Melbourne 2 bed unit - how long to rent out?

[mattcalla]

Hi all,

I'm hoping someone from around the Ormond/Carnegie area (or Melbourne south-east suburbs in general) could help me out here. I own a 2 bed unit in a block of 6 - with a decent sized courtyard, about 5 minutes walk to the ormond station. I'm considering renting it out. this will be my first IP. When I rent it out I will look to rent somewhere else in Melbourne closer to the city / or move overseas. Could someone please give me an indication of how long it would take from the time I put the place up for lease to the time it would be occupied by tenants - based on past experience. I'm not sure what the demand is like in the area. I'm trying to gauge how long we should allow ourselves to find another place.

Regards,
Matt.

 

[turk]

Hi Mattcalla

I'm living in Mckinnon and have a number of units in the bayside area and keep up to date with the Ormond area.

Units in your area are renting very quickly(1/3 weeks) if you are asking a fair market rent
for the unit.

Speak to Jenny Rowe at HockingStuart(Bentleigh) she will give a honest opinion of rents and letting times.

Cheers

Pete

 

[MelbGal]

Hi all,

I'm hoping someone from around the Ormond/Carnegie area (or Melbourne south-east suburbs in general) could help me out here. I own a 2 bed unit in a block of 6 - with a decent sized courtyard, about 5 minutes walk to the ormond station. I'm considering renting it out. this will be my first IP. When I rent it out I will look to rent somewhere else in Melbourne closer to the city / or move overseas. Could someone please give me an indication of how long it would take from the time I put the place up for lease to the time it would be occupied by tenants - based on past experience. I'm not sure what the demand is like in the area. I'm trying to gauge how long we should allow ourselves to find another place.

Regards,
Matt.

Hi - I have a few properties around Melbourne, some outer and some inner city. Not in the area you mention but from my experience in the various properties that I have owned (near and far from CBD) there is lots of demand for rentals and within 1-2 days of placing on the internet my agent gets inquiries and then plans the open inspections that weekend. Then you have the checking process etc. plus the date that the tenant wants to move in vs. the date that the property is available. Usually the place is tenanted within a few weeks and I have little to no gap as we advertise before the place is vacant.

But.. first and foremost, have you engaged a real estate agent to supply you with a no obligation rental appraisal ?

If not, I would contact a few in the local area (check realestate.com to find the top 2 agents that are listing in your area) and then start making appointments for them to come over and discuss with you - they can answer all your questions, telling you what it will rent for, what similar properties have rented for, how quickly it will lease and explain to you the fees/charges (dont forget to negotiate the fees).

Good luck.

 

[mattcalla]

Thanks for the replies turk and melbgal.

I haven't organised any rental appraisals yet - I will get onto that straight away. You mention to negotiate fees - what amount/percentage should I be aiming for? I've always heard around the 5-7% mark - is this about right?

 

[The Y-man]

Thanks for the replies turk and melbgal.

I haven't organised any rental appraisals yet - I will get onto that straight away. You mention to negotiate fees - what amount/percentage should I be aiming for? I've always heard around the 5-7% mark - is this about right?

5-7% sounds about right (our lowest is 5% + GST, highest 7% + GST)
+ 1 week leasing fee

Cheers,

The Y-man

 

[mattcalla]

Speak to Jenny Rowe at HockingStuart(Bentleigh) she will give a honest opinion of rents and letting times.

Turk, I spoke to a few agents in the area including Jenny and she was very helpful - thanks for the tip. I'm most likely going to move out in the next month, so the property will be going on the rental market soon.

Just a few quick questions from a newbie - is the rental market in this area still going strong? and when are the up/down times in the rental cycle? Any times of the year where properties may remain vacant for extended periods?

Cheers,
Matt.

 

[The Y-man]

Just a few quick questions from a newbie - is the rental market in this area still going strong? and when are the up/down times in the rental cycle? Any times of the year where properties may remain vacant for extended periods?

Properties shouldn't remain vacant for any extended periods other than for repair etc. If they are vacant, you're priced too high.

As for rental returns, I imagine it is a function generally of interest rates and house prices (i.e. cheap houses + low interest = everyone encouraged to buy own home)

Cheers,

The Y-man