A new platform for property management

The model of property management has not undergone a major change in decades – and for Mark Trowell, CEO of yabonza Property Management, that’s not good enough. Founded in 2016, yabonza was born out of Trowell’s personal experience with inadequate property management.

“I had a property over in the UK, and the manager was telling me that there were a few issues with my tenant,” says Trowell. “He claimed they were sorting it out, but with a bit of sleuthing on my part, I realised the tenants were about to do a runner – which is exactly what happened!”

With a bitter taste left in his mouth by that experience, Trowell realised there had to be a better way to address his and others’ concerns as property owners. “yabonza was born out of a desire for greater transparency and communication,” says Trowell. “Given the easy access we have to technology these days, there was no reason property managers needed to be operating with such a fragmented legacy model.”

Changing times, changing roles

One of the other key goals Trowell had when starting yabonza was to change the perception of property manager as “general fix-it”.

Rather, Trowell says, the property manager should be undertaking a more holistic role – looking for ways to actively improve their client’s assets. This should include providing suggestions for proactive repairs and replacements, offsetting depreciation and ultimately maximising outcomes for the owner and tenant alike.

“But it’s hard to do any of that if you’re spending the day on the road, doing repairs that are better left to specialists,” says Trowell.

Accordingly, yabonza’s online platform allows both tenants and owners to make contact more easily via the platform. Repairs and maintenance are able to be carried out more rapidly through outsourcing to trusted providers, while owners are provided with a comprehensive overview of the status of their property portfolios.

“We’ve already seen similar platform-based approaches in other industries, particularly in transport,” says Trowell.

“But this is the first of its kind in the real estate industry.”

A platform for future change

yabonza’s platform already represents a significant shift forward for the field of property management by allowing investors to have one point of contact across their portfolio no matter where it is in Australia.

This drives significant cost savings, with yabonza charging a flat fee of just 3.9% to property managers – around half the industry standard. However, Trowell is ambitious to see even further change into the future.

“The Internet of Things presents a lot of great possibilities,” says Trowell.

“It allows for better monitoring of individual items such as appliances or smoke alarms, rather than simply being reliant on periodic checks.”

Ultimately, Trowell contends, it’s an industry that should be moving at the same rate as technology – and he plans to be at the forefront.

“We want a better relationship and outcome for the owner and tenant alike,” says Trowell. “It’s just a matter of leveraging the tools effectively.”

Asking Trowell what exactly is the yabonza difference, he higlighted:-

• Asset managers: Our asset managers look at the ROI of the property. You have one dedicated point of contact across your portfolio, Australia-wide. No more managing multiple property managers and all that paperwork!
• Operations team: The operations team looks after daily management tasks. yabonza also provides same-day rental payments for landlords – all for the low flat fee of 3.9%.
• The yabonza platform: The Owner and Tenant platform takes care of the administration, accounting and communication tasks. You can also view the status of your portfolio at a glance.
• Local experts and partners: Our local experts and partners are our eyes and ears on the ground. They are specialists in their field.