Properties main screen

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Use this screen to:-
  • access property information
  • add a new property
  • edit (change) the details of an existing property
  • delete a property.

    Skip to the description of the screen elements

    Adding a new property
  • Rather than repeat the instructions on how to add properties go to the Initial Installation Step 9 - Setting up the Properties section later in this topic which covers this subject in detail.
  • Click [Add]
  • After entering the main screen items you should go to the [Details] sub-screen and complete those details too.
    Photos and other images are added using the main screen [Photos] button.

    Editing an existing property
  • Click [Edit] .
  • Make the desired changes then click [Save] .
  • Click [Cancel] to abort the editing process.
  • If editing is invoked by pressing [Edit] on the [Details] > tabs click [OK] then [Save] on the main page when the editing is complete.

    Deleting a property
  • Click [Delete] to delete the entire record.
  • You will only be permitted to delete properties which have no tenants attached.
  • In general properties should not be deleted manually.  See Add, Change and Delete Records for more information.  They can, however, be deleted after the Archive and Purge processes have been completed.

    Copying an existing property details
    When a property changes hands and a new landlord / property / tenant combination must be set up, or a number of properties in an apartment block are basically the same, the Properties menu > Copy Property function can be used to duplicate the details in a "new" property saving both  time and regularising the data entered.  See Copying Master Recordsfor more details.


    Property addresses and street naming
    When different people are entering data and it is necessary to type the entire address each time achieving a consistent  format of addresses is difficult.  Most people would want properties in the same street to:-
    have the names to be spelt the same and hopefully correctly, Onewa vs Oniwa
    have the same style of street suffix , Onewa Road vs Onewa Rd
    be in the same suburb, Northcote vs Birkenhead
    be in the same city, North Shore City vs Auckland

    Landlord and supplier addresses will still need to be typed in full, but when entering properties the Aspect Property Manager regularises their addresses by offering you existing street names to choose from.  This is achieved by following the procedure below and only applies when creating a new property.  If you have made an error you must correct it by typing the address correctly.

    After clicking [Add] and entering the Street Number press [Tab] to move to the Street Name field
      4 A blue/green panel will appear showing streets which already exist.
      4 Don't click anywhere just type the first one or two letters of the street name.
      4 If any street name starting with those letters already exists in the system the list will change showing streets starting with those letters and you can select the one you want from the list by clicking the desired line.
      4 If the street name you want is not present click in the empty street name box and *** New Street *** should appear.  Type in the new street name, suburb and city.
      4 If you know with absolute certainty the street name does not exist, after tabbing into the Street Name field simply click on *** New Street *** then type in the new street name, suburb and city.
    Note All street records which exist in the system, regardless of the "hidden" status, the Property Manager selected, or the portfolio assigned, are shown in the blue/green selection panel.

    Tips
      4 Before you start entering addresses, decide whether you wish to use abbreviated or full spelling for the street suffix or designation, e.g. Road or Rd, Avenue or Ave.
      4 Use the same method for all addresses throughout all your records not just your property addresses.
      4 Try and be consistent to make reports more readable.



    Description of the Properties main screen

    Refer to the Glossary for information about the Title bar, Menu bar and Navigator bar.

    Index Panel
  • The panel on the far left is the Index Panel.
  • It displays brief details about "all" the properties.  See Note below.
  • Initially the properties will be displayed in Street Name order.
    The highlighted line and arrowhead indicate the selected property.
  • Change the sort order by clicking the column headings in the Index Panel.
  • The column heading of the current sequence is in red.
  • Click the heading of the current column to toggle between ascending and descending sequence
  • Use the horizontal scroll bar to see more detail columns.
  • Locate a property quickly by typing either the first few letters of the Street Name, or the Property Code, (which will cause the "Find" window to appear automatically),  then press [Enter] on the keyboard.
    Generally it is only necessary to enter the first two or three characters.  If you don't get a direct hit you will be very close. 
    If the first character entered is a number the index panel will display the records in Code order.
    If the first character entered is an Alphabetic character the index panel will display the records in Street Name order.
    Once the first character is entered, if you wish to change from Code to Street Name and v.v. the Find window must first be closed.
    If there are no records starting with the characters entered you will get a "not found" message.
    Note It is possible that records do exist in the system but are excluded from the main screen display because they "hidden" or do not "belong" to the Property Manager selected.

