Archive for category: Rentals

Can’t Decide Whether to Rent or Buy? Try the Rational Approach

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redhouse with paper and pen

Are you looking for long-term accommodation but cannot decide if you should rent or buy? If you favour an apartment over other dwelling types you have already made the first decision, so all that remains is choosing between buying and renting.

Look at Both Sides of the Issue

Like every major life decision, there are pros and cons for both, but sometimes, people prefer to rent because they are not ready to commit to home ownership. It is helpful, therefore, to take a rational approach to the issue of renting vs. buying by examining both sides.

Pros of Renting – Flexibility

Apartment living for renters offers flexibility as tenants can move around to different locations whenever their lease expires. This is a great option if you have moved into a building where there are problem neighbours, or you are not ready to put down roots.

Fewer Upfront and Ongoing Costs

Renting is cheaper than buying with no large deposit required; it is just the standard bond and rent in advance. This enables tenants to choose a rental close to inner city locations to take advantage of the employment and lifestyle opportunities on offer. Also, there is no maintenance or ownership costs as these are paid by the landlord.

Cons of Renting – Uncertainty and Lack of Privacy

The biggest disadvantage to renting is uncertainty. Good tenants often have to leave locations that tick all their liveability boxes when their tenancy agreement expires and may have to settle for less suitable apartments.

They must allow their property manager or landlord access, by mutual arrangement, to their apartment several times a year for inspections. While there are laws that protect the rights of renters, the fact is they are not the owners and will always be paying rent without accumulating an asset.

Pros of Buying – Ownership and Stability

One of the pros of buying an apartment is that, although the entry costs are much higher than renting, and provided the mortgage payments are made, the home loan will eventually be paid off. This will leave the owner with an asset of substantial value.

Owners have the stability that renters do not and only leave their chosen location if they decide to sell or rent out the property. If they sell, they can buy elsewhere, or if they become landlords, they have an additional income stream.

Cons of Buying – Up Front and Ongoing Costs

Buying an apartment involves saving the required deposit and taking on a mortgage that must be paid regardless of life circumstances, such as losing your job. Home buyers are also responsible for ongoing costs such as insurance, rates, utilities and maintenance.

At Bunbury Real Estate we believe there are no right or wrong answers and both options are equally suitable depending on circumstances. Either way, we have the experience, market knowledge and professional staff to help people find their perfect home.

Renting With Pets? How To Show Them In Their Best Light

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Finding a suitable rental property that meets your needs is difficult enough, but when pets are permanent members of your family, it can sometimes seem like all lessors have a “no pets” policy. Australians have some of the highest rates of pet ownership in the world, so being able to have our pets around us while in a rental is an essential part of life for many of us.

Changes to Legislation give Tenants with Pets More Rights

Residential tenancy legislation is a state matter. Currently, the only state that has legislated to give tenants the right to keep pets is Victoria, with Queensland likely to follow suit. Lessors must still give permission, but it is much harder to refuse, and tenants have a right of appeal to an external body.

Many Lessors Willing to Negotiate with Pet Owners

Attitudes are changing, however, and even though a property advert may say no pets, many lessors are willing to negotiate with tenants who have good references. Some states allow lessors to apply a pet bond or include a clause in the rental agreement requiring extra cleaning, fumigation and repair of any damage caused by pets when vacating the premises.

Here at Bunbury Real Estate, our professional property managers look at past rental history, personal references and financial capacity when we are assessing a new tenant. If they have pets, we recommend that they also include a pet resume with their tenancy application. This document is becoming increasingly popular and is helping pet owners to keep their pets with them.

What Information Should Be in a Pet Resume?

Just like a human resume, a pet resume should contain all the information needed for someone to decide if the pet will be suitable for the vacant tenancy. Information such as the age of the animal, its breed, sex and desexing status, as well as its local government registration and microchip details will show the reader that this is a well-cared for pet.

Include Copies of References

Vaccination, flea and worming schedules are essential pieces of information, as are copies of the actual vaccination and desexing certificates. Copies of references from previous lessors and a brief description of the pet’s temperament, along with some photos, will also help to build a complete picture of how the pet behaves in a home environment.

