People are searching for rental accommodation as a
place to call home. For a multitude of different reasons people choose to rent
a property rather than purchase a property.
Rents are set to keep rising due to housing supply
and demand. As housing affordability drops and more people are renting there
will be a higher number of opportunities for Owners to secure good tenants.
Finding the right tenant is crucial to the success
of your business as an investment property owner and knowing how to do this can
be tricky.
allow extra time during the tenant selection
process is a good start to determine requirements of the tenant and suitability
for the property to the tenant.
That little extra effort may save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars and
hours of time in the long run. You want people who pay on time, people who look
after your property as if it were their own and reports any concerns to you
about the property.
A good screening process is the best defence
against bad tenants. Detailed tenancy application forms give the landlord a
chance to ensure that the applicant is a safe choice before committing,
confirming reference checks and income is mandatory as is the relevant checks
on the tenancy databases which can be done on platforms like RealRenta.
Taking the time to select the right tenant before giving
them access to your property is key. There are things that you need to know and
do.
1. You need to adhere to the relevant legislation
Finding a good tenant for your property is not an
exemption to adhering to the relevant legislation for your state or territory.
You must always adhere to these to avoid charges for discrimination or other
claims. You cannot discriminate based on race, colour, religion, sex, family
status, disability and so on.
2. A good tenant has good credit
You are looking for a tenant that is in a good financially
position. With this in mind verification of affordability is a must, as a
general rule the rent should not be more than a third of their income.
3. Education and communication with your tenant is
key
If you communicate well with your tenants, it sets
the foundations of your relationship with them from the start, how they are to
communicate with you and you with them. A platform like RealRenta has a communicate platform
built into it. All communications are done through the system and this stops
tenants from calling you all the time. It also keeps a record of all communications
by email and text (SMS). This will stop the he said, she said if you ever need
to take further action. You will find that the relationship during and after is
much more pleasurable.
Jason Gwerder
Friday, 19 August 2016
