoming and ensure you as the owner of the property is kept well informed.

The heart of property management starts in tenant selection, this is where we play match maker to ensure we put the right tenant into the right property. It is important time and effort is put into not just the background check, but to ensure that the property is rented to the most suitable fit. An example of this would be to rent a house to a family if it is a solid family home in a good school area, or to groups if the area is loud and likely to be less family friendly. 

We don’t make promises to have your property rented in a certain amount of days, we make promises to align with the best outcome for your home, finding you the most low risk and suitable tenants for your home. It is our job to mitigate your risk, to find you the best tenants for your property no matter how many viewings and applications we have to process, this is our commitment to you as we understand the importance of tenant selection, not just getting the property rented.  

 Sure there is no Crystal Ball to the future, however we know that we can limit risk considerably by considering the following things   

Tenant History
Landlord history is the gold standard in Property Management. We look to confirm 3-5 years rental history where possible. Not all rental history is created equal, and we have tried and proven ways to ensure we have accurate rental history from verified landlords   

Ability to Pay Rent
This is where we have your back! We offer our owners a rental guarantee, so you know that not only do we have you covered, we have looked into the tenants ability to pay rent, and Credit History. We take our role seriously, that is why you don’t need to look for the fine print here, we mean what we say, we are in it with you all the way.   

Background Checks
We use nothing but the best in Property Management software, that is why we can preform a full background check on any applications to ensure suitability and risk management   

Tenant Interviews
We pride ourselves on second to none tenant screening and interviews. This is caried out during one to one viewings to ensure we have a good understanding of the suitability for your property.   

References Checks
All applicants must provide us with atleast 2 references. We look to find the best source of references, as lets face it if your Mum and Best Friend cant say good things about you then who can! We look to verify personal references from quality, impartial sources such as old employers, current work colleagues, or club/church affiliations. We have key questions to ensure we are provided honest and reliable feedback on the application.

In most cases tenants are found within the first few weeks of advertising a property. Often they will need to give notice, so they is usually another 2-3 weeks until the tenants starts. It is our job to work with the tenant to see what the earliest start date can be, however an extra week is long forgotten in the long run when you get the right tenants.

Pricing of the property, and the quality of applicants is what generally will determine the time it takes to rent a property. Pricing the property accurately to the market and the time of year is a huge factor in vacancy times. We hold 2 meetings per week and will discuss your property advertising and price and we will provide consistent feedback to ensure we are able to secure you the right tenants at the right price.

The simple answer is nothing - our rent guarantee means that we will continue to pay you rent disbursements regardless of whether a tenant has paid their rent (for up to 4 weeks and on the provision that you have landlord insurance). We’ll work with the tenants in the background to ensure that it won’t be an ongoing issue. If it is likely to become a bigger problem, we’ll let you know.

We have heard the promises such as “Zero Rent Arrears Policy” and we get that sounds good, but the reality is we put our money where our mouth is, and we offer our owners guaranteed rent, YES you heard it right, if tenants that we place in your property don’t pay rent, then we pay it for them. No small print, no gimmicks just downright honest Property Management, not slogans. 

It is our job to manage rent arrears, and ensure your cashflow is protected. So if our tenants have a rent payment issue it is our responsibility to work with them to ensure they catch up the arrears in a timely manner. Not only does this ensure that your income is protected for up to 4 weeks, it means we are able to work respectfully and within the boundaries of the law to catch up the missed payment in a timely manner.

We consider property maintenance to be an important part of our role and unlike most property management companies, we don’t charge any additional fees for arranging repairs and maintenance. Our well-established relationships with professional trade contractors means we can arrange for repairs and maintenance to be carried out efficiently and cost-effectively. We’re also happy to work with your preferred contractors.

Property advertising is really important when marketing your property for rent. We have professional photography options available at realistic prices, or our inhouse photographer can preform photos to a high standard at no additional cost.

All of our advertising is a Premium listing on Trademe to ensure you have maximum traffic to your property. We also advertise on our own Website as well as on Allhouse, a social media platform which targets tenants who have recently searched for rental properties in the area.

Where suitable a “For Rent” sign will be erected infront of the property for maximum exposure.