Best way to get high rental yeilds...

From: Khurram Saeed


Hi All
Khurram here again.
As some of you might know, I posted a post about a week ago on SHARE MY EQUITY WITH ME to get tenanats and get comments from other experts....

My property has settled...and I am looking for tenants. I have tried the normal stuff...like give the prop to the best agent in the area, advertise on the age, on realesate.com.au and printed simple brochures and place them in the general area where the property is....placed them in shops and what have you...

My question is, how have others searched for that "right" tenant in the past? What has worked and not worked for you guys? And how did you get high Rental Yeilds in the past? Every just cant stop telling me how soft the market is blah blah...but there are still people who can get their properties rented, i want to hear from those positive people. On how they have done it in these times when finding a tenant can be a daunting ordeal.

thanks for listening.
Khurram
 
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Reply: 1
From: Nigel W


You're not going to like this but...

to get it rented quickly just drop the rent! I think Jan Sommers makes the point that a little bit of something is worth more than a whole lot of nothing!

The time of year is not ideal. Why not let it out for 6 months at a slight discount and then come the new year when the demand is high you can jack up the rent.

Alternatively, can you offer them two free latte's a week with the local cafe (or buy one get one free)? Vouchers for a free massage (cost say $100), discount on membership to the local gym/pool etc.

Could you furnish the place and get more rent that way?

what about renting it out at a discount to someone without a car on condition you can rent the carspace/s to someone else?

I'm sure there are a million other ideas out there...TW has some cunning and creative ones I think!

Without wishing to lecture you or appear smug, maybe you've just bought at the top of the market and paid too much for the likely rental yield or been unrealistic in thinking that it wasn't going to be a negatively geared property for you?

A lease option or instalment sale might be another way of doing it (but I gather you've already canvassed those options).
 
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Reply: 1.1
From: Manny B


Hi Khurram,

Nigel is right, that if you aren't getting much response, one solution is to drop the rent...

But some things I like doing when looking for tenants is dress up the property & make it sell itself, which may involve using some elbow grease, ie.:
1. A couple of trailer loads of mulch (around $20 each) to brighten up the gardens, trim back roses & even add a couple of plants (buy plants that are on sale) & keep the lawn mowed & paths tidy.
2. Give the outside of the house/unit abit of a spring clean, get rid of the cob webs, hose down the walls/windows, etc.
3. On the inside once again see what you can do to make it more appealing, ie. if you see mould in the bathroom (ie. wall or tiles), wash/brush it clean, if wall paint is pealing, a quick coat of paint in that room would take a couple of hours (ie. changing rooms, but hey it has worked for me), etc..
4. Look at the floors, if you have vinyl & it is ripped, check the timber underneath to see if you can polish it (you can do it yourself & it can come up magic, I was happy with my results as a first-timer at polishing) &/or a new piece of vinyl from an auction house can be a cheap alternative. The point is to cover up any defects.
5. Last but not least, make sure the house doesn't smell, last thing you want is when they walk in to get some bad stench, so a bunch of flowers (ie. lavenders) & aerate the property regularly does help.

Little things like that can help, the way I see it is if I wouldn't live in it, how can you expect someone else to?

A good agent does help, but in a new area, that is the luck of the draw, but if your property sells itself it would make any agent's job easier...

Good Luck,

Manny.
 
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Reply: 2
From: Rolf Latham


Hi KS

In one suburb of Sydney where there have been lots of new units going up, the developer is offering a prize draw for a
25 000 motor car to just come and look. In other areas however rental supply is more or less keeping up with demand.

Ta

Rolf
 
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Reply: 2.1
From: Igs Kanny


Further to Manny's comments.

One agent suggested we made coffee before the rent inspection to spread this cosy morning coffee smell around.

It sounded funny, but that, plus, of course, a bunch of other simple stuff, like clean carpets, squeaky kitchen, sparkling white power points, new door nobs etc etc, can really sell the place, costing you peanuts.

However, dropping the rent is of major importance. Don't worry, it is a very temporary thing.
 
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Reply: 2.1.1
From: J Parker


Khurram,

Many differing things may work in certain areas- the most important is the price of the rent! Sure, you may have been told the market is bad, rents are low but you think your place is different. Well, find out what it is and compare rentals yourself- you'll soon discover why no-one is taking your place when there's 5 or 6 others that have better features etc and are cheaper.

Free rent for first two weeks, free cable TV, complimentary gym membership etc may work on some, but for most tenants it's the hip pocket that talks.

If I were you, I would lower the rent just enough to get a tenant (for eg:$20 a week less over 6 mths is only $520) straight away, rather than sticking it out for four more weeks, waiting for that elusive person who's willing to pay the extra $20. (Four weeks x your rent is going to be a lot more than that $520, even with a cheap rent of $200 per wk).

Put the rent up after the lease has expired, and hopefully your tenants will be so comfortable they won't want to move. Hint: if you are lucky enough to have a few "good" tenants to pick from, select the ones who can most afford the future rise. Good luck!
Cheers, Jacque :)
 
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Reply: 2.1.1.1
From: Manny B


Further to my earlier post... the following saying is true:

"Don't judge a book by it's cover", but how often do you see prospective tenants taking the rental list & doing the rounds & picking the ones that look presentable to physically inspect (inside)... so if it looks like a zoo on the outside (not clean, etc.) you won't get many people through to inspect...

I have asked tenants when they do their rounds (have been on site cleaning/painting) when tenants were taken through & I have taken the opportunity to ask these crucial questions so that I know what to do to attract a prospective tenant (especially in these times when there are many vacancies)

Manny.
 
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