Top tips to attracting the best tenants & keeping them!
Below is a list of things that I have come across in over 15 years of managing property, they are in no particular order but they are items that are continually requested by prospective tenants, some of the items listed are also reasons that a tenant will reject rental property.
The key is to make your investment the one that the prospective tenants want – get more people to your door and make desire want your property above the others... put yourself in a position where you can select the best applicant and not have to approve the only application you receive.
My tips........
Remove coloured feature walls – people don’t like them any more, they don’t fit in with furniture and peoples different styles.
Install Fly screens – you can’t expect tenants to leave the bathroom window open for better ventilation if there are no screens.
Security door – do you want to open your door to a complete stranger and have nothing between you? This isn’t necessary where there is intercom access but worth considering for ground floor apartments in particular.
Keyed alike – help us help you..... Keys are the bain to our existence, make life a little easier for everyone and have one key to the property and 1 key for all window locks.
White walls – we love Antique White USA, it’s clean, fresh but not so bright that its blinding.
Coffee/mocha or charcoal carpets – this hides light marking and cleans up well, these colours are also very compatible with most colours and furniture styles.
Super clean – present your property is its best light and have it professionally cleaned in between tenancies, this should include windows & sky lights.
Down lights or simple oyster shades – i don’t think anyone likes those three pronged flower shades; lights should be seen but not seen – if you know what i mean?
Aircon/heating – this is a common request. The facts are simple – if your property is up against another in the same block or street and yours lacks heating and cooling.... the other one will lease first and for more money. This is more commonly requested now due to its common inclusion in all the current developments.
Washing machine taps – now this may not be something you can add but if there is an option to put wm taps somewhere in your property then you should do it, otherwise make sure the owners corp look after the communal laundry, many of them look like mini rubbish tips.
Dishwasher – again this is more commonly requested now than it ever was. Its not absolutely necessary but if you are doing a renovation then you should definitely include a dishwasher.
What you need to remember is that just because someone is renting it doesn't mean they want substandard living. We ask extremely good rents for most properties and the accommodation should reflect that. These items are key to long term quality tenants, so whilst you may have to part with some money to begin with it will cost you less in the long term. Below is a pic of an a grade investment property....
Our lovely Property Manager Brooke made it to 21!
Our beautiful property manager Brooke McLaughlin turned 21 yesterday... Brooke enjoyed a day off for her birthday and today we celebrated with a special cake made by the lovely Erica, fish and chips and a gift certificate to Mecca Cosmetica. The girls are now off to Aurora for treatments in lieu of their massive March and April but it hasn’t been all fun and games... this morning was jam packed with open for inspections, final inspections, application checking and meeting photographers at properties – a break well deserved by all!
10 top tips to make your tenancy application a successful one!
- Fill in all the appropriate details.. you would be surprised how many people leave empty space.
- If you have never lived out of home it doesn’t mean you don’t live anywhere... this will be your current address and you can make a notation that you live in the family home with your parents – we won’t hold that against you.
- Under employment please put your managers or HR number, don’t leave a mobile number as this could be anyone – we could be phoning one of your friends for all we know.
- Don’t leave the references section blank, you’re at least 18 years old by the time you are looking to rent so you must know someone who can provide both professional and character references for you, this shouldn’t include family members. A great reference would be a teacher, colleague, family Dr or the like... hint – your best friend doesn’t really count!
- Don’t hand in an application with food stains and cup rings all over it – this is an indication that you can be careless or messy, on your own your application may be considered but if there is another application with similar credentials then they will appear the better candidate.
- If you are a student then make sure you provide enough information for the landlord to see that you can afford the rental, a bank statement, a guarantee or the like will help you considerably, together with confirmation from the University to which you are studying at – this helps us verify that you are in fact studying and not sitting at home playing Nintendo... We have no issue with Nintendo but again our job is to verify the information on your application, so the less chasing from us the better the result will be for you.
- If you are an international student with little English, bring an interpreter, put your case forward in writing and attach it to your application so we don’t have to go fishing for answers.