Quality of the Information More Important than the Format

Some people present their pet resumes in the form of a letter, while others with the time and knowhow follow the format of an employment resume. In fact, pet resumes are becoming so popular that a quick search online offers templates and examples. Whatever method you decide, it is the quality of information in the document and the attached references that help an agency like ours to make fair decisions.

Plenty Of Options For Apartment Buyers

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Are you in the market for an apartment? If you are in that happy place where you have enough money for a deposit and a credit rating that will get you a substantial loan, there are a couple of things to consider before making the jump. After all, you want to get the best outcome for your particular circumstances and to make the most of current market conditions.

When Price is the First Consideration

The first step is to decide between going all out and buying a pristine, shiny new apartment or settling for something that has been around for a couple of decades. The key ingredient here is price, so if your budget does not stretch to one of the new buildings, you will be looking in the older suburbs for pre-loved units.

Investor or Owner/Occupier?

Another consideration is whether this apartment is where you intend to live or if you plan to add it to an investment portfolio, or perhaps start one. In the latter instance, you will be looking for a property that is attractive to tenants, close to all amenities and offers rental value for money.

At Bunbury Real Estate we have multiple listings of both old and new units in good locations that would suit both owner/occupiers, as well as investors. Our experienced staff can arrange inspections of suitable units and, in the case of an investor, they can also source good, reliable applicants from our tenant database. In this way, the client purchasing the unit can have a tenant ready to pay rent on settlement.

New Apartments Should Mean Low Maintenance

Reliable tenants with a good income usually prefer new apartments over older ones, especially if there is little difference in the rental costs. For both the investor and the owner/occupier, a new apartment usually means little or no maintenance for some years. Newly developed units often include facilities such as pools, gyms, and retail outlets which also appeal to tenants and owners/occupiers.

Older Apartments Love a Renovation

Older apartments appeal to the segment of the market that is watching the budget. The body corporate fees are often cheaper, and units built in the 1980s also have large floor plans offering plenty of space for the occupiers. Units that need refurbishments are a very attractive proposition. Cheaper to purchase, they respond well to renovations which, once completed, add value and increase the equity in the property.

A Personal Choice

Whether new or old, when you are buying an apartment, follow the tried and true rules of real estate and look for a great position handy to work opportunities, shopping, leisure outlets and transport. There is no right or wrong answer. Old vs new is a personal choice.

Do Some Suburbs Suit Sole Parents More Than Others?

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Being a sole parent is not easy, but thousands of people are in this situation and most of them are raising happy, healthy children. They are achieving this either alone, or with the help of family and ex-partners. Regardless of this assistance, the statistics consistently show that most of Australia’s single mums are doing more than fifty percent of the active parenting.

Parenting Responsibilities of Single Mums

Many single mums are making all the critical decisions alone, and often find this constant responsibility a strain. They must choose the schools, the health practitioners and the after-school activities. They are responsible for finances, to make sure there is enough good quality food available, and even which suburb and what type of housing they occupy.

Services and Facilities Need to be Close to Home

Finding the best suburbs is always a challenge but especially so for single mums. Generally, they need easy access to education and junior sporting facilities, child care, medical centres, public transport, shopping and for many of them, employment opportunities. Even with their own vehicle, fuel is expensive if they need to drive every day, so having everything within a 10-20klm radius of home is the goal.

Expensive vs Affordable

Recent studies show that nationally, the most desirable suburbs are often the most expensive to live in. Those with all the facilities needed by single mums are often closest to the CBDs of our capital cities. Properties furthest from the coastal areas or in regional and rural locations are the least expensive, but often do not have the same level of support services.

The Best of Both Worlds

Here at Bunbury we are fortunate to have the best of both worlds. Our city is located on the Indian Ocean, south of Perth and is the third-largest in the state. With a population currently at approximately 87,000 people it has the perfect mix of affordable housing, all the essential services and employment opportunities in a range of occupations.

Picking just one suburb out of many as the best one for single mums is not easy for us here at Bunbury Real Estate, as we can find something outstanding about all of them. We work hard to find the perfect property to suit the needs of every client, whether they are renting or buying, and we find that single mums have the same needs in a property as any other client with children.

