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Hi xuj4, You might also want to think about who to call in an emergency, like a plumber or electrician. They should be reliable, and easy to contact when needed, and obviously willing to do emergency work if a pipe bursts at 4am in the morning. Having a contact list handy is recommended, and...

Hi xuj4, If you are thinking about DIY managing, we offer a number of services that will help you. Have a look at or site, we can help you with forms, advertising and other services.

Christos, Unless you can clearly establish that the property has been on the market for a long time (many weeks or even months), offering less rent doesn't make much sense. The exception would be if you were to offer somethig in return, eg mowing the lawn, or pre-paying the rent for 6 months, etc.

Hi propertyphoto, Here is a thread that covers advertising when self-managing. I would like to disclose that it mentions our company amongst other ones :) http://www.somersoft.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60149&highlight=Landlords+Choice

Hi Lucas, Thank you for mentioning our company in this thread. We offer a 'Rental package' for landlords who wish to self-manage, but use some agent-assisted services for finding new tenants. We offer advertising on domain and realestate.com.au, a legal pack with all the neccesary forms, and...

It seems that the banks are getting more cautious with NRAS properties, too, according to this article. http://www.smh.com.au/business/property/bank-blacklist-puts-floor-under-risk-20110911-1k455.html

Hi tvadera, If you decide to go ahead and self-manage, then we can help you find tenants (by advertising on-line), do a search on the National Tenancy Database and we also provide you with a legal pack.

Mining towns can go through significant ups and downs in the rent landlords can get. So although these are limited to certain regions, rents even in Australia have previously come down. We have recently also seen rents being reduced in a number of QLD locations due to oversupply, etc.

Hi Jodes, So the property is company title and less than 50square metres? I would imagine it has a good yield, but are you planning on getting a bank loan? This could be quite difficult, as the banks generally don't like properties this size. If you are looking at buying it using cash only...

Hi slingshot, You can actually find mortgagee sales on www.domain.com.au by going to their search page and entering 'mortgagee' in the 'keyword' field. If the term 'mortgagee' appears in the heading or body of the ad, that property will show up on your list.

Advertising boards can be very useful, and are definitely the most cost effective off-line advertising method. Sure, on-line advertising is a must, but a board can complement the campaign. A board should not cost more than $60 or $70 max and can be re-used next time the property becomes...

JohnHenry, As pointed out previously, you can get into real trouble if you don't lodge the bond promptly and this is uncovered later let's say in some dispute with your tenants, which is not unusual.

Hi reno, In theory, your idea could work. The main obstacle I think will be how the bank will view your ability to service the loan for your next property. Your brother helping out with rates etc, means nothing to a lender. It would be best to discuss this with a mortgage broker who can tell...

Hi NSWinvestor, I would suggest advertising on-line on domain.com.au and realestate.com.au to reach the most potential tenants. We offer this service plus you would also get a legal pack, which contains an updated lease agreement (with the changes to the Act in 2011).

JohnHenry, What you save is the management fee, which would depend on where your properties are but could be anything from 5% to 11% of your rental income, plus letting fees, etc. For your tax return you have to consider your annual rental income, any repairs you have carried out on the...

Hi Olive, putting aside all your issues with your PM, I would take this as an opportunity! You can increase the rent to >$300 and have the perfect justification, which is that there is a third adult living in the property, which will increase wear and tear. Since the rent goes up, you might...

Hi aitsmoi, I think you will find it hard to negotiate the management fee down from 5%, as that is actually pretty good. I guess your property is not in a regional setting, otherwise the fee would be more like 7 or 8%. The agent shouldn't charge you a letting fee if the tenant is already in...