Archive for category: Property Management Tips

Furnished or Unfurnished Rental Property: Which Should You Get?

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Renters do not only face the issue of what type of rental property to live in. They also need to decide whether they want a full furnished, partially furnished or unfurnished rental property.

As the name implies, a furnished rental property includes all furniture and appliances. A partially furnished property normally includes only furniture. An unfurnished property has no furniture and appliances.

Here are a few pros and cons to consider for each option before deciding which one is the best fit for you:

Furnished Rental Properties

The actual items that are included in a furnished property will differ depending on the landlord and what type of property you’re renting, but the following items may also be included:

  • Rugs, scatter cushions for beds and couches, linens
  • artwork for the walls, centrepieces, mirrors
  • cutlery, dining sets, cookware, stemware, knife block
  • bookshelf
  • other accessories

Appliances should include:

  • a standard refrigerator
  • stove
  • dishwasher
  • washing machine and dryer
  • air conditioner.

For entertainment, these items may be included in the property:

  • LCD TV
  • DVD player
  • cable and stereo system

The Pros

For tenants

  • Moving will be easy, especially if you frequently change address. You can move on short notice because most of the cumbersome items like furniture will already be in the furnished rental. It’s less expensive to hire professional movers as they’ll have fewer things to pack and move.
  • You don’t need to buy furniture, therefore you save money.
  • If you’re moving on short notice, or if you’re relocating to a different state and can’t see your new home on moving day, renting a furnished property will save you a lot of trouble. Your home is ready to move into; all you have to do is show up.
  • If you’re not ready to commit to a long-term lease, renting a furnished property is the right one for you. Landlords of furnished properties will often accept a shorter lease as they cater to people who don’t remain in one place for too long such as students, sales representatives and other travelling professionals.

For landlords

  • You can easily access lucrative markets, including the business and corporate travellers, and tourists, which in turn can land you high-quality tenants.
  • You can charge about $50 to $100 more in the weekly rental, depending on the location and the quality of the furnishings.
  • The furnished market gives property owners more flexibility in pricing, allowing them to adjust rent according to market trends.
  • There are tax benefits for furnished rental properties. Property owners can write off furniture and other items as a depreciating asset.

The Cons

For tenants

  • Furnished rental properties may require a higher security deposit. This is a kind of insurance for any possible damage to the furniture.
  • Your liability is greater because there are a lot of items that you can break. You don’t own most of these items, so be careful. Your security deposit may not be enough to pay for all the damages throughout your stay.
  • You have no say about the interior design. The looks of the rental property and all the things in it are controlled by the landlord. If you happen to dislike the couch or the bed, you could buy a new one. But what would you do with the old one? Would the landlord allow you in the first place?
  • There are not many furnished rental properties out there. Though a furnished property has a competitive edge in the market, it takes lots of hard work on the part of the landlord to furnish and maintain a property. This makes furnished rental properties hard to come by.
  • The items in a furnished property vary. There is no guarantee what you’re getting because there is no specific standard for “furnished”, so you have to expect to provide the “missing” items in your rental.
  • You may not have a lot of things but you have a few things. If you rent a furnished home, you may need to find room for them. Expect to have some difficulty finding room for the stuffs that you already have.

For landlords

  • Your target market is limited to people who already own furniture and appliances, which can leave your rental property vacant for longer periods of time. The kind of renters that gravitates to furnished rental properties is looking for short-term leases, which means a higher rate of turnover.
  • With a lot of items inside the home, wear and tear is higher, which means more to pay for maintenance costs.
  • Consider your location in your decision to enter the furnished market. Furnished rentals located in the heart of the CBD, with stylish décor and furniture, will attract more prospective tenants than those in the suburbs.

Unfurnished Rental Properties

An unfurnished rental property is empty. No furniture. No appliances. All items are provided and belong to the tenant.

Majority of tenants are looking at a long-term lease, a place where they can stay long enough to make it their own. This category of tenants is mostly looking for an empty property, or with a few neutral-toned furniture or appliance that they can work around to fit their particular taste.

The Pros

For tenants

You are free to decorate the house the way you want it. You may need to ask the landlord’s permission to paint the walls with the colour you like, but you can pick the furniture, appliances and furnishings that match your style.
You can sign a long lease with an unfurnished rental property. This gives you the time to settle in and create a place that you can call home.
An unfurnished house is the perfect way to incorporate your personal style into a place and turn in into a safe haven.

