Why Blackbird and Finch Does Property Management Differently
When you need to consult a medical professional for a medical issue a GP is a valuable generalist, with broad knowledge across many conditions, but for anything complex, they refer you to a specialist: an oncologist, a surgeon, someone who has spent years mastering one field. At Blackbird & Finch, we’ve built our property management team the same way. Rather than assigning each property to a single portfolio manager who is expected to be an expert in everything, we operate as a task-based agency, where specialist teams handle the parts of the job they know best.
Property management has changed enormously over the last 25 years. Legislation and compliance obligations have multiplied, and the day-to-day realities of the role now span an extraordinary range of skills. A property manager might start the morning assessing whether a property suits a prospective tenant, then spend the afternoon chasing arrears, issuing a breach notice for an unapproved pet, conducting RTA mediation, preparing a QCAT submission, and providing guidance to a tenant experiencing domestic and family violence – all in the same day. Expecting one generalist to be an expert across every one of these areas isn’t realistic, and it isn’t fair to owners or tenants.
Over the past 20 years, Rebecca and Simone have taken on hundreds of properties transferring from other agencies, and the file audits that follow tell a consistent story: critical documents and processes have often been missed or completed incorrectly. It’s a natural consequence of the generalist model – when one person is responsible for everything, the tasks they find less enjoyable tend to get pushed aside. Specialists, by contrast, spend their day doing the parts of the job they’re genuinely good at and enjoy, which is exactly why we’ve structured our team around individual strengths rather than a single point of responsibility.
We’ve divided property management into three specialist teams. The Leasing Team, led by Simone, manages the onboarding of new owners and properties and finding the right tenant. The Property Care Team, led by our Office Manager Barbara, handles the day-to-day – maintenance, repairs, tenant requests and routine inspections. The Vacating Team, led by Rebecca, manages vacates, disputes, mediation and QCAT matters. Each team works in their part of the process every day, building a depth of expertise that no single person managing an entire portfolio alone could sustain.
We also believe more eyes on a property means better management, so wherever possible a different team member visits your property each time there is a routine inspection – reducing the risk that something gets missed through familiarity or complacency. It’s worth noting that the average property manager stays in a role for just nine months, and the average tenure across the industry is only 18 months, which is why a single “dedicated” property manager so often means a revolving door of new faces learning your property from scratch.
With Blackbird & Finch, you won’t have one dedicated contact – but you will have a close-knit team who all know your property and can get you the answer you need, even when it falls outside their own specialty.
Rebecca and Simone, as the owners of the business, remain hands-on and are always available should you ever want to speak with them directly.
