10 Years Ago - by REIV.com.au

A review of some market indicators shows that a lot has changed in the past decade.

 

In the June quarter this year the median Melbourne house price was $590,000, which is 103 per cent higher than the $291,000 recorded in the June quarter 2001.

 

A decade ago the stamp duty payable was $13,120, which is 132 per cent less than the $30,470 which was payable on the median house if purchased in the June quarter this year. Unlike a decade ago, first home buyers can now benefit from a 20 per cent reduction on this bill for most homes.

FAQ#1: Should I take out Landlord Protection Insurance?

Landlord protection insurance is vital for any professional investor and we strongly recommend you take out this cover. 

It can cover unforeseen circumstances like:

• Accidental damage or breakage
• Malicious damage or vandalism caused by tenants
• Deliberate or intentional damage caused by tenants
• Public Liability
• Loss of rental income
• Rent default and theft by tenants.

9 Reasons to Hire a Property Manager for your Investment Property

You invested in your first property. Should you manage the property yourself or hire a good property manager to handle your investment? It depends on what your skills and goals are.

Are your goals to be an property investor or simply the on-site owner? As the on-site owner you will be responsible for collecting the rent and repairing broken appliances. Your time will be devoted to the renters needs. The investor spends valuable time answering the needs of the tenants. On the other hand, if you hire a property manager, the investor could spend time finding and investing in more property.

5 Tips to Help Property Managers Complete Your Daily Tasks

One of the biggest challenges for property managers is staying on top of all the tasks they have to do in a given day. What with unit inspections, open homes, incoming and outgoing payments, resolving maintenance requests, signing leases, and responding to various queries, it’s all too easy to look at the clock at the end of the day and wonder where all the time went. Here are a few tips to help you maximise productivity in your day:

Organisation

Sometimes it can feel like there’s no time to actually get organised. But the truth of the matter is, no matter how time-pressed you are, investing in organisational time is almost always worth it in the long run. Time saved trying to locate paperwork, contact information, financial records on your computer, or any other number of other items adds up quickly. Creating a system of organization (the more automated the better) will allow you to perform all your duties in a more streamlined fashion … which ultimately results in a whole lot of time saved.

Tips to Keep a Tenant Sweet

This recent article posted by www.news.com.au reiterates how important it is in this current climate (note - important to keep your tenants happy in an economic climate!) to make sure your tenants are happy and looked after.  Whether you self-manage your rental properties or use a property manager , now is a good time to ask for an update on your property's tenants.  Are they well looked after, are there any maintenance issues the property manager may not be aware of, has there been any contact recently?

PROPERTY investors are receiving higher rents but, in a rare twist, vacancy rates are rising in most capital cities. 

 

It's a case of landlords recovering higher costs rather than pocketing profits, say real estate experts, who believe investors should do what they can to keep good tenants.

Unsure Whether to Use a Property Manager or Self Manage Your Rental Property?

Before making the decision about whether to manage your rental property yourself or hire a property manager, carefully weigh up the pros and cons of each option.

The Solo Approach

There is no question that a personal landlord approach requires significant involvement to be successful. As a landlord you need to approach every issue from a business perspective. This includes anticipating revenues and needs to maintain the property, including emergency and unplanned issues that will come up.  Do your homework when it comes to setting rent and subsequent reviews to ensure you are getting the best price for your investment.  You should also be aware of tenancy agreement legalities as they apply to your state.

There is a cost benefit to managing your own rental properties as there are no property management fees, however you do need to weigh up your own cost (time, consultants etc) to ensure that you are actually making savings.

REIV run Australasian Real Estate Institutes' Auctioneering Championship won by Kiwi

The art of auctioneering is not a new one.  The Romans used auctions to liquidate the assets of debtors whose property had been confiscated and one of the most significant historical auctions occurred in the year 193 A.D. when the entire Roman Empire was put on the auction block by the Praetorian Guard.

A good auctioneer will get you the best possible price for your property on auction day and the recent championships held in Melbourne last night reflected the high level of skills our auctioneers have to offer.  The following article by www.rebonline.com.au covers the event.

6 Ways to Make Choosing Your Next Rental Home Easier

Moving costs a lot of money, time, and effort; so if renting, it’s crucial to find the right place for you and your family.  The Internet is a great resource and has numerous rental property websites with a wide range of houses and flats to rent. You can also check your local paper for listings or give your local property management company a call for advice and listings.

1. Finding the right property to rent online should not be too much of a chore. If you know what you want in, then you’ll quickly find the right house or flat for you. Decide whether it’s wiser for you (if you’re living alone) or your family to live in a managed apartment, a house, or a flat.  
2. When looking for a house to rent or a flat to rent, one of the things to decide on is the location you prefer. The rule of thumb for this is to find a place that is accessible to your office, your children’s school, and other establishments that you go to regularly.  When you choose such an accessible property, you’ll get to save on time and fuel, and effort, too. 

How to Rent Your Property Quickly and Attract Your Ideal Tenant

First impressions count when looking to secure the best tenant in the shortest amount of time for a Melbourne landlord.

Before you even start to list your rental property, identify the type of tenant you are looking to attract.

• There are tenants on a limited income who will not mind if the property is not in first class condition. 
• There are tenants looking for a well maintained, tidy family home close to schools and shops. 
• There are tenants who prefer low maintenance homes on small sections with modern features throughout. 
• There are tenants looking for a trendy apartment close to cafes, bars and business sectors.

Once you have identified your ideal tenant, you can then determine what budget to allocate in order to bring your property up to the standard required.

Tenancy Application: Help is not on the way

When you receive a tenancy application for a property, what are you looking for? Reasons why this applicant should be accepted as a tenant or reasons why you should not accept the application?

It’s an interesting conundrum and one that most property managers don’t even consider.

When you look at most tenancy application forms, they provide details of the applicant’s current and former places of residence; current and former employment details; personal and business references; plus additional information regarding the number of occupants, children, pets, vehicle details, banking information, income, etc. etc.

As far as tenancy history, in a previous life we could run a tenancy database check to find out the good, the bad and the ugly but in Victoria today, we can only find out the bad and the ugly and even then, with extremely limited information.