For landlords

  • You’d be attracting tenants who are looking at a long-term lease. This is steady rental income, which means financial security.
  • You don’t need to spend money on buying furniture and appliances.
  • You don’t need to maintain a furniture inventory and stress over replacing any item that becomes
    damage.

The Cons

For tenants

  • If furniture shopping or interior design is not your thing, you’d probably feel annoyed at having to fill up an empty property.
  • It is expensive to buy furniture and appliances, and you’d have to deal with bringing bulky house stuffs when you move. You’d be the one who has to move everything and take out everything again when your lease expires.

For landlords

  • It is not likely to attract high paying tenants like transients and travelling executives.
  • You’d miss out on the group of renters who are willing to pay more for the convenience of living in a home that is already fully furnished.

Partially Furnished Rental Properties

A partly furnished rental property has a few items in it, such as couches, tables, chairs and white goods like a refrigerator, washing machine/dryer, stove and dishwasher.

Tenants who prefer to bring their own belongings but don’t mind a few items already in the rental property, specifically white goods and furniture, would fit greatly with a partly furnished home.

This is a way for property owners to tap into both the furnished and unfurnished markets. It is even better for property owners who have storage where they can keep the furniture and appliance if tenants prefer to use their own.

For investors, consult with your property manager regarding what is best for your property: furnished, unfurnished or partially furnished. They know the market, what most tenants are looking, and how you can position your rental property to appeal to a broader range of renters.

Relocating With Your Furry Friends? What You Need To Know

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Moving from one residence to another is never easy regardless of whether the move is to the next suburb, the closest city, another state or overseas. There are seemingly endless details to attend to, so that all your possessions and your family members arrive at the new destination safely.

Requirements for Moving with your Pets

It is even more complicated when your pets are moving with you. If you have purchased your own residence, you have most likely checked that the property is pet friendly, and your type of pet is permitted to live in the area. If you are renting, there are other requirements to be met before your pet is safe and secure in the new residence.

Licences and Permits Required for Some Pets in WA

This is particularly important for people moving to Western Australia from the eastern states. Apart from dogs, cats and agricultural animals, owners require an import licence and a permit from the WA Department of Parks and Wildlife to bring other pets with them when they relocate. Many birds, reptiles and amphibians from the eastern states pose a threat to the native flora and fauna of Western Australia so check with the authorities before the move.

Here at Bunbury Real Estate, we are accustomed to dealing with questions from tenants about pets such as cats and dogs, and we are aware of the requirements for permits for other pets. Some of our property owners permit tenants to have pets, and in Western Australia, lessors (property owners) can legally require a tenant to pay a pet bond, as well as the usual tenant security bond.

Lessors Legally Allowed to Charge a Pet Bond

The law states that where tenants are permitted to keep pets that can carry parasites that are able to transfer to humans, the lessor may charge a pet bond. The only exception is if the pet is an assistance dog, in which case they cannot. In a residential tenancy the pet bond must be no more than $260 unless set by regulation, and for a long-stay tenancy in a residential park, no more than $100.

Bonds Lodged with the Bond Administrator

The total security bond is lodged as normal with the Bond Administrator as a single amount, with the amount of the pet bond specifically noted. Because pet bonds are not usual in the eastern states, a tenant coming from there may not know this. Providing such advice to tenants is part of our role as property managers.

Check Local Government Requirements and Get a Good Freight Company

Our advice is to also check the local government regulations regarding enclosures, fencing, amongst others, and only use reputable freight companies with experience in transporting pets. We want you and your pets to love it here, so if the trip is as hassle-free as our tenancy process, you may want to stay.

Buy or Rent Property? Or Do Both at the Same Time?

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Housing affordability is an ever present concern for many modern day Australian citizens. This is why the first thing on their to-do list is determine whether to rent or buy.


Of course, for many there is only one decision to make, which is rent, because they don’t have the huge amount of deposit required to enter the property market in many Australian cities.


But there are also many who believe that home-ownership makes the most sense. Rent money is a waste as it’s not an investment. All you’re doing is paying someone else’s mortgage.


To those who are still undecided, which is the best way to go?

 

Rent or buy?

Both options have their pros and cons. In the end, it is up to you whether to rent or buy, depending on your current personal and financial situation.


Renting gives you flexibility because as a renter, it’s easy to move from one home to another and from one suburb to another when your lease ends.


Signing a lease is a cheaper alternative to purchasing a home. Many young professionals cannot afford to buy in inner cities and near city locations where the lifestyle they prefer and career opportunities are easily accessible.