Affordability is usually the first consideration and determines the size of the property and its features. This is followed by proximity to schools, public transport, services and employment. Our clients, including single mums, occupy properties in every suburb of Bunbury to our delight.

Will Your Relationship Survive Sharing Your Space Full-Time?

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There is an old saying that you don’t really know a person until you move in with them and in most cases, this is true. Living together at close quarters for long periods of time is very different from an overnight or weekend stay, where people tend to be on their best behaviour. However, most of us cannot mask negative traits or questionable habits for long, and when we finally show our real selves, it can be quite a shock to those around us.

Don’t Be Afraid to have Difficult Conversations

Before you take that final step and commit to a lease with both names on it, have some serious conversations about a range of things, and don’t be put off if some of them are quite awkward. Often, it is little things such as finding that your partner often forgets to flush the toilet and leaves dirty clothes on the bedroom floor that become big problems.

Check the Health of your Existing Relationship

The first thing to talk about in the context of moving in together is the state of your relationship. Start with basic topics such as your compatibility with each other. Do you both enjoy going out but one of you wants to stay out late and the other needs plenty of sleep? If this happens a couple of times every week, will this lead to conflict?

For us as property managers, the first sign of things not working out with new tenants is often a query about how to break a lease. We try very hard at Bunbury Real Estate to match our new tenants with the property that suits their needs. If, after a couple of months, one of them wants to move out, it is always difficult for us and inconvenient for our owners.

Set Clear Responsibilities

Compatibility also includes common issues such as who is responsible for putting the bins on the footpath on pickup night, is cooking meals a shared responsibility or left to one person and who does the cleaning and laundry? If there is a yard and garden to be mowed and tended, whose job is that? While these may seem trivial before you move in, they will become flash points if one person does not pull their weight and everything is left to the other.

Who Pays for What? A “Must Have” Agreement

Finances are another area that must be discussed and agreed on before making the move. We often see cases where couples have just made assumptions about who pays for what, then begin to have arguments about finances that should have been sorted before signing the lease.

Our best advice is to discuss these and any other pertinent issues rationally so that you both go into this arrangement with your eyes open. Instead of wasting time on petty squabbles, you can spend quality time really getting to know each other.

Have Important Questions About Rentals? Get Answers Before Going Any Further

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The rental market continues to be a growing segment of the real estate industry in Australia, and in most areas, competition for good properties in desirable locations is fierce. Some renters are attending multiple inspections and lodging several applications a week without being successful at the first few attempts. This causes frustration and some people take whatever they can get without the property meeting their basic needs.

Take an Organised Approach to Finding a Rental

It does not have to be this way if you take an organised approach. Seeking the answers to important questions is a great way of getting started before you even think about inspections and filling out application forms. Knowing where you stand in relation to any tenancy may help you stand out from the other applicants.

What Does Wear and Tear Really Mean?

For example, what is legally considered reasonable wear and tear in a rental property? An owner who is reluctant to pay for repairs will often blame the tenant and refuse to pay. When the tenant knows that reasonable wear and tear means “the reasonable use of the house by the tenant and the ordinary operation of natural forces” and that this definition is usually enforced by the court system, the tenant has a bargaining point.

I’ve Changed My Mind About Living Alone

What if you have taken a lease as the sole occupier but decide later that you want to invite a housemate to share expenses? Can you do this without letting the owner know? No, but you can make a written request to the owner through your property manager to do so, but you must provide the personal details of this occupant in case of an emergency.

These are just two of the questions we are often asked as property managers at Bunbury Real Estate. These types of issues arise because life is fluid and personal circumstances change. When we have excellent tenants with a reasonable request, we do our best to accommodate them after consultation with our owners.

Do I Sign the Tenancy Agreement First Then Ask for Changes?

How do you handle a situation where you have inspected a rental property that does not have window locks but meets all your other needs? Do you sign the tenancy agreement hoping to get contents insurance, or that the owner will install window locks after you have moved in? Really, you should review the security features and check they are suitable in every way before you sign anything.

These are just three of the typical scenarios you can find yourself in if you do not take the time to do your research. Make a list of the things that could possibly happen in your circumstances, get the answers first and then go looking for your perfect rental.