- If a property has a specific availability date you should put your requested move in date shortly thereafter. The agent’s job is to lease the property to the best candidate with as little vacancy as possible.
- If your application is subject to something – make sure you mention it on your application, ie: my application is subject to all windows being cleaned. If you don’t mention it you can expect to negotiate after you have been approved on the merits in which the application was submitted – we don’t read minds and generally the property is being offered ‘as is’. Most landlords are open to some reasonable negotiation but its awkward when we find out later.
- Don’t apply for a property unless you have seen it and want it!!!!! We spend precious time checking your information and referring it to our landlords so when we tell you that your application has been approved and you inform us that you need to inspect it again or you need to get someone else through or your still looking it is extremely frustrating! We understand you may put in several applications over a weekend – that’s fine but be honest with the agent – when they call to ask if you are still interested let them know where it stacks up in your preferences, this won’t mean you will necessarily miss out but we may wait to check your application until after you confirm with us.
Some financial year tax tips for property investors
There number of tax and other benefits that can be associated with owning an investment property. With the end of financial year fast approaching we thought we would share our top end of financial year tax tips and help you get your house in order.
Pay your expenses this side of the tax year
In general, the best way to boost a property investor’s refund is to pay for any expenses before June 30, 2012, that way the investor can claim these expenses as a tax deduction in the 2012 financial year.
To ensure all tax deductions are claimed, we recommend engaging an accountant who specialises in property investment. Some of these expenses include body corporate fees, borrowing costs, property management costs and insurance.
Claim deprecation
Also engaging a quantity surveyor enables investors to claim maximum deductions depreciation on depreciable items.
For more information we recommend the Australian Tax Office website (http://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/content.aspx?doc=/content/62426.htm)
We have entered the 2012 Telstra Business Awards’ 1300Australia People’s Choice Award, help us win!
We have entered the 2012 Telstra Business Awards' 1300Australia People's Choice Award.
infolio was founded on the principals of being honest and transparent, leading by example and providing outstanding results for our clients.
Winning the Telstra Business awards would be an important recognition for our team's hard work and commitment to excellence.
We would appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to vote for us today.
To vote head to: http://www.telstrabusinessawards.com/peopleschoice/profile.aspx?e=12852
Kind regards, Lauren Staley
How do you know if you’re being played by a client or really negotiating for business?
I was in the car with my husband on Thursday getting away to an early start to the Easter Break, we were on a road trip up to the Murray which is a 3 hour drive, the good thing about this is that we actually get to talk and discuss what's been happening at work - this may sound vey unexciting but this is rare quiet time in our busy life's, and the drive proves to be a great opportunity to think, talk and discuss.
It had been a particularly exciting end to the week for me and the property management team for a number of reasons. First of all, March had proven to be our best month since opening our doors, we had achieved some benchmarks and targets that had long been eluding us, in addition to this we were called into 3 separate listing opportunities outside of those of those generated by our buyer’s advocacy department. You see being a small boutique operation we have grown predominantly by the sourcing of properties for our investor clients, in addition to internal referrals from our current client base, referrals are always great listing opportunities as you have a strong chance of securing a client when they are a direct referral, however the chance to chase new business against your competitors always bring back that strong desire to win, win, win and in addition to this you can work on your skills and size up your competition.
Anyway I was called into a listing in Prahran by a chap who was a previous tenant of mine, I was really chuffed that someone whom had been one of my tenants thought that during that time they rented a property though our company that I had handled things well enough to then consider me to manage their property. At the appointment I took our senior property manager along and during our presentation the client was kind enough to advise us that he had in fact called in another agent whom was also referred directly to his partner so we were basically stating from the same base. Cutting a long story short, after the appraisal we put together our best offer knowing full well that we were up against it. But we also prepared a really hot presentation in power point showing how we would showcase his property to the relocation agents and potential candidates and in the end we were told that whilst we were still more expensive than the competition, they were so impressed with what we had sent through that they had decided to give use crack. Now it may have been because we had competition that we were so keen to gain the business but I think my ego would have had a serious bruise if we didn't get it on the basis that we were directly called in from a previous experience, either way we were absolutely thrilled to gain their business..
