How to Spot a Bargain Neighbourhood

Sketch of Waterfield Street, Coburg, a proposed new development.

It's the essential skill of getting the right property at the right price. Finding the next up and coming neighbourhood. So what do you look for? 

Well news.com.au wrote a great article the other day. Here are their suggestions:


JUST because a suburb has cheap property doesn't mean it's the next real estate hotspot.
There are simple steps you can take to find a property hotspot and one of the most obvious indicators for future capital gain is whether people with money are moving into cheaper areas.

Signs of gentrification

The Dreaded Inspection.

As a tenant, your two biggest gripes will no doubt be maintenance issues not being addressed and inspections.

The former comes down to the Property Manager and the latter is unavoidable as it is part of the agreement of renting. So lets talk about some gripes of house inspections and then some tips on how to handle an inspection.

Gripes:
Unannounced - Although legally there is a requirement to provide tenants with notice, sometimes misguided Property Managers will show up unannounced, or won't show up at all. 

Annoying Property Managers

It's always important to look at the things you might be doing wrong. So I thought I would look at some annoying things Property Managers do. I'm sure I have been guilty of a couple of these on occasion - don't hold it against me. I have probably forgotten a few too. So let me know. I'm sure you will.

So what are Property Managers so good at doing wrong?

Maintenance:
Not responding to maintenance issues fast enough and then the repair not being to a high quality.

Using Social Media to Manage your Rental Properties

Social Media is not going anywhere and you can use it to your advantage if you have rental properties that you self-manage.

If you are unsure how you can leverage social media, this article From Zillow  may help. Tis is written with apartment complexes in mind, but these is still great ideas that maybe useful to you.


Social media allows you to be much more connected to your residents. It’s a great tool to help you improve your business, offer better service and build relationships with your tenants. A great social media presence can also act as a marketing tool to attract future tenants and build your business’s credibility.

Reverse Mortgages

A 'Reverse Mortgage' (equity release plan) is a loan where home equity is converted into cash and specifically designed for people over the age of 63. Essentially the traditional mortgage is flipped and the lender pays the borrower funds via either a lump sum, a regular income or a combination of both. The amount of cash the borrower receives is based on the age and the value of the property, and the borrower retains full ownership of the property and can stay in the property as long the borrower chooses.

The debt, including all interest owed, is repaid to the lender when: 

• The borrower sells the property of their own accord, OR
• The borrower moves into aged care (not required with some lenders), OR
• The last surviving borrower dies

After the Lease is Signed, Make Tenants Feel Welcome.

When you have new tenants moving in to your rental property how do you make them feel welcome? Little things really do go a long way in making a good impression on tenants. It goes without saying that after they have signed the lease the basic need for every tenant is that their landlord is responsive to maintenance calls. But it takes time to build that trust, so what can you do initially to make a good impression? 

Starting off on the right foot, will create goodwill on both sides, tenants are very aware that this is a business for you, so they want to feel that they, as customers, are appreciated. When they feel appreciated they will care for your property like it was their own. So what are some things that you can do?

Property and the Gen Y Crowd

If you are not a Gen Yer yourself, you may think that they are a 'funny' bunch, hard to understand and demanding. It's not that at all, like every generation before them, they have been born at a particular time with particular influences. The influence that drives Gen Y is technology and that determines how they view the world and how they also do business. So their 'needs' in a residence are somewhat different to Baby Boomers. 

Much of the housing industry has been focused on what Baby Boomers like - formal living rooms, dependence on cars and soaker tubs. But Gen Y (Millennials) are not interested in any of that. They want something different, and with an estimated 4.7 million people in the Gen Y group in Australia, it's time to start listening and catering to their needs if you want their business.

Mistakes when Renting out your property.

This was  a great article with good reminders for those who like to self-manage their properties. I found it over at www.zillow.com I thought you might enjoy it. It is an American based article but it still have great information.

Investing in a rental property is a great way to generate income, but it’s not always easy. Renting out your property also involves managing it — and mistakes along the way can end up costing you more money. Although there’s no guaranteed way to weed out bad tenants in your screening process, you can definitely safeguard against future headaches by avoiding these common mistakes owners make when they rent out their homes.