    Main Property Panel
    The panel on the right contains information about the selected (highlighted) property, some of which is directly seen and some which is found lurking behind the various buttons in the button stack.

    Basic
  • Moving from top to bottom the items displayed are:-
  • Property Code
  • Street Name, Suburb and City
  • Landlord Code and Last Name

    Map button 
  • This opens Google Maps in your browser where a "Street View" of the property can displayed.
  • Note  The property displayed may not be the correct property address due to the the way Google Maps / Street View works, so you may need to move the viewing point.

    Portfolio
  • The portfolio to which this property has been assigned.
  • The portfolio may be changed at any time and reports and other selections will take place immediately.
  • Take care when changing a portfolio "mid-month".  As an example management fees  for the whole month will then be assigned to the new portfolio and possibly a different Property Manager.

    Fees
  • The selection chosen from the Fees Schedule for transactions associated with a property.
  • When creating a new property the fee offered will be the one assigned to the landlord.
  • Any property may have a different fee structure to the one set on the landlord.
  • It is the fee which will be used to calculate management fees when rent is paid by the tenant or disbursement fees when an invoice is entered and assigned to a property,
    EXCEPT where an invoice is charged directly to the landlord and NOT through a property, in which case the landlord fee will be applied.
  • CAUTION  Changing the fee will not affect existing transactions, however, if they are subsequently edited the new fee will be applied.
  • Note that when the fee is changed on the landlord an offer will be made to change the fees on all the landlord's properties, so care should be taken where different fees are charged on a landlord and their properties.

    Desired Rent amount and period
  • The rent amount  and period the landlord would LIKE to apply to the property.
  • When creating a new tenant it will be the default rent offered which may be over-keyed at the time.
  • When planning rent changes this figure may be used as a planning tool and changed without affecting an existing tenant's rent amount.

    Desired Bond
  • The bond is calculated from the Desired Rent using the entries made on the Setup menu > Company Details > Move In Costs tab.
  • This offered figure may be over-keyed should the landlord require more or less bond than the company standard.
  • When creating a new tenant it will be the default bond offered which may be over-keyed at the time.
  • When planning rent changes this figure will change as the rent is altered and may be over-keyed without affecting an existing tenant's bond amount.

    Move In
  • The amount to be paid by the tenant to move into the property.
  • This is calculated using the entries made on the Setup menu > Company Details > Move In Costs tab.
  • See the Glossary entry Move in Cost for more information.
  • Once changed the system remembers your entry until any of the component values are changed.
  • The final move in cost may be over-keyed, perhaps to leave the move in amount in round dollars.

    Disbursement limit
  • Expenditure over this value on this property requires the landlord's approval.
  • If this value is exceeded by the total value of all the invoices (plus your Fees and GST) entered during the current period the Invoice entry program will warn you of the fact.  This warning is really only a "face-saver" because you have already authorised work which was going to exceed the disbursement limit.  Before the work commenced you should have checked the expenditure on the property in the current period.

    Inspection details
  • Assign Inspection Code to spread the inspection workload evenly.
  • Use Sequence to print the Inspection report in the best driving route order.
  • Select the inspection fee to charge for this property.

    Button stack
  • The [Landlord] button moves to the Landlords main screen and has the landlord of this property highlighted.
  • The [Tenants] button moves to the Tenants screen and displays current and vacated tenants who have rented this property.
  • The [Details] button opens a new window which carries the bulk of the information relating to the property.  See the Property Details topic.
  • The [Transactions] button opens a new window where the transactions for this property may be viewed.  See the Property  Transactions topic.
  • The [Notes] button opens a new window where notes about this property may be created, viewed, edited or deleted. 
    An electronic diary system called Bring Ups uses the Notes system to act as a reminder when things are to be done.
    See the Notes topic.
  • The [Photos] button opens a new window where photos, and other images too, may be loaded into the database, viewed, edited or deleted.  See Photos for more information.

    Managed properties indicator
  • A tick indicates the property is managed as opposed to a non-managed or casual let.
  • The managed indicator is set on the property and displayed on the landlord and tenant screens.
  • This indicator is used to include or exclude unmanaged properties on many reports.

