By Jessica Doyle, Matthews Real Estate
Have you even seen two listings and wondered why one can ask for more rent per week compared to the other that seems to offer near-identical accommodation?
There are ways to maximise your rental. A few tricks of the trade that can pay attractive dividends.
Think about it – an extra $10 a week boosts the home’s income by $520 a year. That’s no small benefit.
So, what are some of the ways you can increase the rent received from your asset?
- Well-chosen renovation
Improving a property is one of the most obvious ways to boost rent, but you must be selective in what you do.
Often owners will make decisions to do improvements to their investments without asking the property manager (or PM) what they think they should do – which is crazy!
I’ve seen landlords spends thousands of dollars on upgrading the yard and exterior, yet not put an aircon in the main bedroom, which would easily help them fetch $10 more a week.
It also depends on where the property is located. For example, in low-density, rural residential areas you can’t go wrong with a shed. I’ve seen top dollar for average houses, simply because there is a lockable shed on-site.
In more built-up areas, air conditioners and ample storage are always winners. Even Ikea shelving in the garage, giving tenants somewhere to put their stuff, can be an attribute. People will pay more for the convenience.
If you don’t have a lot of cash flow, consider simple things like new blinds/curtains/carpet to help increase the rent. You’d be surprised how much fresher a property can look with some nice block-out curtains from Spotlight. And if you shop around for low-grade rental carpet, you can find some great deals.
Make the property look attractive and it will sell itself to a tenant. Just quietly, us ladies are excellent at this.
- Include services
There might be opportunity to include additional services within the lease arrangement that more than pays for themselves and ensures your investment is well-maintained.
For example, having lawn maintenance included in rent might see you charge an extra $10 per week. Best of all you may well find a contractor through your PM’s office who’ll mow the lawn every six weeks for less than $60. This’ll put you financially ahead straight away.
- Time your leases
Have you ever noticed that rental demand in most localities ramps up around January and July? These seem to be the times when people are on the move for work, study, or other reasons.
Time your leases so they come up for renewal in these months. This will give you the best chance of assessing the highest market rent when negotiating with existing tenants at lease renewal time.
Also, if your tenant decides to leave, you will find plenty of others keen to rent your home in January or July.
- Talk to your property manager
Your PM is an expert on what tenants in their service area want from a home.
So, don’t just treat your PM as an administrative assistant. Instead, look to draw on their expertise.
Find out what types of properties are achieving the best rents. Do they need a small office for work-at-home parents? Are low maintenance yards in demand? Do you get the best demand for homes with internal laundries?
Working with your PM will unearth a range of options that may help your select the best moves for making the most rental return from your property.
