Rent My House and Make the Tenants Live Like I do

"Tell the tenants we never used that room to watch television..."

One of the big mistakes that home owners make when they rent out their house is that they feel like they are trying to "rent my home". This creates huge problems from an emotional perspective. More often than not, the trap for the home occupier become landlord is that they expect a new tenant to live like they did.

Tensions arise during an owner visit to the property during the tenancy. Here the owners come landlord conducts a walk through the property. At this stage the landlord has come to realise that the property is not being occupied in a way that meets with their approval. A perfectly satisfactory tenancy may be in place and the new residents might well be the prefect tenant ... but the emotional owner is really struggling with the thought of having to let go of the past.

A few thoughts to help you focus:

1. Your home was your home when you lived in it.
2. Your home is now your house and part of contractual agreement where somebody pays rent.
3. Your tenants will set up their home as they think fit for their enjoyment.
4. Your house, when rented out will make various homes for multiple tenants over time.
5. So long as your tenants are not damaging or neglecting your house then allow it to be their home.

Continue to remind yourself that your house has taken up a whole new function for you whilst you rent it out. Embrace the new purpose of the tenancy agreement in place and you will be sure to embrace the new found freedom you are enjoying in your new home somewhere else. Wishing you rental success.

Written by Chris Snell, Property Manager, Rental Success Blog

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Buying A House Or An Apartment?

Buyers Guide .... Buying a House or Buying an Apartment? 

When you are looking to rent our your home or when you are looking to buy an investment property there are significant differences to take into consideration the differences for their use as a rental property.

Everybody thinks a 2 bedroom unit is the perfect investment property model to buy. However you might be misled. This might be investor suicide to think that your 2 bedroom flat is going to rent out easily but nobody told you about the 75 other similar properties in the same suburb or city street being promoted for lease at a cheaper price to you. You are at risk of sitting vacant and on the market for a long time.

If you are doing some research ahead of your purchase for your investment property then you are wise to take into consideration the competition within the rental market place you might well find that there is a shortage or a particular property type and a subsequent consumer demand. It might mean that you actually end up purchasing a 2 or 3 bedroom house on a small block of land, or a 3 bedroom two story townhouse.

Click above to claim a free report on the Costly Mistakes Landlords Make

Speak to a local property manager or a leasing agent specialist in the the areas that you are interested in. Too many people only talk to a property manager about the cheapest property management fees and the best property management agencies factor. However I argue that you should be interview your property management office during your buying process. Buying an investment property should not be rushed and should not be something you buy like you would buy a property to occupy for yourself.

Remember that most sales people are exactly that! They are not going to spend much time on matters related to property management, leasing out your property, choosing the right investment property to purchase, and nor will they spend much time discussing rental property vacancy rates. Wishing You Rental Success!

Written by Chris Snell, Property Manager, Rental Success Australia Blog

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The Cost Of Being A Landlord - Can You Afford It?

The Cost Of Being A Landlord - Can You Afford It?

Property Managers more often than not bear the brunt of the ugly landlord who can't afford to keep up with the daily costs of owning an investment property. 

This relationship tension is further tested when the tenant reports a need for urgent repairs at the rental property. How will these immediate repairs be carried out when the landlord cannot afford to pay for the tradespeople and the materials. 

As a property investor it is critical that the landlord has a buffer funds account to meet the urgent repairs. For instance, a burst hot water system that is irreparable and must be treated as an urgent repair can cost anywhere within the vicinity of $2,000 - $5,000 to supply and install a replacement system.  

Before you jump into the thrill of becoming a property investor do some due diligence and be sure that you can afford to meet your responsibilities as a landlord. Click on the link to get your free report, The 5 Costly Mistakes Landlords Make With Their Investment Properties

Written by Chris Snell, Property Manager Australia, Rental Success Blog

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Monkeys Manage Rental Properties - Discount Property Managers

Tight Landlords Buy Low Fee Property Managers

One of the most common and costly mistakes landlords make when they are searching for the best property manager to manage their rental property is the mistake of shopping around based on low management fees.

More often than not, the agent who is prepared to give generous discounts with their own money is sure to do the same with your money and your investment property. This might seem absurd but some investors become so mean in the negotiation process that they actually lose sight of the main game - securing a good property manager. Discount property management fees will produce discounted property management services. Get help to "Rent out my property," or "Rent out my property well"  .... the choice is yours.

A good property manager might be charging a management fee that is one or two percent higher than the other but chances are you are going recoup that in better services and better result standards. I suggest that you break-down the calculations and bring it back to the dollar difference per week. In some instances the desperate landlord is squabbling over a fee gap of $2 - $5 per week. Surely the services of a better property manager at the added cost of a cup of coffee is value money and seemingly a good investment.

We've all heard the throw away line "pay peanuts and get nothing but monkeys", I wonder how you'd feel about a monkey managing your investment property?

Claim your copy of my free report, 5 Costly Mistakes Landlords Make

Written by Chris Snell, Property Manager Australia, Rental Success Blog

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Population growth to drive the rental market and reduce vacancy rates

AUSTRALIAN PROPERTY NEWS - One of the country’s most respected demographers says a jump in population growth will drive property market gains.

KPMG partner and demographer Bernard Salt says the doubling of the rate will underpin the upswing in property. “We have built a property industry in this nation predicated on 220,000 people per year, give or take, for 60 years. Over the last five years, that jumped to double that rate,” he says.

“I’m sorry, but you can’t double the rate of the population into this nation in five years and not have a profound impact on the demand for property.”

Salt’s statistics show the nation’s population growing to around 416,000 people per annum.

“The rate of growth in this decade is twice the rate of growth over the previous 60 years.”

He’s also particularly bullish about Queensland’s real estate potential.

“I think there are strong demographic reasons why you should be in property over the next 12 months in this state.”

He notes Queensland property has been dealing with negative impacts over the past two years and the GFC, the 2011 floods, north Queensland cyclones and the rise of the Australian dollar had all taken their toll on the market. However, Salt believes it has now turned a corner.

“This is an ascendant market,” he says.

“Interest rates are low, the dollar has dropped and there’s been an absence of two or three years of natural disasters. We’ve taken the hits in terms of property sector cutbacks and you have, today, all of that behind and you’ve got these demographic drivers pushing in an upwards direction.”

Salt also points out there’s growing interest in Brisbane from overseas immigrants.

“It’s (Brisbane) emerging as a market competitive to Melbourne and Sydney as a destination for overseas people coming into Australia.”

This positive outlook is supported by data released by the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ).

The institute’s December quarter median house price report found the volume of house sales hit their annual peak of activity in the last three months of 2013.

REIQ chief executive officer Anton Kadesh says their data indicates the southeast Queensland market is gaining traction.

“The September quarter, or spring selling season, historically records the high numbers of sales. Last year, however, the December quarter trumped it with the preliminary numbers of house sales peaking at just shy of 10,000 for that three month period,” he says.

The REIQ’s most recent data shows the average time it takes to sell a home in Brisbane has reduced to 74 days, with average discounting from list prices sitting at about six per cent.

Submitted by Chris Snell, Property Manager, Rental Success Blog. Article written and posted on Wednesday, February 26 2014 at 3:25 PM by Australian Property Investor Magazine

 http://www.apimagazine.com.au/api-online/news/2014/02/double-population-growth-to-drive-the-market

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