Timing Is Everything – Rent Now For Stability

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It appears that we have reached the bottom of the boom and bust cycle in Western Australia, and the news for 2019 is positive. Not only are house prices recovering but also there is a decline in the number of properties being offered for rent. This means the start of a recovery in the rental market also, and while rents overall may not increase for some months, the huge discounting that caused owners so much grief may be coming to an end.

Good News All Round

This is good news for both parties in the rental equation, that is, the owners and the tenants. Investors who have purchased properties to rent them out are now beginning to see some increases in their returns. Tenants, who were struggling to find suitable homes at affordable prices a few years ago, are now settling into better accommodation closer to facilities and within range of a reasonable budget.

Don’t Expect Miracles

This does not mean that rental values will leap quickly to their previous record levels. Experts predict that rental values will remain within a reasonable range for some time, and although demand for rentals is increasing, it is being balanced out by first-home buyers. They would normally be renting but can now purchase affordable new homes by using the attractive packages on offer by developers.

What does this mean for us at Bunbury Real Estate? As a seasoned and professional sales and property management agency, we have ridden the ups and downs of the property market. At all times we are looking after the best interests of our clients, whether they are sellers, buyers or renters, regardless of what market forces are at play.

Renters Should Lock in Lease Agreements Now

To our renters we are currently saying that now is an excellent time to lock in your lease agreements as rental values are expected to stabilise. There is no point in waiting for the rental market to fall further, as all the trends are indicating an upward trajectory. Now is the time to secure your ideal rental property on a long-term lease at an affordable price.

Owners Should Grab Quality Tenants Now

We advise our owners to secure these quality tenants now, so they have some certainty around the returns they can get for their rental properties. The discounting may be gone, but this does not mean an immediate bounce back in rental values. This will be a slow and steady climb, so having good tenants to fill their vacancies should be the focus for the time being.

The market is finally breathing a sigh of relief, and we can now look forward to sustainable prosperity without the wild swings and roundabouts we have recently experienced.

Renting Is A Lifestyle Choice For Many

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In some parts of Australia, especially the capital cities close to business centres, home prices have risen to a level that has driven many potential buyers out of the market. These potential buyers are now renters, and many of them are looking at renting as a lifestyle choice, at least for the foreseeable future.

Renting Can Be a Positive Situation

If you are in this situation, it need not be a depressing outcome. It can be used to your advantage depending on your approach and your ability to recognise and maximise the positive aspects of renting a property as opposed to buying it.

Special Conditions in Tenancy Agreements Offer Flexibility

One of the most empowering aspects of buying your own property is that you can please yourself what you do with it, within local government regulations, of course. As a tenant with a legally binding tenancy agreement, you can request that certain conditions be included in your agreement, and with the approval of the owner, you may be able to keep pets, hang pictures and otherwise use the property to suit your needs.

As a property management agency, we have negotiated special conditions for tenants with our owners and we have found that offering flexible arrangements where possible attracts the very best tenants. At Bunbury Real Estate, we ensure that all our tenants and owners are covered by legally enforceable tenancy agreements, to protect all parties involved.

Reputable Agencies Recognise the Rights of Tenants

We check the references prospective tenants provide to us, so we recommend that renters do the same when they are choosing a rental property. When you rent through a reputable agency such as ours, you can be assured that everything about your tenancy is done in accordance with the relevant legislation. For example, we advise in advance of inspection dates, so you won’t ever feel that we have encroached on your privacy.

Renters Have More Disposable Income

A big bonus that comes with renting is that repairs and maintenance are the owners’ responsibility. This means that if something breaks down or needs fixing, the expense is not yours, so you can spend your money on other things. Some owners include the cost of mowing and lawn maintenance in the rent, engaging contractors to do this work, leaving your weekends free to enjoy yourself.

A Question of Perspective

Another plus as a renter is the flexibility it offers to make major lifestyle changes quickly. When your lease is up, if you want to live somewhere else, you just simply move out. Renting means you can usually afford to live in areas where you could never afford to buy, and you never have to worry about saving to pay rates or insurance. It’s just a question of perspective.

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.

