Existing clients
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Need a change? Here's what we do differently...
Not just a ‘hands-on’ director
When you call Ethel & Florence, the owner and director, Adele answers the phone. You will deal with me for everything so you can rest assured at every step of the way.
Not a typical real estate agency
No ego, no suits, no flashy cars, no worries.
I pride myself on being down to earth and personable. I think the industry has become a little too much about the agents and their egos and I want to bring the focus back to you.
Property management focused
Ethel & Florence isn’t a typical real estate sales business with a property management department. We are a property management business and that is the primary focus.
Exclusivity
Our portfolio is capped in size.
I have a very small and manageable portfolio. I only take properties on board where my values and goals are in line with the property owners’. My specialty and niche is luxury inner city property. This ensures I can continue to provide the service I am known for.
Service guarantee – this is important!
I've never thought that "satisfaction guaranteed" was a very inspiring phrase. I’d like to ensure that you are satisfied of course, but I’d prefer it if you were absolutely thrilled instead.
I’m so confident that you’ll be happy with your experience that I offer a no-strings service guarantee.
Your management agreement is filled with fine print that locks you in for a period of time decided by your agent. At Ethel & Florence your business is my business so I believe that if you aren’t 100% happy with our service you should be able to drop me with no strings attached.
The guarantee is simple… I ask that you give me 48 hours to rectify the problem at hand to your total satisfaction. If not, you are free to leave me and choose another agent. Find a copy of this agreement in our ‘landlord’s guide’ PDF.
7 day inspections
Sunday inspections by appointment and open homes on vacant properties to keep vacancy rates low – try to find another agent who’ll do that!
Live tours/open homes via our powerful social media platforms
For those prospective tenants who just can’t make it.
Stringent tenant screening
I keep a database of prospective tenants who may have applied and missed out on another property. They are qualified and on a waiting list for the right property. I am often able to lease properties without advertising using this database.
Premium advertising
Who decided that premium advertising should be reserved for properties for sale? Gone are the days where you can get away with fuzzy photos taken on an iPhone and a budget ad placing you in last place on realestate.com.au. I believe in top notch marketing for properties for lease and a sales-based approach. See more info about this in our ‘landlord’s guide’ PDF.
Rent review
At every lease renewal, lease end and routine inspection, I will issue a report on your rent and a market analysis along with our recommendations on pricing so you know you are getting the best possible rent.
Sales appraisal and market update
At every routine inspection I will send an un-biased sales appraisal and an update on the market with your routine inspection report so you can keep tabs on what’s happening in Brisbane.
Preventative maintenance and improvements
I will try to report on recommended preventative maintenance before the need arises for rectification maintenance.
I will also report to you between tenancies on any recommended improvements to maintain a good standard of living to your tenants or to increase the value of your property.
The ‘Ethel & Florence Extra Mile’
Another thing you need to check your fine print for is referral commissions or fees for coordinating maintenance. Most agencies or their subsidiary companies will charge their landlords up to 15% on any maintenance or improvements arranged for them. Sometimes this fee is charged to the tradesperson as a “referral commission” and the tradesperson is forced to inflate their invoice to cover this commission. If you’ve ever seen an invoice for a small job like a leaky tap and thought it was a bit too expensive, this is probably why.
I don’t believe in this. E&F charge NO FEES or commissions to coordinate repairs, maintenance, improvements, renovations. This is all part of the job. I have extensive experience in coordinating renovations and improvements for absentee landlords – FOR FREE.
We also charge no admin fees, inspection fees or statement fees!
Fees explained
Leasing/letting fee
Fee for letting the property including: taking enquiry, conducting inspections, reviewing applications, preparation of lease documentation, preparation of the condition report and collecting and lodging of the bond.
Lease renewal fee
Fee for negotiating a new fixed-term tenancy agreement for tenants at the end of their existing fixed-term.
