In this edition: How long will it take for your property to rent? Don’t Let it all Go Up in Smoke! (Chimney Maintenance for Beginners) The Five Worst Renting Mistakes and How Landlords Can Avoid Them 7 Signs to Spot if Your Investment Property is Being Used as a Drug Lab! July 2014 A Selection of Properties Recently Leased Quote Another happy customer—Wow Mo- ment Calendar of Events Dear Landlord, End of financial year has finally come around, thank you to all the owners that engaged with us to ensure that items are completed prior to the end of month for tax purposes. Please find attached your end of financial year state- ments to assist your tax agent. Haleigh has worked tire- lessly for days now checking and preparing these for you. The team has been working hard to cover Helen Bryan's well de- served annual leave. We are glad to hear her trip to the snow slopes didn’t end with any injuries as she continues on the next chapter of her holiday. Lisa has come back from her leave refreshed and pumped and working towards reletting the cur- rent vacant properties. Please keep an ear out for her contact should your tenancy due to be ending in September and Octo- ber. Please be aware the market for rental is slow in some areas and it may be in your interests to be conservative with rental in- creases. Julie has taken control of the rains and is overseeing her own portfolio, it is great to have her on the team she is a real asset with so much experience to offer. Having expanded our team to offer better service we are con- tinuing to look for new properties to manage and owners to take care of. Communication, expert advice and compassion from our team is ensuring we are continu- ing to grow. Contact our Busi- ness Development Manager Christopher McCall should you know anyone requiring care and assistance in the management of their properties. Thank you again for your sup- port. We hope the year has ended well for you also. Best regards, Christina & the team End of financial year statements and team updates
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In this edition: How long will it take for your property to rent? Don’t Let it all Go Up in Smoke! (Chimney Maintenance for Beginners) The Five Worst Renting Mistakes and How Landlords Can Avoid Them 7 Signs to Spot if Your Investment Property is Being Used as a Drug Lab!
July 2014
A Selection of Properties Recently Leased Quote Another happy customer—Wow Mo-ment Calendar of Events
Dear Landlord,
End of financial year has finally
come around, thank you to all the
owners that engaged with us to
ensure that items are completed
prior to the end of month for tax
purposes. Please find attached
your end of financial year state-
ments to assist your tax
agent. Haleigh has worked tire-
lessly for days now checking and
preparing these for you.
The team has been working hard
to cover Helen Bryan's well de-
served annual leave. We are glad
to hear her trip to the snow
slopes didn’t end with any injuries
as she continues on the next
chapter of her holiday.
Lisa has come back from her
leave refreshed and pumped and
working towards reletting the cur-
rent vacant properties. Please
keep an ear out for her contact
should your tenancy due to be
ending in September and Octo-
ber. Please be aware the market
for rental is slow in some areas
and it may be in your interests to
be conservative with rental in-
creases.
Julie has taken control of the
rains and is overseeing her own
portfolio, it is great to have her on
the team she is a real asset with
so much experience to offer.
Having expanded our team to
offer better service we are con-
tinuing to look for new properties
to manage and owners to take
care of. Communication, expert
advice and compassion from our
team is ensuring we are continu-
ing to grow. Contact our Busi-
ness Development Manager
Christopher McCall should you
know anyone requiring care and
assistance in the management of
their properties.
Thank you again for your sup-
port. We hope the year has
ended well for you also.
Best regards,
Christina & the team
End of financial year statements and team updates
www.propertyrentalsbrisbane.com FREE Information Guide For Landlords & Tenants
How long will it take for your property to rent?
That of course depends on the time of the year so here are the latest statistics for June.
BRISBANE STATISTICS The Market
Source: rentfind.com.au
Brisbane, QLD June 2014 Annual Change
Median Weekly Rent - House $410 2.5% increase
Median Weekly Rent - Unit/Apartment
$380 1.3% increase
Days on Market (Avg) 26.7 1.7 decrease
Days Vacant (Avg) 15.8 2.4 decrease
Don’t Let it all Go Up in
Smoke! (Chimney
Maintenance for Beginners)
Tips to consider when lighting
your first fire of the season.
Dancing flames, spreading
warmth and the crackle of well-
seasoned wood are but three of
the pleasures of a roaring fire.
Despite the strong move to gas,
there are still enough working
fireplaces to keep the profession
of a chimney sweep alive.
Before lighting the first fire of the
season, it's important to perform
a thorough safety check. Chim-
neys and flues should be ser-
viced on an annual basis. Cracks
and leaks can lead to heat loss or
even chimney fires. Debris, in-
cluding leaves, nests and dead
animals, can block your chimney
and must be removed prior to
use.
One of the major safety issues is
the build up of soot and grease,
particularly highly flammable
creosote. Gas fires may not pro-
duce smoke, but safety checks
are still vital. A damaged or
blocked flue can lead to a dan-
gerous build up of carbon monox-
ide. There are some visual
checks you can make yourself, if
you're game to climb on the roof,
but chimney maintenance is best
left to the professionals.
Source : HomeLife (July 2013)
The Five Worst Renting
Mistakes and How
Landlords Can Avoid Them
Setting the rent too high or low
Before purchasing an investment
property, carry out extensive re-
www.propertyrentalsbrisbane.com FREE Information Guide For Landlords & Tenants
search to help determine an ap-
propriate rental price.
Setting the rent too high may re-
sult in limited interest from pro-
spective tenants, leaving you out
of pocket if the property remains
empty for an extended period of
time.