Type of Residential Properties That You Can Rent in Australia

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For people who are not yet ready to purchase your first home, like adults who are still in uni or couples that are just starting out, there is a wide range of rental properties you can choose from. The types of properties you can lease in Australia vary in design and in sizes. Residential properties in the inner cities tend to be on smaller land. Farther out in the suburbs, rental homes and the lots tend to be larger. Whatever your preference and budget, you will find a rental property that fits you.

Type of rental properties

Detached Houses, or Single-Family Homes: are single, stand-alone independently owned homes located on a situated on a piece of land. This type of residential property is commonly located in areas where the population tends to be low, such as the inner suburbs and outside the busy central business district. There are two types of detached houses:

  • A Bungalow is a low, one-storey house (sometimes with a small second floor near the roof) with sloping roofs and a large porch or verandah.
  • A Terrace House is either a Victorian or Edwardian in style. This type sprouted due to the increasing population in Australia’s big cities. Today, these residences are located in older, inner cities.

Apartment, or flats: are multiple housing units in a single building. Flats are contemporary, impressive, high-rise units where multiple occupants share the same building. These are located in commercialised areas and major cities like Melbourne and Sydney. Amenities, conveniences and places of work are in close proximity from these apartments. There are two types of apartments:

  • A Studio Type, or Bachelor’s pad, is a unit with no walls to separate the kitchen, the living room and the bedroom.
  • A Large Duplex comprises two units with a common wall and one entrance. This is a sought-after rental property in Australia because it is regarded as a single property with two occupants each paying rent.

House versus Apartment

You don’t want to waste time looking at properties that don’t suit you. Here are some important things to consider to help you determine the right rental property for you.

Location – What area do you want to live in? Would you like your ideal property to be close to your place of work, schools, amenities, transportation and other conveniences? Would you prefer a neighbourhood with a reputation for safety and security? Ask yourself these questions to help you choose the right location where you’d like to live.

Budget and expenses: Work out your budget. There are expenses that are not included in the rent, including electricity and water bills. Add all these related costs when determining whether a property fits your budget.

Property Features and Conditions: List down the internal and external features of the property that are important to you. These include the number of bedrooms, the number of bathrooms, kitchen style, property layout, storage, garden, garage or street parking, outdoor area, and more. You must check the condition of the rental property before signing the lease agreement. Any pre-existing damages should be properly recorded so you will not be held liable for the repairs later on. Some of the items that you need to look at are the flooring, air conditioning system, light fixtures and kitchen.

Factors that influence rental prices

Landlords aim to get the most rent possible for their rental property. However, it is important to remember that rent prices must be consistent with the local market. It is important to arrive at a fair rental price as landlords could lose money either from long periods of vacancy or low rental income.

Rents are determined based on the region, city and neighbourhood. Rents tend to be lower in the suburbs than in the city. As a general rule, the further a property is from a major city, transportation and other amenities, the lower the rent is. Here are factors to influence how much rent to charge for a property:

  • Number of bedrooms
  • Number of bathrooms
  • Square footage
  • Location
  • Parking
  • Built-in appliances
  • Lawn / garden

Landlords who choose to allow pets in their rental property with certain restrictions can also charge higher rent because of the potential risk of damage to their property. Landlords can also include a pet deposit in the lease.

A furnished rental, compared to an unfurnished one, also commands higher rent. However, the condition of the furniture and furnishings will affect how much more you can charge for your rental property.

There are also landlords who also have a minimum lease requirement, meaning they accept both short and long term tenancies. Landlords that accept shorter leases can command higher rent. But if tenants are willing to sign for a longer lease, landlords must adjust their rental rates accordingly.

Other fees that tenant may pay

Typically, tenants pay two weeks’ rent in advance, depending on the type of rental property and the lease, and a rental bond, which is intended for damages done to the property.

Landlords cannot charge tenants with administration fees, re-inspection fees or the cost of sending utility invoices and breach notices.

In Western Australia, whether the landlord or tenant is responsible for paying water, gas and electricity bills is determined by how those fees are charged. Tenants are only responsible under either two of these situations: Premises Separately Metered and Agreement Allocating Charges.

For phone and internet bills, the landlord and tenant should agree on who is liable before the start of the tenancy. As it is not quite easy to determine how much to charge a tenant for phone or internet usage, a good way to settle is for the landlord and tenant to agree on an increase in rent to cover the charges.