If you have a home or apartment in the 2101 postcode, on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, the good news is it shouldn’t take too long to find a tenant. In fact, we have a waitlist of renters looking for high-quality family homes.
Today, we discuss the most important things you need to do to ensure your property stands out from the rest and achieves its optimum rental rate. Attract and secure great tenants with these following tips:
Pinpoint your ‘ideal renter’
Consider who is best suited to your property. For example, the 2101 postcode is generally popular with families.
At Hunter Estate Agents, we generally see two main groups of renters coming through our available for lease homes. One group are families with young children. These renters tend to be more price-conscious (as one parent is not working or only working part-time). The other group are established families whose kids are in their teens. They are generally most concerned with space and looking for a home that will allow parents and teenagers to have separate living quarters, providing privacy alongside peace and quiet for studying or working from home.
Consider the lifestyle renters will enjoy
The right tenant may be someone that’s influenced by the location of your property. For example, younger renters tend to head to Narrabeen, where the homes might not be as big, but they gain the benefit of living beachside. Having both the ocean and lake on their doorstep, the bus routes, plus plenty of restaurants, takeaways and cafes is a lifestyle choice favoured by young singles or couples.
If your property is a kilometre or two back from the beach, in hillside areas such as Elanora Heights or Ingleside, you’ll attract great tenants if you make the home appeal to families. Views and vistas from windows should be emphasized. Off-street parking, garages, storage, pools and large manicured gardens are also a plus to these groups.
Professional couples tend to prefer something more modern so often head to suburbs like Warriewood, where there’s been a lot of new apartments and townhouses built in recent years. There’s also the appeal of Warriewood Square, a nice-sized shopping centre where you’ll find all the major supermarkets; Coles, Woolworths and Aldi. Plus several pharmacies, a large array of fashion outlets, as well as home and lifestyle stores.
Thinking about not only your home but the amenities in close proximity to your property will help you decipher who will love living in your rental home. An experienced property management team will understand not just what renters look for in a home but why they want to live in the area. They will then work with you to help accentuate and promote those features.
Smart improvements for a rental property
Creating a desirable rental property with all the mod cons and sort after features will always ensure your home appeals to high-quality renters. It’ll also ensure your home is rented faster.
Invite a property management professional to tour your rental property and they will highlight the best features of your home, alongside ways to make the home more appealing. With some well-considered investment, you could increase the interest in your rental home. You could add built-in wardrobes, put in extra power points in the study or office spaces, or swap powerpoints for ones with USB chargers in all rooms. Invest in air conditioning and your home will gain more interest. If there’s a garden or yard, consider ways to make it easier for your tenant to maintain. These extras can go a long way to allowing you to take your pick of renters and potentially increase the weekly rental amount charged.
With a minor renovation, you might add undercover parking, create separate living spaces, an undercover outdoor entertainment area or places to work and study. Consider adding racks for bikes and surfboards as well, these always come in handy on the Northern Beaches!
At the very least, you should give your rental property a ‘refresh’ between tenants, by either steam cleaning or replacing the carpet, sanding and polishing the floorboards, pressure washing grubby outdoor areas and adding a fresh coat of paint inside the home.
Make the home ‘move-in ready’
People talk about property styling when it comes to selling homes but you also need to have your investment looking modern and presentable when showing it to potential tenants.
Have the place professionally cleaned and make sure it is tidy and in a good state with no outstanding repairs. Mow the lawn and tidy up the garden beds. If you have existing tenants, ask your property manager to work with them to make sure they leave it looking its best on inspection day.
Check for things like mould or water damage, and have little things like fences or cracked windows fixed before you advertise the property, that way potential tenants gain a good impression of the place and don’t try to use outstanding repairs to negotiate a lower price.
The importance of background checks and contracts
The advantage of working with a professional property manager is that they will know how to check your tenants’ references. Reliable tenants will be able to prove they have always paid their rent on time and haven’t caused problems for their landlords in the past.
Your property manager will be able to create a watertight contract that will save you from disputes down the track. This will cover inspections and outline the tenant’s responsibilities when it comes to maintaining the property.
The best tenants will look after your investment, pay on time and only need help when something goes seriously wrong. Work with a property manager from Hunter Estate Agents to find first-class occupants and maximise the profit of your investment property.