MonthlyNewsletter
February2023
AGuidetoInspectingYourTenantedProperty
Everystatehasitsownspecificrulesandregulations aroundapropertymanagerorlandlord'srighttoenter atenantedpropertyandwhattheycanandcannotdo attheproperty.
Oneofthemostcommonrequestsapropertymanager willgetfromtheirlandlordclientisforlast-minute accesstoapropertyforvariousreasons.Inmostcases, yourpropertymanagerwillworkhardtocommunicate withyourtenanttoallowyouaccessbutshouldthatfail, let'slookatwhatyouneedtoknowaboutaccessinga tenantedrentalproperty.
TimeFrames
Eachstatehaslawssurroundingwhatnoticeperiodis requiredtoallowalessor'sagentaccesstoaproperty. Thesetimeframesrangefrom24-48hoursfor maintenancereasonsand7-14days'noticefora routineorperiodicinspection.Failuretocomplywith theselawscanresultinpenaltiesandeven compensationpayabletothetenant
TimestoAccess
Thepropertymanagerorlandlordcanonlyenterthe propertybetween8am-6pmonanydayexcepta publicholiday(thesehoursareextendedto8am-8pm inSA).Additionally,inQueensland,WesternAustralia andSouthAustralia,yourequirethetenant'spermission toaccessapropertyonaSunday Ineverystate,you canaccessapropertyoutsideofthe'reasonable weekday'hoursifyouobtainthetenant'spermission.
ReasonsforAccess
Ifyourpropertymanagerhasrecentlyconducteda routineorperiodicinspectionandtheopportunity arisesforyouto'pop'in,youmaynotbeallowedto. Yourstatelawsdeterminehowofteninspectionscan happenandhowmuchnoticeisrequiredbeforethe nextone Walkingthroughthepropertytolookaround isaninspectionsincethereisnootherrequirementfor youtobethereotherthantolookaround.
LiaisewiththeTenant
Underanycircumstance,thebestwaytoaccessa propertyisbycommunicatingwiththetenantand workingtogetherforanamicableresolution Generally speaking,tenantswon'trefusetheirlandlordsaccess unlesstheyfeelthattheirpeacefulenjoymentofthe propertyisbeinginterferedwith Atenantwillalmost alwayswanttoworkwiththeownertopromotea healthyowner-tenantrelationship.
ConductingMaintenance
Supposeyouarealandlordthatlikestoconductyour ownmaintenanceorwouldliketoplanfutureor preventativemaintenance Youcanaccessthe propertyunderthoseprovisions,butyoucanonlydo thosethingsattheproperty.
Apropertymanagershouldalwaysdotheirbestto accommodatealandlord'srequestwithoutacting outsidetheparametersoftheirstatelaws Communicationiskey!Andafewdays'notice.
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Getthevalueofourexperiencetoday bybookingafreepropertyappraisal withyourlocalrealestateexpert.
FurnishedvsUnfurnishedRental:ProsandCons
Ourinvestorsoftenaskuswhethertheyshouldlease theirpropertyfurnishedorunfurnished Thereisnoright orwronganswer;itcomesdowntowhoareyourtarget tenants,howyouwanttousetheproperty,thelocation andthecurrentdemandforpropertiesinyourarea.
Typesoffurnishedproperties
Beforewegetintotheprosandconsoffurnishedor unfurnished,let'slookatthedifferentwaysapropertyis consideredfurnished:
Fullyfurnishedandequipped–ashort-termor holidayrentalfallsintothisbucketwhere everything,includingthingslikepots,pansor cutlery,isprovided
Fullyfurnished–therentalpropertyhasallthe furnitureitneeds.
Partlyfurnished–therentalhassomefurniture, suchasasofa,atableandchairs
Whitegoodsonly–Someorallwhitegoodsare provided
Unfurnished–Nofurnitureorappliancesare provided;thetenantssupplyitall
Prosofafurnishedproperty
Thereareseveralbenefits:
Youcansometimeschargeapremiumforfully furnishedproperties,dependingonthedemand Lettingafurnishedpropertyallowsyoutoincrease depreciationdeductions
IfyourpropertyislocatedneartheCBDandisnicely furnished,itcanattracthigher-payingprofessionals asitbettersuitstheirfly-in,fly-outlifestyle.
Consofafurnishedproperty
Whilstyouwillbeabletochargehigherrentforafully furnishedproperty,youmayfind:
Youhaveahigherturnoverwithtenantsonly stayingfor3-6months,leavingyouwithoutrent whileyoufindmoretenants.
Settingupthepropertyandstyleisanadditional expenseyoumaynotwant
Every3-5years,you'llneedtoupdatethefurniture andstyling,whichagainiscostly.
Youradvertisingcostswillbehigherastenants comeandleavemoreoften
Youwillneedtopayleasingfeeseachtimeitis leasedtoanewtenant.
Ittakestimetomaintainandmonitoraninventory listofallyouritems
Youareresponsibleforreplacingorfixingitems quicklyiftheyarenotworking
Whilstyoudon'tneedtotakeoutcontents insuranceonthefurnitureandotheritems,itisa goodideaifanythingisofvalueintheproperty.
Prosofanunfurnishedproperty
75%ofrentersarelookingtosignalong-termlease, theywanttofindaplacetheycancallhome Thislarge groupofrentersmostlypreferanunfurnishedplaceor perhapsonewithwhitegoods,thattheycanfitoutto suittheirtasteandstyle.Soherearethepros:
Youwantthefinancialsecurityofalong-termlease YourinvestmentisnotneartheCBD,soyouare unlikelytoattractexecutives
Youdon'twanttheaddedexpenseofbuying furnitureandwhitegoods
Youdon'twanttomanageafurnishinginventory andworryaboutreplacingfaultyproducts
Consofanunfurnishedproperty
Unlikelytoattracthigher-payingtransientor executivetenants.
Sometenantsarewillingtopaymoreforthe convenienceofmovingintoafullyfurnishedhome, andyou'llmissoutonthisgroup
Talktoyourpropertymanageraboutyourindividual propertyandwhethertheythinkyouwilldobetterwith afurnishedorunfurnishedplace Theyknowthe market,thetypeoftenantyourpropertywillattract, andhowtopositionyourpropertytoappealtothem
Disclaimer Thisnewsletterdoesnotnecessarilyreflecttheopinionofthepublisher Itisintendedtoprovidegeneralnewsandinformationonly
While every care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information it contains, neither the publishers, authors nor their employees, can be heldliableforinaccuracies,errorsoromission Copyrightisreservedthroughout Nopartofthispublicationcanbereproducedorreprintedwithout the express permission of the publisher All information is current as at publication release and the publishers take no responsibility for any factors that may change thereafter Readers are advised to contact their financial adviser, broker or accountant before making any investment decisions andshouldnotrelyonthisnewsletterasasubstituteforprofessionaladvice ©LJHookerCorporationLimited
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