It’s true that rents are increasing. But it is also a fact that rental payments is usually higher than the monthly mortgage repayments they’d pay for a comparable property.


In addition, there are many costs associated with buying and selling property. There are agent’s fees, advertising fees, stamp duty, government fees, loan establishment fees, etc.


The biggest advantage of renting is that it is not your responsibility to pay for the cost of expensive maintenance, repair, insurance premiums, and more that comes with owning your home. These ongoing expenses are the responsibility of the landlord.


As for the drawbacks of renting, renters don’t have a say with regards to how long they can stay in the rental property; it is the landlord’s decision. This can be extra tough if the renter has become fond of what they consider their home.


The home you’re renting is never your own. You can’t make upgrades to the rental property, or even hang even something as simple as a wall art, without your landlord’s permission. Plus, the landlord or property manager can enter your home, with proper notice and with good reason, for things like regular inspections.


The major factor worth considering is the rising cost of rent. Renting may be the cheaper option now, but rent is constantly increasing in time with the rising value of properties.


You will pay rent as long as you are renting. In contrast, paying mortgage typically ends within 25 to 30 years.


There is a feeling of constancy and stability if you’re living in your own home. You can make whatever upgrades you want; you decide how long you stay there (as long as you’re faithfully paying your mortgage repayments; and you build great equity.


Consider owning while renting

There is a growing trend in the property market, especially among young buyers, called rentvesting. This is a property investment strategy in which you continue to live in a rental property while owning another property that you’re renting out.


The difficulty of getting into the property market experienced by many first-home buyers due to housing affordability has given rise to rentvesting. It provides a solution if you want to live in an area where homes carry a hefty price tag. You rent an ideal home in the area you prefer and purchase a property in a suburb where prices are within your reach. You rent out the property to help you cover your own rental payments and later sell it for capital gain.  


The beauty of being a renter investor is that it’s a way for you to own property while renting in an area close to the city where the jobs and all amenities are easily accessible. You can enter the property market sooner through rentvesting. Because you can buy from another state, or in a more affordable suburb in your state, you will need a smaller amount of deposit.


Of course, with all types of investment there is also a risk to rentvesting. Way your options properly, so you can make an informed decision about whether this is the strategy that fits you.


Weighing the rent versus buy decision


Renting and buying a property each have their pros and cons. But the final decision ultimately depends on a number of factors, including your financial circumstances, your long-term goals and the outlook of your local real estate market.


Here are five questions to ask yourself if you’re mulling the buy or rent dilemma:

  • What type of home is within your reach and how much savings do you have?\
  • How many years do you plan to live in the property?
  • Which do you prefer: stability or the flexibility to relocate easily?
  • Do you want to shoulder the cost of repair and maintenance?
  • What do you want to achieve for your finances, career and personal life?


Make an informed decision by doing research. The internet offers plenty of rent vs buy calculators that you can use to calculate the cost involved in both approaches. You can also get a wealth of knowledge about purchase prices and rental rates in the neighbourhoods you’re considering. Lastly, it doesn’t hurt to seek expert advice from a reliable mortgage broker.


Your decision all boils down to carefully weighing all the benefits and drawbacks of both buying and renting, and factoring in your personal and financial circumstances.

Want Great Tenants? – Get A Good Property Manager

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Are you a homeowner looking for great tenants who will look after your property as if it was their own, and pay the rent on time, every time? There are plenty of horror stories in the media about tenants who wreck every wall and fitting in the house, refuse to pay their rent and resist every legal action to move them on. However, there is a lot you can do to make sure you are letting your property to reliable people who do the right thing.

The Best Tenants Prefer Good Locations

The best tenants are just like the best home owners. When you looked around to buy your home, were you attracted to properties that were clean, neat and tidy, had modern conveniences that worked properly and were located close to employment, transport, schools and other facilities? Of course, you were, and so are the ideal tenants for your home.

Good Tenants Appreciate a Clean and Tidy Property

If your property is looking a little worse for wear, now is the time to spruce it up. Clean any rubbish out of the yard, tidy the gardens, mow the lawn, do any minor repairs, including painting, and finish off the exterior with a complete washing down. The interior should be just as spotless with all fixtures and fittings in working order, window treatments and floor coverings cleaned, and cupboards emptied.

