Archive for category: Property Management

A Rewarding Occupation That Needs Careful Management

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Property management is a career that offers variety, the opportunity to meet interesting people from diverse backgrounds, relative security of employment and the promise that no two days will ever be the same. For people who thrive on the unexpected and enjoy nothing better than a challenge, there is no better occupation.

A demanding but exhilarating role

In a busy agency with an expanding rent roll, there is always activity, interviews with prospective tenants, discussions with new owners and every day, dozens of competing priorities. It is a demanding and consuming occupation that can be exhilarating but, at the same time, it can have one too many challenges for the inexperienced or the unwary.

Here at Bunbury Real Estate we provide both sales and property management services. While both aspects of the real estate industry can be challenging, our property staff have issues that are unique to the role. We provide administrative and management support to assist them because we know the demands and challenges of the job.

Competing priorities can lead to difficult situations

Although most people we meet are polite and civil, one of the biggest challenges our property managers face is dealing with abusive owners and tenants. On the one hand, our people are looking after a property that is a large investment for someone, and on the other hand, it is also someone else’s home. This can create a perfect conflict situation and even the best property managers have difficulty with this.

Unreasonable owners are a challenge

On a similar note, difficult owners are another challenge. Most agencies, including ours, have systems in place to identify tenants who in the past have defaulted on rental payments, trashed their rental or worse still, manufactured or consumed drugs on the premises. Property managers are careful when selecting tenants, but vexatious owners only become apparent later.

Managing social media complaints part of the job

When discussing challenges, we must also mention social media. Property managers work hard for both owners and tenants, so an unjustified complaint on social media is not only unfair, but it can be distressing. These days everyone has an opinion, but many social media users are not particularly discerning about how they use it. Property managers must be aware of this and manage their response.

Be aware of burnout and how to combat it

Finally, effective property managers are always busy, and often neglect their own well-being to get the job done. Skipping lunch breaks, eating a take-away while on the run, working longer hours than necessary and not managing time and tasks well all create physical and mental health problems. We make sure our property managers don’t experience burnout by providing support where needed to assist them. They are far too valuable to lose.

Even Famous People Need A Real Estate Agent Sometimes

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If you are the type of person who loves meeting new and interesting people, there is no better industry to be in other than real estate. A conversation with someone who has been selling property for any length of time is an opportunity to hear about their experiences, the properties they have sold, and the people they meet.

Experienced Sales Agents Not Daunted by Celebrities

Imagine, for example, arriving for an appointment and finding that the prospective new client is a famous entertainer or sports celebrity. How do sales agents manage the introductions without looking starstruck, stumbling over words or generally behaving like teenagers? Quite simply, they do it through drawing on past experience of awkward or embarrassing situations and developing communication techniques to remain professional.

These are some of the qualities we look for when we are hiring new sales staff here at Bunbury Real Estate. Of course, an entrant to the industry must have started the state government regulatory requirements, but along with the professional training, we look for people with sound interpersonal skills and a genuine love of property.

Not Unusual to Have Famous Clients

Our listings vary from modest properties that suit first home buyers to substantial homes and units with prices that range to the top of the market. Some of the most desirable locations are close to the beaches along our coastline, and it is not unusual for our buyers to be well-known to us, either through previous transactions with our agency or because they have some celebrity status.

Everyone is a VIP to a Professional

So, how do our sales staff approach a celebrity client who has contacted our office to sell their top end of the market unit or townhouse? We have trained our people to treat every client with the same level of importance and respect, regardless of their circumstances, occupation or status in society. Everyone is a VIP in our eyes, and can expect prompt and courteous service, truthful valuations and professional confidentiality.

Confidentiality is Important to Famous People

For celebrity clients, confidentiality is very important, especially in this age of social media. It seems that they are unable to move around society and do ordinary things without every move being photographed and attracting public comment. It really is life in a goldfish bowl, so when they make important lifestyle decisions like putting their property on the market, they need privacy.

Our people would not disclose the owner’s name to a prospective purchaser if the owner was not famous, so there is no reason why this should be disclosed until we are ready to present contracts. The sale just becomes one of many, but it certainly makes the job more interesting.

