Property Management Update – May 2018

Property Management Update: 

Tis the season to enjoy the colours of autumn – perhaps the prettiest of all the seasons. Therefore it is a timely reminder that gutters and downpipes need to be cleaned (once the leaves have finished falling), and it’s a good time to make sure vegetation immediately surrounding houses, is cut back so that it isn’t touching windows and/or eaves and the roof.

Asbestos – do you know if your property has asbestos or not? Most people don’t know and many properties built between 1950 – 2000 probably do in one way or another. Whilst that in itself is no big deal – it’s just something we need to be aware of should any work need to be carried out to the property e.g extraction fan to a ceiling and perhaps the ceiling is stippled – before work can be carried out an asbestos test would need to be carried out before work could begin. Or in a recent example that we have had –old bathroom lino originally secured with an asbestos glue – had to be removed by an approved asbestos company before the new lino could be installed. You will have no doubt heard about all this in the media of late. New legislation now in force throughout NZ makes it necessary for houses constructed within this timeframe, to be checked for the presence of asbestos before renovations/repairs or improvements can take place. The contractors we use are aware of this and will certainly draw this to our attention at the quoting stage of any potential work. By identifying the possibility of the presence of asbestos, we can then discuss with you how best to manage repairs going forward. It’s not necessary to have a managed asbestos plan for each.  Just important to remember that we must act within the law when carrying out repairs/maintenance or renovations concerning asbestos.

Insulation – we note that some of you are still to yet to approve quotes for this. Remember all rental properties should be insulated as per the 2016 legislation by 1 July 2019. The longer you leave it the more expensive it is likely to be.  https://www.tenancy.govt.nz/insulationdeadline/

Ventilation and Heating – these two important features of living in a property go ‘hand in hand’ and it is from now till spring during our 3 monthly inspections that we will be very careful to check that both are being carried out. Lack of ventilation and heating contribute to condensation and mould within a property.

The Healthy Homes Bill – The Building Warrant of Fitness and the Letting Fee – the current update on these changes is that we expect to know by the end of the year the outcome of this legislation – we will update you all once we know for sure about what will be law going forward in 2019.

The rental market to date – it’s always the question that people ask! Here in Christchurch – we operate very differently from the rest of NZ. Whilst much of the rest of NZ suffers from lack of supply of available rental properties, resulting in increasing rents (due to lack of supply), here in Christchurch we still have many properties for rent resulting in an oversupply. Having said that we are still renting properties and some rent after just one viewing!! Of course for this to happen the property must present well and be keenly priced in order to achieve minimal vacancy.

Click on the link below to hear more from our Division Manager Tania Ellis & our BDM Kelly Lang

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbKvVar-PBk&t=4s