Preparing your Property for Leasing

Preparing your Property for Leasing

Whilst we are going to ensure that we attract the best possible tenants through our marketing and tenant search, here are some things you can do to ensure that the property is attracting the best and right tenants who will look after your home.

State of Repair

If you've been living in a property, there can be things that get neglected and we grow used to living with them. Now is the time to get them sorted, so your property is ready to present in its best light for tenants. Inspect every fixture, from the letterbox to the back fence, and everything in between and check if it needs replacing or repairing. Look out for problem areas such as:

  • mouldy bathroom grouting
  • leaking washers or taps
  • broken tiles and chipped paint
  • broken light fittings & burnt-out light bulbs
  • broken door and window latches
  • smoke detectors overdue for service
  • clogged guttering and/or drains
  • heating and/or cooling systems requiring service
  • dirty fireplaces
  • faulty or damaged appliances
  • faulty swimming pool filters &/or equipment
  • faulty fences, gates, or security systems

Attention given to a minor repair today, will ensure your property is presenting in its best light to attract quality tenants can potentially save you spending dollars to fix a bigger problem down the track.

Minor Improvements

Updating the interior of a home instantly lifts its mood and appeal to tenants. New paint, carpet, light fittings, or window coverings are an affordable way to transform outdated spaces and adding extra comforts like heating and reverse cycle air conditioning can also potentially add value to a property.

If you can afford to go one step further, then modernising a kitchen or bathroom is a great long-term strategy. One that will immediately elevate the perceived value of the property and increase its rental return.

Street Appeal

  • Arrange for lawns and gardens to be trimmed and maintained regularly until tenancy commences Tenancy Agreement. Untidy lawns/gardens do not attract tenants.
  • Weed and mulch the gardens.
  • Consider including lawn/garden or pool maintenance in the rent. We can arrange quotes for regular services and adjust the recommended rent accordingly.

Premises Security

  • All windows and doors, including cupboard doors, open and close easily.
  • All locks are secure and operate effectively with keys.

We're here to provide advice on all these areas and are able to arrange much of this on your behalf in conjunction with our registered and reasonably priced trades.

Preparing the home for leasing inspections

Aside from the obvious of cleaning and tidying the home to get ready for the open for inspection or private appointment, here are a few additional tips from the professionals to better your chances for success

  • Reduce the number of personal photos and unique taste possessions - you want the tenant or buyer to be able to see themselves living there, sometimes these items can limit the person inspecting's imagination.
  • Take a pretend walk-through. Go to the entrance of the property and put on your prospective buyer or prospective tenant's hat. Walk through and see what you will see when you first walk in, this may give you some ideas of what to move/rearrange/add.
  • At the time of the inspection, be sure to Turn on Lights and Open Windows - Light and Airy is on a lot of tenants and buyer wish lists, make it easy for them to see. If it's an evening viewing, lamps and slightly dimmed lighting can be better to reflect a relaxed homely feel.
  • Engage an Expert - If you are feeling a little lost with how to improve things, engage a home staging or styling expert if this is within your budget. If not, think of a friend or family member who can walk through to give you some honest advice
  • It doesn't have to look like it is from a magazine... Go easy on yourself, whilst this photo may look like quite a dreamy place to live, quite often people want to see a real liveable space. Especially with families, it's okay to have signs of real life - toys, highchairs, books etc.

Property Compliance

Whilst there is a long list of compliance requirements for landlords (check out the office of Fair-Trading guide here) we wanted to draw your attention to a few key areas:

  • The premises and inclusions are to be clean and comply with local and state authority building regulations with it being safe and fit to live in.
  • The legislation states that smoke alarms are mandatory in all buildings in which people sleep, including rental properties. Landlords are responsible for installing smoke alarms and must put a new battery into the smoke alarm at the commencement of a tenancy, including at renewal. After the tenancy begins, the tenant is to arrange to replace the battery unless it is a hard-wired smoke alarm or if the tenant advises they are physically unable to change the battery. In these cases, the landlord is responsible for battery replacement. The property has working smoke alarms installed.
  • The property provides adequate security to enable tenant/s to obtain contents insurance for personal items.
  • All corded internal window coverings comply with Trade Practices (Consumer Product Safety Standard - Corded Internal Window Coverings) Regulations 2010
  • If water usage charges are to be passed onto the tenant, ALL the minimum criteria must be met as legislation requires. At your request, our agency can arrange a contractor on your behalf.
  • If your property has a pool, ensure it meets current government regulations regarding pool registration, compliancy certification, fencing, CPR signage and water consumption/use. The pool owner must hold a current Pool Certificate of Compliance to lease or sell the property.
  • If the Property is under a Builder's Maintenance Warranty, the agent will endeavour to have the builder attend to any defects/repairs required during the period. However, it will remain the owner's responsibility to ensure items are followed up and rectified. Should the builder not attend to urgent/required items under the tenant's Tenancy Agreement. The owner authorises the agent to employ qualified tradespeople to attend to the requirement, and the owner will seek reimbursement from the builder for payment.
  • Ensure a safety switch is installed- A safety switch is a device that quickly switches off the electricity supply if an electrical fault is detected, to minimise the risk
  • If a telephone line is not currently installed in the property, please authorise the agent to permit the tenant to have one installed and further authorise the agent to reimburse the tenant installation costs applicable at commencement tenancy.