However, setting the rent too low
may place you under financial
pressure, limit your rental income
and has the potential to attract
unsuitable tenants.
Look on real estate websites and
through newspaper classifieds to
find listings with similar features
to your property, as this will give
you a guide on the rental market
in that area.
If you appoint a property man-
ager, they should be able to pro-
vide you with information on com-
parable properties and advise an
appropriate rent for your own in-
vestment.
Failing to monitor arrears
If a tenant falls behind in their
rent, it can be a very long and
costly process to resolve and
could leave you considerably out
While it can be tempting to save
a small percentage of rental in-
come by self-managing your
rental property, the benefits of
appointing a property manager
can far outweigh the costs.
Property managers are able to
conduct regular property inspec-
tions to identify maintenance is-
sues, have systems in place to
find and screen prospective ten-
ants, and have access to data-
bases that list tenants with a his-
tory of defaulting on rental pay-
ments, damaging property and
eviction.
If a dispute arises with a tenant,
they are also familiar with the
relevant legislation and can fol-
low the correct procedures to
help resolve the problem as
quickly as possible.
Neglecting maintenance
As a landlord, once you have
been alerted to maintenance is-
sues, it is your responsibility to
act on these or authorise your
property manager to do so as
soon as possible.
If a maintenance issue arises and
you are slow to fix it, you may be
legally liable if your tenant injures
themselves. It is also important to
of pocket.
Diarise the dates that your ten-
ant’s rental payments are due
and check your bank account on
those days. If your tenant doesn’t
pay on the due date, monitor
your bank account on a daily ba-
sis. If they fall into arrears a
breach notice should be sent for
non-payment of rent.
The number of days in rental ar-
rears before a termination notice
can be sent, and the time be-
tween presenting the notice and
requesting vacation varies
around Australia, so it is impor-
tant to be familiar with your local
tenancy laws.
Regularly monitoring arrears and
issuing tenants with appropriate
notices promptly may help re-
solve issues sooner and mitigate
any financial loss
Attempting to self-manage a
property
Self-managing a rental property
can create headaches for land-
lords, especially if they do not
have enough time or resources to
commit to such a task.
www.propertyrentalsbrisbane.com FREE Information Guide For Landlords & Tenants
ensure that all maintenance is
completed properly and to appro-
priate standards.
Inadequate insurance
Specialised landlord insurance
cover can protect investors from
many of the risks associated with
owning a rental property, provide
peace of mind and ease a land-
lord’s concerns about receiving
regular rental payments if their
tenant damages the property or
absconds.
Standard building and contents
insurance policies usually don’t
cover landlords for these risks.
Landlord insurance can cover
property owners for malicious
damage by tenants, accidental
damage, legal liability for occur-
rences on the property that cause
death or bodily injury, and loss of
rental income as a result of prop-
erty damage or a tenant ab-
sconding.
Even the most careful tenant can
damage a property, whether acci-
dental or otherwise. This can be
extremely costly for the landlord
in terms of repairs and the loss of
rental income.
Source: http://spionline.com.au/
first contact their property man-
ager, and also the police. Ob-
taining insurance coverage often
requires a police report. A tenant
will be required to vacate, after
which time insurance assessors
can determine the damage.
In the meantime, here are the
five things to watch out for:
Regularly Inspect
There's no way to figure out
whether illegal activity is being
undertaken if you are not regu-
larly inspecting.
Detecting temporary drug labs
can save you money, particularly
if they're found early, as this will
help mitigate loss and will allow
you to lodge an insurance claim
as soon as possible, said Parella.
“It takes three months to cultivate
a hydroponics crop so carrying
out quarterly inspections will in-
crease the chances of detecting
any illegal activity as soon as
possible," she said. Ensure you
undertake routine inspections.
Neglect of Lack of Furnishings
The first thing you should be
looking for at an inspection is a
lack of furniture, and/or signs of
neglect.
7 Signs to Spot if Your
Investment Property is
Being Used as a Drug Lab!
Illegal drug labs set up in rental
properties can cause fear for
property investors, particularly as
the clean up costs can be signifi-
cant, not to mention a hefty repair
bill in some instances.
While it's uncommon for tenants
to be engaged in this type of ac-
tivity, it's worth every property
m a n a g e r a n d i n v e s t o r
(particularly self-managing land-
lords) to be keeping an eye out
for any suspicious activity.
Terri Scheer Insurance's execu-
tive manage,r Carolyn Parrella,
explains that whether it's canna-
bis, methamphetamine or ec-
stasy, illegal drug cultivation has
specific signs that astute inves-
tors can look for.
“Temporary drug laboratories in
rental properties can be difficult
to detect if you do not know what
to look out for,” said Parrella,
even though tenants will go to
significant lengths to hide this
type of activity.
For those who do find evidence
of a drug lab, investors should
www.propertyrentalsbrisbane.com FREE Information Guide For Landlords & Tenants
Errors & Omissions: These details have been prepared by us on information we have obtained and while we trust it to be correct, is not guaranteed by us and you should rely on your own enquiries.
Herston Unit $330 p.w.
2 bed, 1 bath,
1 car accommodation
Calendar of Events
We are much appreciated for your professional manage-ment of our property since the date we bought this property. Your professionalism impressed us quite a lot and we thank you again for your work in these years, and if we have more property in future, we would be happy to use your team as service provider. Thanks and kind regards! Henry Huang