How to spot underperforming properties in your portfolio (before they drain your time)

At a glance, things might seem steady. The property’s tenanted, rent’s coming in, and there haven’t been any major issues lately.

But if it feels like certain properties take up more of your time than others – and don’t exactly repay the favour – you’re probably not imagining it.

In fact, some properties quietly cost more to manage than they earn. These are the underperformers.

And even a few of them in your rent roll can weigh down your profitability and stretch your team thin.

So, how do you find them? And what do you actually do about it?

What is an underperforming property?

In simple terms, an underperforming property is one where the cost of managing it is higher than the income you make from it.

That doesn’t mean the landlord’s difficult or the property’s falling apart. It could be ticking along nicely – but if the time and labour involved in servicing it adds up, and the fees don’t cover that effort, it’s dragging down your bottom line.

And because those costs are spread across multiple tasks (arrears, emails, maintenance, follow-ups), they’re often hiding in plain sight.

How to calculate performance (without needing a finance degree)

You don’t need a complex spreadsheet or hours of analysis to figure this out.

You just need to compare two things:

• ‍Average Annual Management Income (AAMI): Based on rent and management fee‍
• Estimated Annual Cost to Service: Based on how many hours you spend managing it, multiplied by your team’s average hourly cost

If the second number is higher than the first? That property is underperforming.

Sound tricky? We’ve made it easy.

Try our free Underperforming Property Calculator

We built a simple, easy-to-use calculator that gives you a clear answer in minutes. Just plug in your average rent, fee%, time spent per property, and staff hourly rate. The calculator will show you whether each property is adding to your profit – or quietly draining it.

It’s quick, free, and surprisingly eye-opening.

What to do if a property isn’t stacking up

Once you’ve identified a few underperformers, you’ve got options.

You don’t have to immediately offload them – but you can start making smarter decisions.

For example:

• ‍Review your fees: If the property demands more service, is the fee keeping up?‍
• Simplify service delivery: Can certain tasks be automated or delegated more efficiently?‍
• Talk to the landlord: Show them the data, explain the time investment, and revisit your agreement.‍
• Let it go: Sometimes, stepping away from an unviable property is better for your business long-term.

This isn’t about shrinking your rent roll – it’s about making every property in it worthwhile.

Why this matters now more than ever

With rising costs, tighter margins, and growing expectations from landlords and tenants, property managers can’t afford to carry dead weight. And let’s be honest – your time is too valuable to be eaten up by loss-makers.

Taking just 5 minutes to run the calculator could save you hundreds of hours down the line.

Get clearer on what’s costing you – and what’s worth keeping

If you’ve ever had a gut feeling about a property that’s more hassle than it’s worth, now you’ve got a way to back that up with real data.

The Underperforming Property Calculator gives you that clarity – so you can take action confidently, have better conversations with landlords, and build a portfolio that truly works for your business.

→ Access Calculator Now