    Property Manager selection
  • Selecting a specific Property Manager from this list box will reduce the number of landlord records displayed to only landlords who have properties assigned to portfolios for which the Property Manager selected is responsible.

    Aspect logo
  • The [Aspect Logo] acts as both an indicator and a button.  When the logo is red it indicates that Bring Ups exist which should be attended to today or are outstanding.  When pressed it accesses all the unactioned Bring Ups in the system.  See Aspect Logo and Bring Ups for more information.




    Initial Installation Step 9 - Setting up the Properties

    Before starting to add any properties
  • Read the Copying Master Recordstopic.  It may save you a great deal of time.
  • Read the "Property addresses and street naming" section at the top of this topic then return here.

    Go to the Properties main screen.

    The following instructions assume you have arrived on the Properties main screen via the Landlords main screen , button having pre-selected the landlord.

    You may have an empty screen or other properties owned by the selected landlord displayed.  Where the screen is empty you will be adding the first property belonging to the landlord, now that was pretty obvious wasn't it, and the procedure below should be followed.  Where another property or properties are present you may be able to make use of the Properties Menu > Copy Property function, if not use the procedure below also. 
  • Click [Add] and a number of the fields in the right hand pane will be filled with default data.  The cursor will be in the (Street) No field.
  • Enter the street number and name and when necessary the suburb and city
  • The Landlord field will contain the selected landlord
  • Select the Portfolio to which this property is to be assigned from the list box.
  • Select the Fee which is to be used for this property from the list box.
      4 By default the Fees list box will be displaying same fee schedule as the landlord.  If the fees to be charged on this property are different make the alteration desired.  See Fees Schedule Discussion.
  • Enter the Desired Rent and Rent Period the landlord wants to apply to the property.
  • The system will calculate the bond, the intial rent, letting fee and Move in amount using the entries on the Setup menu > Company Details > Move In Costs tab.
  • The rent and bond details will be offered when any new tenant is created but those values may be over-keyed at the time.
  • See the Glossary entry Move in Cost for more information.
  • If you don't like the results offered you may over-key them with the amounts you require.
  • Once changed the system remembers the entry until any of the component values are changed.
  • If the property being entered is not to be managed, i.e. it is a "casual let", untick the Managed box.  See Casual Landlords, Properties and Tenants for more information on handling casual lets.
  • Enter the Disbursement Limit, which is the maximum amount you may spend on a property in any month above which you need to get the landlord's approval.
  • Assign the property to an Inspection Cycle to spread the inspection workload using the Inspection list box.  See Inspection Codes Discussion.
  • The Sequence box can be used to further sub-divide the number of properties associated with any one inspection.
  • Select the inspection fee you will charge for inspecting this property.  See Inspection Billing.
  • Check the main screen display to see that the entries made are correct before pressing [Save] .
  • We do not recommended overriding the system assigned code but you may do so before saving the record.  Once the record is saved use the Properties menu > Renumber function.
  • Once the record is saved use [Edit] to make changes.  Remember to click [Save] after editing.  Alternatively [Delete] the entire entry and reenter the data.
  • When adding new records, clicking [Cancel] on any screen or sub-screen before clicking [Save]  will discard all data entered and the record must be entered again.  Sometimes it is quicker to save the incorrect data then edit the record to correct errors.
  • When editing existing records, clicking [Cancel] on any screen or sub-screen before clicking [Save]  will discard all changes made.

    Where to now?
    After saving the basic record one of the following options should be taken:-
    1  If the landlord has only one property you can 
  • Either enter full details of the property by clicking [Details]
  • Or proceed to add other master records - landlord, property or tenant.
    2  If the landlord has multiple properties these may  be added now.
    3  If the properties are identical, or very similar, you should enter the full property details on the first property and then use the Copy Property function to save time and effort.  After copying edit the new record to change the street number or number of bedrooms or other detail variations.
    4  To enter another property for the same landlord stay on the same Properties main screen and repeat these Property Initial Installation instructions.
    5  To enter the additional property information found on the [Details] button:-
      4 press the [Details] button to display the detail tabs
      4 press the [F1] on the keyboard or click ScreenHelp to display the Property Details help topic
      4 return to this help after entering the details by pressing the [Back] button on the help window
    6  To add the a tenant for this property return to Initial Installation help instructions.


    Related Topics XXXX
    Add, Change, Delete Master Records