Allan Satterthwaite
Director, AMS Property
I think the expectation from landlords is that their property managers should be more than just rent collectors. The role is moving toward being asset managers, rather than just property managers. Costs keep rising and we have to move to be more and more innovative to reduce these increases, and also maximise returns for our landlords. As property managers, we always need to improve at the job of managing properties. One thing I say to people is you need to prepare for constant change.
Our level of service separates our business because we are an independent management company. We are not burdened by corporate structure – we just don't have those corporate boundaries. The answer is always “yes” to our clients. We are very flexible. We provide a personalised, high level of service.
Saving time and the best use of your time. As property managers, what have we got to sell? Our skill, ability, and time. It’s just about working smarter. Use the best tools. You can use multiple systems, but for us we wanted a centralised system.
I can be anywhere and access Re-Leased. Our trust account manager, who was in Cairns not long ago, was able to reconcile the bank accounts from her hotel room! When our property managers got to work in the morning, everything was done. Also, the arrears management report is really, really good. It’s so easy! It’s chalk and cheese between Console and Re-Leased. The one feature I really like about Re-Leased is the landlord statements. They provide good quality information that makes sense and is easy to read. My team was born with Re-Leased, they haven't used anything else. And at a gut feel, I would say we are 40% more efficient time-wise.
When we started AMS Property two years ago, I had a wonderful opportunity to go straight into the software I wanted to choose. I wanted something that was going to be a point of difference and that was going to be able to handle the changes we were going to go through. I looked at Console and a couple of other platforms that I used to use, and Re-Leased was a standout product for me. I knew I needed something that for the next 10 years was going to have the ability to change with me. Everything else I had used in the past was inflexible.
It was a pleasant surprise. It really, really was. It was excellent. The team was very contactable – we had near to same-day responses. Not only did they train me, but they also trained my property managers, and the support they offered was outstanding. In comparison to other software companies, it was night and day. Whoever has designed Re-Leased has looked at it from all perspectives: i.e. what’s logical. And once you get into it, everything just falls into place. If you’re a new customer I would actually recommend you in-putting your own data, if you have the luxury of time on your side. It was the best learning curve for us, this helped our team get up to speed very quickly from scratch.
Lack of support is outstandingly first one. Not being cloud-based is another and overly complicated.
The value for money is great. We’re a happy customer. I would highly recommend this software. I found out about Re-Leased, via a Facebook post several years ago. I went away and looked at other products and Re-Leased just fitted like a glove.