New Home Building Does Not Need To Be Wasteful

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By the beginning of this century, building trends, consumer demand and an abundant supply of land saw the size of the average Australian family home balloon to among the largest in the world. With the threat of climate change now closer than previously thought, home owners are looking to reduce their footprint on the planet and to embrace sustainability when designing and building new homes.

Can Traditional House Plans Deliver a Sustainable Dwelling?

With all the best of intentions, just how does someone without the funds to engage an architect go about designing a sustainable dwelling? There are several relatively simple ways to do that while still working with traditional house plans, resulting in an energy-efficient home built around renewable resource principles such as passive design.

How Does Passive Design Work?

In this model, the building utilises local climate and site conditions to keep the home at a comfortable temperature, reducing the need for artificial heating and cooling. The placement and orientation of the home on the block of land is critical. For example, a house design utilising the northern aspect harnesses the power of the sun, with shading and overhangs to limit sun exposure in summer, while allowing for the sun to flood into the rooms during winter.

Here at Bunbury Real Estate, we are seeing many examples in new housing estates of this type of thought and care now being taken. With home buyers looking to buy existing houses, we get regular enquiries regarding features such as rainwater tanks and the possibility of using grey water for lawns and gardens.

Solar Power Still a Favourite

Renewable energy is the next obvious choice for a sustainable dwelling. Solar power is the most widely consumed renewable energy source in Australia and with the cost of storage batteries falling rapidly, it will soon be affordable for the excess solar energy to be stored in household batteries. Even without batteries, householders are already selling their surplus power back to the grid reducing their energy costs.

Don’t Waste – Recycle

For an even more sustainable home, some builders are using recycled building materials in new home construction. Materials such as aluminium use large amounts of energy to create but can be recycled time after time and fit well with modern décor. Home owners are also requesting that only plantation timber be used in their dwellings, keeping old growth forests intact.

Getting Used to Smaller Homes

There are many more techniques being used, but the most interesting one for Australians is the trend to building smaller houses. Not only are these more affordable, but they consume less building materials, are less expensive to run in terms of energy costs, and with clever design, can still give us the lifestyle to which we have become accustomed.

Fire in the Home and How to Keep Safe

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A fire can spread fast. It can put life in danger in two minutes. It can engulf a home in four minutes.

The loss of lives and home is devastating, emotionally and financially. Sadly, most cases of fires in homes are accidental and preventable.

You can take steps to protect your property from fire. One is to install a smoke alarm in your home. People lose their sense of smell when they are sleeping. A smoke alarm will be activated if it senses smoke from a fire.

The best unit to purchase is a photoelectric smoke alarm as it has been proven to be reliable in providing enough time for occupants to get out before their house is engulfed in fire.

Smoke alarm law

Effective 1 July 1997, all new residential buildings (or residential building extensions) within Western Australia are required to have mains powered smoke alarms. From 1 October 2009, all existing residential buildings must be installed with main powered smoke alarms before the transfer of ownership, rent or hire.

The new smoke alarm should bear the AS 3786:2014 marking to ensure it is up to the relevant standard. Smoke alarm with the AS 3786:1993 will be no longer be considered fit under the Building Code of Australia (BCA) effective 1 May 2017.

Penalties for non-compliance

Under the Building Act 2011 and the Building Regulations 2012, local governments can either issue an infringement notice or sue an owner who fails to have their property fitted with compliant smoke alarms before a sale, transfer of ownership, tenancy or hiring of said property.

Owners who fail to comply face a fine of $5,000.

Installation of smoke alarm systems

Install smoke alarms in all bedrooms, in the living room and hallway for optimal smoke detection. This is to ensure that all rooms where people sleep with closed doors are covered. Smoke alarms cannot detect smoke through closed doors.

At the minimum, have a smoke alarm installed in the hallway nearest the bedrooms. This should be accompanied with other types of alarms.

To prevent nuisance alarms, make sure not to install smoke alarms in incorrect places, such as kitchens, and in proximity of the doorways of bathrooms or laundry rooms. Other places in the house where smoke alarms shouldn’t be are very near a corner of a ceiling or wall; an air-conditioning vent; and the blades of a ceiling fan.

For houses with a second- or third-storey, smoke alarms should be fitted in the corridor between each level.

In houses with an attached garage, install a heat alarm with AS1670.1 marking, not a smoke alarm, to avoid nuisance alarms.

