Have you Accidentally Discriminated against your Tenants?

When rent out your property, you want the right tenants. You want great tenants, ones who will look after your property as if it were their own, and pay the rent on time. Figuring out who those perfect tenants are can be a bit tricky, as you cannot chose tenants based on personally characteristics, and can only look at an applicants history.

In Victoria it is against the law to discriminate on areas such as: (Taken from Consumer Affairs Victoria )

Some Pro Tips for Property Investing

You would've heard these time and time again, and the reason you hear them frequently is because they remain true, which means you can never hear them enough.

So get your team in order, your finances in order and your head in order and then lets have a look at this list.

Choose a property that tenants will like

It's not about you, it's about them. It's about what tenants find attractive. What's attractive? Close to amenities, good sized bedrooms, clean, light-filled, not too close to a main road, off-street parking, safe neighborhood. Get as many of these as possible in a property and you will be able to attract lots of good tenants.

Do You Know What Makes a Good Investment Property?

Investing in property is much different from home buying. It is all about the numbers and has nothing to do with emotions. Choosing a good property means you have to think logically and long-term, with perspectives of future developments in the area or location of choice.

Here are some hints to help you determine if you are choosing a property that makes for a good investment:

1. The property caters to an existing market. When there is no need to create demand for a property, because there is one place, this is a good sign. An academic community with a nearby university or colleges is good for acquiring investments such as units or apartments suitable for students or faculty staff. There is already a demographic profile of people that you can take advantage of when deciding on which properties to buy.

Steps to Take When Your Tenants have a Violent Situation.

This is definitely something you hope to avoid as landlord or property manager, but unfortunately it does happen. This is why it is wise to have a general idea on how to handle a situation like this. A situation, that is far too important to ignore.

If your tenant is involved with a family violence situation there is in fact a set of steps you can help your tenant to follow. 

If your tenant has confided in you that there is an issue, encourage them to work with your state's law. This information is for Victoria, so be sure you know what is required in your state. I would advise that in any situation like this, you get legal counsel so you can understand the ramifications of any decisions you make. Out of the goodness of your heart you may think that changing the lease without legal intervention is the right way to go, but it depends on the case, and you never know, by jumping the gun you may do more harm than good. So again, seek out legal counsel first and foremost.

For this discussion we are going to assume that if changing the lease quickly was the right thing to do, you would. But so you don't get yourself in hot water, here are the actual steps your tenant needs to follow.

This is what is required of the tenant:

• The tenant/victim needs to apply to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) to have their tenancy arrangements changed.
• This can be done only after a family violence intervention order is finalized by a magistrate.
• The protected person(s) (i.e. your tenant) can apply to VCAT to end the lease early or arrange for a new tenancy agreement even if their names are not on the existing lease.
• VCAT will determine who is entitled to any bond or who is responsible for any damage.

The Landlord in this situation: 

• Has the right to have a new 'Condition Report' provided on the property and also be given entry to the property to view the condition of the property (after property notice has been given).

As you can see VCAT is where the power is in this situation, and without it your tenant may create more problems for themselves. 

For further information on this please see Consumer Affairs Victoria.

Have you ever had to deal with this before? What was your first step?

Is buying a home and buying an investment property the same?

No, buying a house for you and buying an investment property are two different purchases.

You may be buying property in both cases, but the motivation for doing so are quite different. One, you a buying with your heart and the other you are buying with the calculator.

When you are buying your own home, you have a personal wish list that you want to achieve - or as close as you can. Maybe you want to live in a certain area, with a minimum number of bedrooms and space with all of this coming within budget.