So now we are back to the car trip with my husband. I tell him that this client advised us after the appointment that we were neck and neck with another agent and he would now be deciding on fees, to which my husband starts giggling and says “that’s cleaver, that’s what I would do" Talk about bringing someone down! I was appalled by what he said - first of all I tend to believe people - does that make me gullible, probably, but I’m not an idiot and I also think I can judge if someone is of good character and I believe this client to be so. My husband quickly got onto the defense and stated that "it’s not suggesting that you didn’t gain the client by being the best agent, but there is a good chance you weren’t up against anyone at all" I understand where he is coming from however I have to state that I fully believe there was another agent in the fighting ring however this discussion did get me thinking about how often we do actually get played! I realise that real estate has a history of being an arena in which negotiation takes full force but why does it? I see property management being a professional and essential service so why do people think they can always negotiate on our fees? Would you ask your barista to charge you less for a coffee? Would you ask your accountant to reduce his rates? Whilst I realize that everyone wants to get the best deal but i can tell you that property management industry fees have not increased in the 15 years i have been in the business, everything else, every other industry has gone up but people keep negotiating us down. If i think about what thwe average proeprty manager does for their clients that are seen or heard about then there is a good argument to put them on the increase - a proeprty manager worth his/her weight would handle a number of issues and resolve them with the landlord being none the wiser – because its our job to make things easy for the landlord, perhaps if we tell them all the proeprty complaints, refer all the maintenance, discuss the lengthly lease and rent negotiations then they would see our value rather than see us as just rent collectors? - nah - they would just sack us as it would indicate to them that we are crap at our job! But more to the point, my question is, are we being played? I suppose the only way to know is by holding your ground during a negotiation process, but when we all want to grow and prosper this isnt always a choice!
Another happy customer – well done Erica!
Please read this extract from a potential tenant....
"I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to yourself and Infolio. I was pleasantly surprised with the professionalism you show and the passion you have for your work, a contrast with the disappointment I have felt from most all of the other agents I have had contact with in my search for a rental property. Infolio is well represented by your professional attitude Erica, and I shall bear Infolio in mind for all my future property needs"
Keep kicking those goals!
You left a bright career as a budding sales professional to move into property management – are you mad?
I often get asked if I ever worked in real estate sales, its like the answer to this question defines my real skill set, it seems that for some people this is the way in which they determine my credibility….I was asked this very question on Tuesday night followed by “why did you go back to property management?” To be honest the time I spent working as a real estate sales person was one of the most enjoyable in my career, I was in my early 20’s and hungry as anything, I think I particularly wanted to prove a point as I was female and unfortunately there weren't too many female role models at that time. The truth be told I could have continued my career down that path if it wasn’t for one fateful day in which I turned…. Yep I turned into what most of us consider the ‘shoddy real estate agent’ the whole image we work towards eliminating, well I moved to the other side and it happened before I even knew what was happening.
Let me paint the picture for you. I worked in a relatively small team, there were 3 sales consultants and one of them happened to be a good friend of mine, he and I had worked together as property managers then both moved into sales at almost the same time, we were kind of groomed by the company. Anyway things were going along nicely for me, I seemed to have some natural ability and despite being quite young I was able to gain some top quality listings, I worked really hard and I prospected harder, I knew how to work my buyer list and I was given some really great tips by some older and successful agents that got me through that first 12-24 months where as an agent most people either make it or break it.
