professional photos make all the difference!
My biggest bug bear? Rental advertisements! We just can’t understand why agencies/property managers don’t place the same importance on marketing a property for sale, as they do a property for rent. Actually, it’s called instant gratification. A sales person/agency will make in the order of almost $10,000 on an average property sale whereas, an agency will only make approximately $1500 per year from management fees. Plus, the rental market is strong and therefore property managers know they can get away with shoddy advertising.
In this day and age, 99% of rental enquiry comes through the internet. Now, we’d love to sit here and tell you that writing an advertisement is labour intensive, but the facts are, that once it’s done the first time, it’s a simple matter of pressing one button when the property comes up for re-let and wah-lah the advertisement reappears. Now then, how hard is it to spend some time on professional photography, floor plans and an enticing, descriptive prose the first time the property is handed to a property manager? It’s really not.
You would think that realestate.com.au charges by the letter wouldn’t you? DLUG, SLUG, D/W, A/C, etc. I can tell you, it doesn’t. Agents can literally write anything they like at any length they like. There is no word limit or extra charges for extra length. There is also a limit of 26 photographs – not 3! So why then are there still advertisements out there that describe (we use the term loosely) a property as “2 bed, 1 bath unit, nice Street, SLUG” – with one photo of the outside of the apartment? And why would a tenant be enticed to inquire about renting this apartment when they can see another comparable apartment with all its features listed. Would you go through the trouble of calling a rental agent, making a time to see the property, have them turn up 10 minutes late only to show you something you hated when you know by looking at the photos and floor plan that the other property is suitable? You wouldn’t, and neither would the tenants you are trying to attract.
When selecting a Property Manager, check their standard of advertising. Check they spell words correctly, describe the property accurately and in its best light. Check the photos – are they blurred, too dark, too light? Check to see whether the property manager/lettings clerk knows the rental rates in the area and is pushing to get the best rent.
When your property is up for re-let, do the checks above and just see whether you would rent your property. Chances are if you wouldn’t rent it at the price you are asking neither will anyone else – at least not the type of tenant you want to attract!
You bought an investment property to receive regular income while watching the capital grow. In short, you put yourself in debt and made one of the biggest purchases of your life to secure your future. It would be handy to know then, what makes a tenant pay more, stay longer and care for your property?
The January shooting and death of a property manager in Brisbane’s south has highlighted the tensions and complex human emotions that surround living in a home. Naturally the place we come back to each day becomes special and even sacred to us – it’s ours, more than just shelter, and for many it’s a refuge from the outside world. When the sanctity of that home is threatened people can respond aggressively. According to media reports a misunderstanding over rental payments was accentuated by a language problem and led to this extreme example of tenant rage. Clearly this was a “wrong person, wrong time” situation with an ultimately suicidal offender.