Managing Your Own Rental is not Easy

Now that the property is ready for inspection, you need to decide if you are going to manage the whole rental process yourself, or hand it over to professional property managers. One of the biggest mistakes made by property owners is in believing that finding and keeping good tenants is easy. Property management is time consuming and requires current knowledge of relevant legislation, an administration system that keeps records of prospective tenants, an accounting system that tracks rental payments and staff who know the property market.

At Bunbury Real Estate, we ensure that our property managers are professionally trained and we provide them with all the resources they need to follow up enquiries, perform tenant reference checks, conduct inspections and perform all the other duties that come with this demanding role.

Professional Property Management is the Answer

As a home owner, naturally, you are looking to secure a suitable, reliable tenant for your property. You want to keep your vacancy rates low, your maintenance costs under control and have your rent regularly deposited into your bank account. If you engage a professional property management company like ours to act on your behalf, all this will be done for a small fee, leaving you plenty of free time to get on with your life.

Missing The Boat On Rental Applications? Preparation Is Everything

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Having a safe and secure place to live is an essential part of having a fulfilling life, so if you are constantly missing out on a rental property, you must review your application process to find out how you can improve your chances. If you have a history of being a reliable tenant, it could just be an adjustment to your application documents that is needed to get your next home.

Are Your Income Details Current?

Most of the application forms used by rental agents ask for similar information, even if the forms themselves are slightly different. Obvious identifiers are your personal details, current address, previous addresses and your income details. Make sure these income details are the current ones and not those of the previous financial year.

Fill Out All the Fields on the Application Form

A common mistake that we see all the time is a tenancy applicant not completing all the fields in the application form. Often these are names and contact numbers of referees, so we then need to contact the applicant to obtain that information. This delays the application and it could be the difference between making the shortlist and missing out altogether.

An agent asks for detailed information for one reason. It is our responsibility to make sure that the tenants we place in the properties we manage have the financial capacity to pay the rent on time. At Bunbury Real Estate, we also carefully check all our tenant references, so our owners can be assured that their properties are occupied by responsible people who will look after them.

Have Multiple Copies of Identification Documents on Hand

There are two other pieces of advice we can give you to prevent you from missing out on likely rental properties. The first is that you have multiple copies of your identification documents ready on hand to be attached to any application form. Time is of the essence, so instead of chasing around to get copies when you see a suitable property, you can fill out the application and lodge it immediately with the rental agent, complete with attachments.

Check Contact Details for your Referees

The second piece of advice is to have references from former rental agents and/or property owners ready on hand, rather than wait to find a property then need to chase them up. Again, this causes delays in your application. Also, make sure you check that the contact details you have for them are current, and let them know you are moving and that rental agents will be contacting them.

Remember that preparation is everything when looking for a rental property and being the best prepared of all the applicants could just be the edge you need to get your next home.

How Much Do You Know About Tenancy Laws?

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More people than ever these days are living in rental properties, so tenants need to understand their rights and responsibilities. The Residential Tenancies Act is the legislation governing tenancies, but the issues most often reported are ending a lease before the time is up, who pays for maintenance and repairs, getting behind in the rent, tenants’ right to privacy and getting the bond back when the tenancy is over.

Reputable Property Managers do the Right Thing

If you are a first-time tenant looking to rent a property, using a reputable agency like Bunbury Real Estate is your best chance for a hassle-free tenancy. As property managers, we observe all laws, from the day you lodge your application to the end of your tenancy. Many tenant problems arise when the property is rented directly from lessors, who may have their own interpretation of the law.

Breaking a Lease

Sometimes tenants find themselves in situations where they need to leave their rental property before the lease is up. If you have signed a fixed term lease, you could be liable for compensation to the lessor if you break the lease. There are processes to be followed so get advice from a property management agency like ours before you act.

Who Pays for Repairs?

A rental property should be in a reasonable state of cleanliness and repair before you move in. The tenant is responsible for keeping it clean and advising the lessor if any damage occurs. If intentional or negligent damage is caused by you or a guest, you are liable for the cost of repairs. However, you are not responsible for repairing the normal deterioration that takes place in any property.

Getting Behind in the Rent

Sometimes, even the best tenants get behind in the rent through unemployment or other circumstances. You must notify the lessor immediately to avoid your lease being terminated. However, the lessor cannot just evict you without following some legal processes. You may be able to negotiate a payment plan to bring your rent back on track.

Tenants Have Privacy Rights

As a tenant, you have the right to privacy, so the lessor cannot drop in unexpectedly to check the property. The correct notice period must be given to the tenant and this includes instances where tradespeople need to do work, and if the property is being showed to prospective buyers.

