Alan H
19-01-2003, 09:19 PM
This is a one off, personal example but still may be relevant.......
About a month ago I had an older Sydney property becoming vacant and due to the increased vacancy rates I decided now would be a good time to spruce it up with a new kitchen, paint etc. Yes.....we did nearly all this by ourselves which is frowned on by some......but be it property management, rental or shares.......gee you can enjoy yourself, learn a lot and get a sense of achievement by getting in there and giving it a go yourself! (The resultant non-square kitchen and my sore back is a story in itself but I was really happy with the result of our minor reno......)
Took us a few weeks part-time, then I put an advertisement in the Herald and also in the front window of the property. Normally, by about 10.30am I would have had about 6 phonecalls from the Herald ad......today.....by 10.30am....none! Gulp! Hmmmmm.......the reality of the current vacancy rate situation hit. For the first time I might be looking at an extended vacancy of weeks or months. Not crippling.....but cashflow is important.
Oh well.....no responses from the ad. so I thought I'd go and finish off the painting.
Now comes the interesting bit!
As I said, I also put a large, professional looking(but free!) sign at the front of the property and began painting.
In the space of the next two hours, as a result of the ad. I'd put out the front, I had 8 people wander in to look at the property and 4 that definitely wanted it. We had two couples at one stage trying to 'outbid' each other. Everyone that looked at the property loved it.
The rent we placed on the property was realistic(not over the top but not undermarket either) and a lot of sweat went into making it look good...... and I think this is part of the secret.
Are rental vacancy rates high? Yes. Can we do anything about it to improve the chances of renting quickly? Yes.
A couple that come to mind are:
1. Be realistic about the rent you charge in the current climate. Getting an extra $10/week isn't worth it for extra weeks vacancies.
2. Use this time to improve the quality of the product you are trying to lease. Makes it much easier to rent. There are so many 'slumlords' out there that do nothing to their continually deteriorating properties and luckily these sort of people are your competition in some cases.
3. Look at multiple advertisement options.
Finally, guard your cashflow eg. incoming rent, like a hawk to feed the most important goal of Capital Growth.
Happy New Year all............
:)
About a month ago I had an older Sydney property becoming vacant and due to the increased vacancy rates I decided now would be a good time to spruce it up with a new kitchen, paint etc. Yes.....we did nearly all this by ourselves which is frowned on by some......but be it property management, rental or shares.......gee you can enjoy yourself, learn a lot and get a sense of achievement by getting in there and giving it a go yourself! (The resultant non-square kitchen and my sore back is a story in itself but I was really happy with the result of our minor reno......)
Took us a few weeks part-time, then I put an advertisement in the Herald and also in the front window of the property. Normally, by about 10.30am I would have had about 6 phonecalls from the Herald ad......today.....by 10.30am....none! Gulp! Hmmmmm.......the reality of the current vacancy rate situation hit. For the first time I might be looking at an extended vacancy of weeks or months. Not crippling.....but cashflow is important.
Oh well.....no responses from the ad. so I thought I'd go and finish off the painting.
Now comes the interesting bit!
As I said, I also put a large, professional looking(but free!) sign at the front of the property and began painting.
In the space of the next two hours, as a result of the ad. I'd put out the front, I had 8 people wander in to look at the property and 4 that definitely wanted it. We had two couples at one stage trying to 'outbid' each other. Everyone that looked at the property loved it.
The rent we placed on the property was realistic(not over the top but not undermarket either) and a lot of sweat went into making it look good...... and I think this is part of the secret.
Are rental vacancy rates high? Yes. Can we do anything about it to improve the chances of renting quickly? Yes.
A couple that come to mind are:
1. Be realistic about the rent you charge in the current climate. Getting an extra $10/week isn't worth it for extra weeks vacancies.
2. Use this time to improve the quality of the product you are trying to lease. Makes it much easier to rent. There are so many 'slumlords' out there that do nothing to their continually deteriorating properties and luckily these sort of people are your competition in some cases.
3. Look at multiple advertisement options.
Finally, guard your cashflow eg. incoming rent, like a hawk to feed the most important goal of Capital Growth.
Happy New Year all............
:)