Maximising Your Rental Property

I often speak with people about their rental properties and some of them look after the property themselves and a few others with real estate agencies. One thing that I always pause and think about is when I ask people if they are getting the most out of their property and they say they have long term tenants that do not complain about anything and so they don’t increase the rent in line with market value.

My response generally is that a tenant not asking for repairs leads to a situation where something small that can be looked at and fixed easily can quickly turn into a much larger repair problem and can affect the value of their property. A leaking tap can quickly ruin your kitchen cupboards. Full gutters can overflow and damage the ceiling in your home. With regular maintenance you keep the value of your property and you also add to long term saleable value. My advice is to have regular inspections and do repairs as they come up. Also plan for long term works to your investment that will add to the sale value over time. In terms of market rent – rents have increased locally by 15% in the last 18 months and tenant demand is still very strong. Strata fees, repairs and outgoings have also gone up. Being under let at $200 per week is over $10,000 a year. That is a lot of money.

If you need some property management help, please reach out to me and the team at Guildea.