Anyway – we had a system in our office where if there was an acceptable offer on a property all other agents had a chance to work their buyers to submit their highest and best offer. This process meant that I wouldn’t know what any of the other offers would be I really just had to make by buyer submit not 1$ less than what they were prepared to spend on that property… in fact that was a line I used regularly… 'Your offer needs to be at a level where if it sold for $1.00 more you wouldn’t be disappointed'. On this particular day I knew that my friend and colleague was also getting an offer, now it was my listing which meant I was particularly keen to have my buyer purchase the property. I sneakily went searching through his emails and papers until I found out what his highest and best offer was and promptly encouraged by buyer to increase their offer by a further $750 (that’s how close it was) I went on to secure the property for my client by a measly $250.00 but I hated myself for it….. in fact I later told my friend and colleague what I had done as I was riddled with guilt and realised I had got myself to a point where I would do anything to close a deal, I didn’t like the person I had become – it was all about gross commissions, deals, deals and more deals. So with this in my mind I promptly moved back into property management and have never looked back.
When I first started in property management it really was considered the poor cousin to sales, 14 years on its considered more vital than any other area of a property business due to the nature of the asset that is built. These days a good property manager is worth their weight in gold and can basically ask their price, solid property managers are being offered equity, profit share, decent salaries and commission arrangements – it doesn’t mean its for everyone, its hard yakka, the daily grind of the job can be thankless and stressful, I don’t think anyone particularly speaks to us about anything positive, that being said landlords are starting to be more respectful to their property managers seeing them more than just rent collectors, the whole image has moved into the professional services where it should have been all along.
I have never regretted my decision to go back into property management even though im sure many would have seen it as a step back in my career, I believe it has created longevity in an industry that is seeing fewer and fewer women continue to prosper within it…
Preview to buying property like a professional
This is just a reminder about the BBN seminar Monday the 26th of March hosted by Cameron Deal.
The property seminar will begin at 6pm and will be held at Milanos, 4 The Esplanade, Brighton Beach.
If you would like a preview, Cameron had an article published on the Property Observer website today “Five tips for buying an investment property”, please click the link below to read the article.
We look forward to seeing you there.
Changes to Australian superannuation legislation property investors should know about
Prior to 2008, in order to acquire property, an SMSF had to be able to pay for it outright – a difficult thing to do for any but the largest funds.
In 2008, however, changes to superannuation legislation confirmed that Self-Managed Super Funds (SMSFs) coulduse borrowed funds to acquire property, providing greatly enhanced opportunity to diversify their investment portfolios.
Whilst there are some rules that must be followed, essentially an SMSF can borrow to invest in all types of property;residential, retail, rural,commercial property or a combination of whatever is best suited to the SMSF’s portfolio needs. The fund’s choices will depend on the preferences and circumstances of the members of the fund. For example, a mum or dad may wish to acquire a residential rental property, while a business owner may want to acquire a commercial property from which they can operate their business.
There are also numerous tax advantages provided by the superannuation system that make using an SMSF to invest attractive. Benefits include a maximum 15% tax on rental incomeand10% capital gains tax on the sale of capital assets prior to retirement. If one’s situation is well managed, tax on rental income and capital gains can drop to 0% soon after one turns 55. Additionally, business owners who acquire a commercial property and rent the premises from their own SMSF have the opportunity to‘contribute’ to their super above the concessional/non-concessional limits.As always, it is important to remember everyone’s situation is unique and therefore, to make the most of these benefits and to ensure you receive appropriate strategy and structuring recommendations, it’s important to get sound financial advice.
Using an SMSF to borrow funds for property investments can be a very powerful tool. There are, however, potential restrictions and additional costs that must be considered before undertaking such a strategy. For example, neither a fund member nor someone from their family can occupy a residential property owned by their SMSF, the tax effectiveness of negative gearing can be somewhat diminished, and there are legal and borrowing costs to be considered.
Ownership via a Self-Managed Superannuation Fund is now aviableoption when considering property acquisition. There is plenty to think about, so before deciding that this is the right strategy for you, seek the advice of a trusted financial advisor to ensure that using your SMSF is the best thing to do in your circumstances. And, of course, use the right help to buy well!
Written by Paul Kearney & Derek Ma - Kearney Group Financial Services