Smoke alarms should be interconnected to make sure than when one smoke detects a fire, all alarms in the entire houser will be activated.

Hire a licensed electrician to smoke alarms fitted in your home.

Smoke alarm requirements for dwelling types

The following residential structures are required under Australia’s Building Regulations 2012 to be fitted with compliant smoke alarms.

Class 1a: Includes a stand-alone house, or row houses, duplexes, town houses, terrace houses or villa houses where attached dwellings are detached by a fire resisting wall.

Class 1b: Includes (1) boarding houses, guest houses, hostels and similar properties where a maximum of 12 people would normally be occupants, and with a total floor area not exceeding 300 sq m; and (2) four or more single dwellings built on one allotment and leased as short-term holiday accommodations. Properties located in tourist parks, farmstays, holiday resorts, and cabins in caravan parks, are also included under this category.

Class 2: Includes apartments and flats in a building that has multiple units.

Class 4: Includes a caretaker’s residence and other residential units located in a non-residential building, if it is the sole place to live in in that property.

Landlord/tenant responsibility concerning fire safety

Landlord

It is the landlord’s responsibility to make sure the rental property is habitable and safe to live in.

  • Landlords must make sure to keep the smoke alarm(s) are in working order and are less than 10 years old. The unit should contain the date of replacement.
  • Smoke alarms must be tested during regular inspections, or at least every six months. In addition, check for dust and cobwebs, and clean around the unit using a soft brush.
  • Replace batteries every year, if the unit has a user-replaceable 9V battery. Follow the manufacturer’s guide when choosing batteries and testing the unit.
  • Maintenance must be undertaken at every inspection. A record of maintenance must be kept by the landlord or the property manager.

Tenant

Tenants also have a few maintenance responsibilities for the smoke alarm in their rental property.

  • Each month, test the alarm by pushing down the test button. Release it when you hear a loud alert sound.
  • Don’t damage the alarms or put anything like tape or paint that would hamper the airflow to the alarms.
  • Make sure the green visual display light is on. This indicates that the smoke alarm is attached to the mains power.

The law mandates the installation of smoke alarms in residential and commercial properties as it is the only device the can provide the critical advance warning needed to avoid the loss of lives and property.

Learn and adopt first safety habits to eliminate the chance of fire in your home. Lastly, create an Escape Plan to guide you and other household occupants on what to do in case of a fire.

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.

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.

Rental Applications Being Knocked Back? Check This Out

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Finding a suitable rental property to make it your home is difficult enough without the added stress of the application process. Getting it right means being able to put your feet under the dining room table in a place you know is yours for the term of the rental, while getting it wrong means starting the search all over again.

Get the Process Right in a Competitive Rental Market

If you are struggling to have your application considered, especially when there are several people applying for the same property, it is time to take a closer look at your approach. The rental market is very competitive. So, just like the job market, you need to have everything covered to give yourself the best chance.

To help you master the process, we have a few suggestions that may help. Here at Bunbury Real Estate, we have an application process that is typical for the rental industry. We are property managers with rental choices to suit a wide range of lifestyles and budgets.

Take the Time to Get Your Documentation Right

Having all the required documentation available for us is one of the most important things to get right. Applicants who have everything we have asked for are the easiest to process, and it is even better if you go the extra mile and have everything copied and presented in a folder for us to start your tenant file. This also applies to any housemates who will be sharing the property.

Punctuality and Good Manners are Remembered at Inspections

We often open rental properties at specific times to allow prospective tenants to view them. This is very time consuming for us, so we remember tenants who arrive on time. Punctuality is a courtesy in every industry and ours is no exception, as are visitors who are pleasant. The initial inspection, before even being accepted as a tenant, is not the right time to demand repairs or changes.

Dress to Impress

You may be surprised at our next suggestion, but again, just like a job interview, it helps to dress the part. We don’t expect people to dress in formal wear to view a rental property but looking dirty and dishevelled does not leave a good impression. When you show up neat and tidy, we know you are treating the application process seriously.

Follow Up Contact Indicates Genuine Interest

Finally, if you have put in an application and not heard anything after a couple of days, there is no harm in contacting the rental agent and offering to supply extra documents or references to indicate your interest. If they are tossing up between your application and another candidate, receiving a courteous contact from you could just be the thing that makes up their minds.

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.