Management fee
Commission for the day-to-day management of your property including: collection of rent, making payment on property outgoing disbursements, liaising with tenants, organising maintenance where required and conducting routine inspections and rent reviews during a tenancy. The fee also includes, managing a tenant’s vacate, ensuring the property is left clean and tidy and negotiating any bond claims (where required) is also included as part of the management fee.
Advertising – internet
Cost for advertising the property on realestate.com.au. There is no cost for advertising on ethelandflorence.com.
Advertising – board
Cost for placing a ‘for lease’ stock board at the property. This is a fantastic tool for generating inquiry for your property. For properties managed under owners/body corporations, permission will need to be obtained.
Advertising – social media
Cost for a boosted/sponsored post on Instagram or Facebook
Advertising – photography
Cost for professional photography
Advertising – videography
Cost of professional videography
Tribunal application fee
Charge to recover cost of lodging QCAT application.
Tribunal attendance fee
Fee for time spent preparing for and attending a QCAT hearing.
Key cutting
As per the residential tenancy act, enough keys are required so that our office has one copy of each property key and each adult tenant has a copy of each exterior door key in addition to a shared set of other keys including window keys. Keys are charged at cost price.
Services explained
(Services already included in the leasing and/or management fee):
- Condition report photos
In addition to the comprehensive written condition report, we photograph almost all of the internal surfaces and items within the property. These are added as an attachment to the written condition report as part of the letting fee. - Furnished inventory list
Fully furnished properties require an inventory report in addition to the condition report. We create a detailed inventory and photograph each and every item in the property. This is covered under the letting fee. - Provide estimate of potential rental income
- Provide marketing recommendations
- Check prospective tenant applications
- Submit tenant offers to you
- Preparation of lease agreement and relevant documentation
- Monitor, collect and account for rent
- Lodge bond/bond claim with RTA
- Carry out periodic inspections and report to owner
- Arrange maintenance as required
- Prepare and serve RTA notices
- Representation at QCAT hearings & preparation
- Monitor expiry of lease and provide advice to owner
- Recommend ways and strategise to maximise the property’s appeal to tenants
- Arrange and prepare marketing material
- Promote the property to our database for prospective tenants
- Provide regular reports on prospective tenant interest
- Conduct property inspections with prospective tenants
- Conduct rent reviews and reports
- Liaise with tenants in conducting inspections
- Conduct final inspections at lease end and provide report and advice
How to interview your agent
When I come to meet you I will ask you a bunch of questions so I can know how best to address your needs. But you should be asking the tough questions too.
Below are some examples of questions you should be asking when choosing an agent to manage your investment – this is important!
- Is the business owner/director/prinicipal hands on with the property management team?
- Is the agency property management ‘specialised’ or are they a predominately sales business that has a property management department?
- Is it better for my property to be management by a big brand/franchise group or a boutique agency?
- How many years of experience does the property manager have?
- How many properties do they manage?
- What is the rental arrears procedure?
- What is the lease renewal procedure?
- What is the maintenance procedure?
- Does the property manager conduct/attend the tenant inspections, open homes, condition reports, routine inspections or are they outsourced?
- Does the agency hand out keys for vacant properties to prospective tenants?
- What services do you offer to attract the right tenant? What is your tenant selection process?
- How often do you conduct routine inspections?
- Can you show me an example of a routine inspection report?
- What happens if the tenant has an emergency at the property
- Does the agency or any of their subsidiary companies charge or receive commission on maintenance/improvements?
Questions you should ask yourself when choosing an agent:
- Were they prepared?
- Did you receive a formal appraisal/CMA (comparative market analysis)?
- Did you receive information about what is currently on the market?
- Did you receive information about your obligation in regards to smoke alarms? Did you receive information about tax depreciation schedules? Did you receive information about landlord insurance?
- How was their body language when you asked them the tough questions?
Insurance
Ethel & Florence have been appointed as distributors for Terri Scheer Insurance products and we are able to arrange insurance for you. Alternatively, cover can be placed online at terrischeer.com.au or by calling TS direct on: 1800 804 016.