Property Handover

Now that the property is leased, we have prepared a list of items to attend to and arrange to set up for a smooth handover:

  • Pre-place picture hooks on walls in the best locations helps control placement, and the number of picture hooks allowed and protects walls.
  • Leave specific cleaning instructions for specific items, e.g., solid stove hotplates.
  • Plan for a 'pre-tenant' spot clean, which may be required following leasing activity and just before a new tenancy begins.
  • Consider installing lawn and garden sprinklers with timers. The installation will assist in maintaining the garden and lawn, subject to local council water restrictions, which may be applicable from time to time.
  • If the property has a pool or spa, provide a copy of the Approval Certificate to the agent, or obtain and supply it to agent. A copy must be given to the tenant when leasing the property.
  • Carpets are professionally steam cleaned with a receipt if possible as evidence for the tenant.
  • Pest control is current – annual service is a requirement.
  • Telephone line installation approval has been given. (tenant is responsible for the connection)
  • If a unit or a townhouse – two copies of the Strata By-Laws are provided to the managing agent – one for the agent's file and one for the tenant.
  • Refuse bins are available for the tenant's use
  • Provide the agent copies of operating instructions or manuals for appliances or other items which tenants require instructions to use.
  • Provide the agent with warranty details for any applicable item or building works, if applicable.
  • Full set of keys to be provided – one set for the managing agent and one full set of keys and access items for each tenant/s named as the lease holder/s under the Tenancy Agreement.
  • Re-direct mail via Australia Post
  • Notify the council of your forwarding address for rates notices if you have not instructed our agency to pay the rates on your behalf.
  • Notify energy, gas, phone, and other utility companies to finalise accounts if applicable and provide your forwarding address details.
  • Notify your insurance company and mortgage holder of the change of occupancy status.
  • Advise the Agent if intending to list the Property for sale during the term of the Tenancy Agreement on offer as laws require Tenants to be advised if the Property is for sale or proposed to be listed for sale before entering into a Residential Tenancy Agreement. Please advise if a Contract for Sale has been prepared for the property.

Cleaning Checklist

Click to download our easy-to-follow cleaning checklist if you plan to clean yourself. These are the items we will be checking to ensure the tenant has completed upon vacating so it's important to ensure the property to them in this way. It also encourages the tenant to look after the property.

We can arrange our preferred cleaners to take care of this for you if you're short of time / prefer not to have to do this yourself.

Cleaning checklist

Utilities

Water, Electricity & Gas

If the property is separately metered, tenants will generally pay for electricity, gas, or water usage charges.

What are separately metered rentals?

A rental property is separately metered if the meter measures the amount of electricity, gas, oil or water supplied or used only at the property -allows a separate bill to be issued by the supplier - for an electricity meter - has a National Meter Identifier (NMI) - for a gas meter - has a Meter Installation Reference Number (MIRN) or Delivery Point Identifier (DPI)

NMI, MIRN and DPI are unique numbers of energy suppliers use to identify the meter installed at the property and can be found on the energy bill.

They help match a property with the energy account, so a property does not get billed for someone else's power use.

Not all electricity or gas meters located in an 'embedded network' have an NMI, MIRN or DPI assigned. These meters are still 'separately metered' if the meter is in an embedded network and the meter is not required to have these numbers.

Insurance

Whilst rental reference checks are completed as thoroughly as lawfully allowed; we cannot predict or know how a tenant's future ability to meet their tenancy obligations can be affected, e.g., in the event of death or long illness, loss of job, relationship split etc. We recommend all landlords arrange an insurance policy to protect their investment. Brochures are available upon request.

Arrange contents insurance for your property's fittings and fixtures. This may be included with your property insurances or incorporated in a Landlord Protection Policy. As your managing agent, we require that you have public liability insurance for your property. If your property is a unit, the cover must include the internal unit space. NOTE: public liability under the building insurance, taken out by the Strata, only covers the common areas. It does not cover events or items inside your unit.

Preparing your Cashflow

Whilst we are super excited to get rental funds flowing into your accounts, when starting the tenancy, it's important to consider when and how you will receive your funds to ensure you are well prepared and not caught short.

When the tenancy commences, we will generally take two weeks rent in advance from the tenants. The rent collected will be allocated to your owner account and then have the initial fees deducted (including the letting fee, management fees, advertising) and any other maintenance or contractors invoices we have arranged on your behalf. This may mean that when your first owner payment is due, there may not be a large balance available to pay in your initial payment, which can sometimes catch new landlords out.

We recommend ensuring that you have your cash flow budgeted to allow for this initial period. Depending on which payment frequency you've opted for, you should have steady regular funds flowing in very soon after that. We recommend having your mortgage payments lined up to sync with your payment preference selection.

At the end of each month, you will receive your owner statement which will outline all income and expenses for the month – these are emailed to you as well as being available in your landlord portal (which you will receive a login for).

We also recommend having a budget in place for your investment property, so you have a good idea of what income and expenditure to allow for across the year, if you need help with creating your budget ask about our free investor budgeting tool.

Other things to consider

Advise the agent if intending to list the property for sale during the term of the tenancy agreement on offer as laws require tenants to be advised if the property is for sale or proposed to be listed for sale before entering into a Residential Tenancy Agreement. Please advise if a contract for sale has been prepared for the property.