Renting your property, not always as hard as you think!
Sometimes we all wish we had a crystal ball to tell us when the rental market will pick up again. The past year has been tough for lots of Owners and Property Managers and we find it really important to continuously try different avenues when leasing a property.
The days of blanket âHome Opensâ at the convenience of the Property Manager appear to be over. Prospective tenants will tell you when they are available to view a property and making time for them, whether it will be lunch time, after hours and/or weekends is imperative. The best advertising in the world is not effective if you donât maximize and jump on the enquires generated. In this sort of market being proactive and available is essential and a good Property Manager will endeavor to make the most of each prospective tenant enquiry.
Recent statistics show that even though the rental side of things has picked up slightly this year in terms of properties leasing a little bit quicker, the rental prices on average have decreased by approx. $50.00 pw from this same time last year. Whilst reducing rent is something we all hate to do, it would be short sighted to keep a property on the rental market, vacant generating no income as opposed to reducing the price to current market conditions and achieving a rental return.
Apart from realistic pricing and employing a Property Manager skilled at leasing properties in these quieter times, another point to consider is âhow does my property compare condition wise to others on the market?â
Some tips on making your property more attractive:
- Ensure the property is clean. Clean properties are better placed to attract clean tenants, simple but a point some people overlook.
- Ensure the lawns and gardens are tidy, healthy and weed free. Exterior presentation is important as if the property looks run down from the front it can turn people off having a look inside.
- If you have not painted internally for a long period of time it might be a good idea to splash a new coat of paint on the walls, doors and door frames. Fresh paint really rejuvenates a property.
- Air conditioning, dishwashers and alarms, once thought to be luxury items in rentals are now becoming the norm and frequently requested by prospective tenants.
Remember, spending money on your investment property is tax deductible and certain improvements will make your rental return higher!
With state vacancy rates fluctuating between 5-6% our Property Management team at Paragon Property, by employing a strategy to deal with the glut of properties available, have been able to keep our office vacancy rate around  2% for the past two years, which shows with hard work and effort properties can and will lease.
Stacey, Julia and the awesome PM team at Paragon!