Getting Your Bond Back

For tenants who leave the property in good condition, getting their bond back is a major concern, especially if the lessor tries to claim it without sufficient reason. Be assured that the bond money can only be disposed of by consent or court order, all of which involve legal processes.

For peace of mind, select your rental property through an agency such as ours, and leave all the legal issues to us.

Solutions For The Nervous Property Investor

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If you have just purchased your first investment property, the chances are that you may be daydreaming about your second or third and imagining yourself ten years down the track as a multi-millionaire property magnate. Before you get too far ahead of yourself, however, there are still some important decisions to be made if you wish to get the most value out of this new venture of yours.

Get This Wrong and it Costs you a Bundle

One decision you will be confronted with almost immediately is where to find a reliable tenant, and if you get this decision wrong, you could find yourself thousands of dollars out of pocket. The media is filled with stories of tenants wilfully causing property damage and not paying the rent. Delays in the legal process can allow lawfully evicted tenants to remain in the property for weeks or even months, placing an enormous financial burden on the owners, who must still pay the mortgage even though there is no income to offset it.

Professional Property Management is the Solution

Investors should not despair, however, as there is a solution. Professional property management by a reputable agency is not expensive, and their experienced team takes all possible steps to ensure that only reliable tenants are placed in client properties.

Take our agency, Bunbury Real Estate, as a typical example. We have been finding tenants for our clients’ properties for some time, and now have a reputation in the industry for delivering a “hassle free” service. If you are unsure if the rent you are expecting for your property is market value, we offer a free appraisal, giving you a realistic figure by comparing your property with others like yours in the target area.

Proven Management Systems

Once we become your property manager, we go to work using our proven management systems to select the best tenant. Typical steps are to check our database of already qualified prospective tenants for those that suit your property. If the best prospect is someone new to our agency, we then follow our selection process to ensure that the person meets our criteria.

Reference, Credit and ID Checks Essential

We always check references given by previous landlords, ask for identification and evidence of employment, as well as perform a routine credit check to ensure there are no outstanding credit issues. Once the tenant has passed our selection process, we make sure that all the required legal documents are correctly completed and lodged with the appropriate authorities.

If you want your property investment to keep earning with minimal involvement by you, getting a professional agency like ours to do the work for you is the obvious choice.

How To Take Advantage of Social Media For Real Estate Advertisement

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Real estate is an industry that depends on high-level communication skills to generate the levels of persuasion needed to attract attention, to get noticed and sell property. Where once all this energy was directed through print advertising in newspapers and photos in shop windows, it is now channelled via the internet.

Social Media – a Game-Changer

This doesn’t mean that those older methods are obsolete, but there is no doubt that internet advertising and the growth of social media have been game-changers. If we stick with real estate as a prime example, twenty or so years ago, real estate ads in newspapers and photos in every agency window in town were the “go to” places if you were looking for a property to buy or rent.

Web Pages Also Essential to Advertising Success

Fast forward to the present day, and we still use these methods, but an internet presence is also essential. Bunbury Real Estate has a professional website displaying all our information, photos of current properties, an option to get a free appraisal, interesting news and other marketing material, designed to grab and hold attention.

Facebook and Instagram the Current Favourites

Agents have also become more adept at connecting with their markets and projecting their persona via social media. These platforms add depth to the client/agent relationship and open a communication channel that is more personal than a company website. In our industry, Facebook and Instagram are currently the front-runners, with Instagram favoured because of its more visual nature.

Social Media Platforms must be Well Managed

When social media platforms are created and managed properly they are highly effective because they are constantly changing. Regular followers check in almost every day to see what is new, loving the photos and visual effects and the opportunity for a more personal connection with the agent.

It is essential to post regularly, keep content new and interesting, know your audience and tailor your posts to the needs and interests of that audience. A successful social media platform is the ultimate marketing tool, but like everything that brings success, it takes work and commitment.

Start with a Plan and Jump in with Both Feet

The best place for any agent or agency to start is to develop a social media plan as part of the overall marketing strategy. Like any other marketing initiative, your social media presence should reflect the overall philosophy of your business. It should complement your other marketing efforts and be an integral part of the culture of your organisation.

Social media is a powerful tool for both the positive and negative aspects of our society. Like all businesses and institutions, we want ours to be seen in a positive light, so now is the time to embrace this medium, get to know its quirks and use it to project ourselves to the world in the best possible way.