Posted by admin on 29 December 2009
After taking on several managements in a CBD apartment tower that have been previously handled by the short term rental pool I have found the landlord having to fork out for replacement items, cleaning and damages.
I found the rice cooker, saucepans set, toaster, some bedding and a fork and spoon missing, the carpet in the bedroom was stained, the lounges were both covered in black scuffs from shoes, there were heavy dents on the entry walls and the coverlets on the beds had a few hairs, dust and marks on them.
Unfortunately, in accordance with the previous management agreement these items are not replaced or repaired by the outgoing hotel guests or by the management. The landlord has to fork out several hundred dollars so I can let it again in a long term tenancy agreement.
When I explained to the landlord that when our new long term tenants move out they’ll be paying for any replacements or damages from the bond, they were surprised but of course happy.
I don’t really understand how the landlord can just accept that nobody went to check the inventory, or cleaned the property to a standard high enough to re-let. The hotel cleaners obviously wipe over and clean general items, but a thorough clean is not within the terms of the management agreement.
At Bees Nees the landlord can rest assured at the end of the tenancy we completely finalise the vacate inspection with an inventory check. It takes longer, but we take that into consideration with our fees.
If the rice cooker is missing, sorry Mr Tenant that is coming out of your bond and means a trip down to Kmart for me!
Tags: Brisbane CBD apartment, Brisbane executive property, Brisbane furnished apartments, Brisbane landlord, Brisbane property manager, Brisbane rental, Brisbane short term rental
Posted in Brisbane landlords, Brisbane's rental market | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 10 September 2009
A "corporate" apartment.
There are a thousand too many 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, fully furnished apartments on the rental market right now. There are many factors that lead to supply exceeding demand, but I’ve seen a major drop in the enquiry from ‘corporate tenants’ – which is when the tenant has their boss, or their company, paying their rent. The company provides an accommodation allowance for the staff member, often as an incentive to take the new position within the company.
With the job market softening a bit, the company HR team find they have enough applicants for the jobs they’re offering and they don’t need to offer these incentives right now to get the right staff.
These fantastic ‘corporate’ tenants are disappearing and enquiry is not coming in from this normally active source. And for some landlords the hopes of this seemingly perfect scenario are unrealistic. The thing is a company can go into administration at any time, or cut short a job contract or a project. A company can walk away, call it liquidation and you can’t stop them. A company won’t pay any more in rent to you, and their staff member won’t take better care of your property and their expectations of the premises are similar to that of a hotel – consumable.
I get enquiry from professional couples and wealthy families moving interstate, changing jobs, selling and buying, waiting for their dream home to be built and I get sisters who’ve lived in their apartment for years and the owners selling and they need a new place, and I get single men who need a special kind of garage for their Porsche! This is what I want in a tenant, not a company lease with a chief technical officer with no name!
These are all excellent tenants who care for their home and treat it as their own. They know you are a person and they respect your property. They often have their own investments and they know what the expectations are.
Tenants in the inner-city want a nice lifestyle and they’re not afraid to pay for it. Corporate’s want a bed, and a fridge, and a cheaper-than-$195-a-night hotel room.
Don’t worry about tenant selection, we’ll get it right. The market is still okay and rent will come in either way!
Tags: Brisbane executive property, corporate tenants Brisbane, furnished rentals Brisbane, property vacancy Brisbane, tenant marketing Brisbane, tenant selection Brisbane
Posted in Brisbane landlords, Brisbane's rental market | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 14 May 2009
Okay so students, pets, children, males, teenagers, early 20’s – all cop the short end of the stick when applying for rental property. Some agents do discriminate rather than judge an application on its merits.
And while there are anti-discrimination laws, anti-sexism laws, anti-ageism laws etc, the unfortunate reality is that agents, by virtue of the law, do not need to give a reason why someone has been placed in the property over someone else.
The interesting thing about the executive market this year is that many of the higher-end properties are being snapped up by overseas students with very little/no rental history who are here on large government grants. And unfortunately there are very few corporate execs around, so landlords haven’t had the choice of tenants they’ve had in the past.
So, what’s the best way of dealing with this?
Well firstly if the rent is over $500 per week ($700 after July 1st 2009) you can nominate any bond you like! So take 6/8 weeks rent instead of just 4. Think outside the box – could you include a cleaner in the rent so there is another pair of eyes watching over the property?
I write this in genuine fear that I’ll be slapped with some sort of anti discrimination suit, but the fact is I’m trying to educate people that students/pets/children/young males can make absolutely fantastic tenants, just as females can be dreadful tenants. So don’t discount them but in order to be worry free just come up with a way to ensure that you’re protecting yourself while still giving someone their chance. They deserve it!
Tags: Brisbane executive property, rental bond Queensland, renting to pets Brisbane, student tenants Brisbane, tenancy applications Queensland, tenant marketing Brisbane
Posted in Brisbane landlords | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 15 January 2009
The new year’s rental market has rushed out of the blocks, with a massive quantity of new tenant enquiry to our office in our first fortnight. This isn’t unusual for January but the speed of the return will give some nervous landlords a little more confidence. Rents are likely to continue growing while new supply of apartments is slow (and in most cases, non-existent).
One change that is noticeable is the lower interest from companies for staff accommodation. Have a good chat to many inner city property managers and they’ll admit to the strength of corporate letting in recent years. Many of the mining services and resources organisations drove demand to our apartments in much the same way they kicked the local commercial office market along. And now that party’s near last drinks. There’s still plenty of demand from them, but not the flurry we saw in 2007-2008 especially. Fully-furnished executive apartments are likely to be less sought-after.
Amongst all this landlords and tenants will have a new Act to comply with from July 1st. New laws on rent increases, the sale of rental property and rights to enter are all on their way. We’re planning an information seminar in May and will pass on details as soon as they’re confirmed.
Tags: Brisbane executive property, Brisbane rents, Queensland tenancy legislation
Posted in Brisbane's rental market, trends in Brisbane property | No Comments »
