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Hi All,
Thank you again for all who responded with advice – well I took it and I dumped our Agent and obtained a wonderful new one who manages a smaller agency that specialise in property rent roll and they have been truly fantastic this week. Turns out that my Property manager at the previous agency left 5 weeks ago and they said that they didn't want to tell landlords until they had a new Property Manager so that it wouldn't unsettle the Landlords…. I firmly explained that having 7 different contacts on my property who had no idea what was going on was more unsettling…
Good news is I have two lovely tenants (who fortunately I got to meet!) are moving in on the weekend…
Thanks for all your help – its good learning experience!
Hi all,
Thank you for your feedback – as luck would have it I was at the flat yesterday to do a little clean (seeing as it had been vacant for 2 months!) and 2 people walked past and popped their head in. They had seen it on the internet that morning and were keen to look at it. When they called the agent they said they would show them only during the week, however both girls work full time and they wouldn't have been able to view it. They came by to just have a look through the window and I just happened to be in there. They seemed like nice and responsible ladies and they said it was exactly what they were looking for… so I will get the agent to conduct their reference checks etc as they are keen to move in asap.
So a couple of little lessons I have learnt in my early investing path – be confident in discussing weekly rental rate based on your own market research – not just agreeing to a price the agent thinks it will get and … when looking at an agent to manage your property – discuss with them how flexibile they are with viewings on the weekend.
… And find another agent next time!!
What could a new agent do differently? I must admit, they aren't the most responsive to my queries!
It is in Sandringham. Doesn't have a yard – so probably wouldn't appeal to dog owners.
Not a bad idea to offer a weeks free rent…
Has split system, dishwasher – everything is brand new. It isn't the most attractive building from the outside but we felt that the location, the beach, carport and the interior far outweighed the external look of the flat. Truly stumped!!
Many thanks to you all for your advice – this is a great help! We will be meeting with our accountant this coming week. We think that it is definately worth keeping the townhouse as our neighbours in a similar townhouse are currently paying $350 p/w in rent. It is 20km from Melbourne cbd, 10 minute walk to train station, 5 minute drive to beach and 2 minute walk to shopping centre, so we feel optimistic it can be a viable investment over the longrun. Does it mean that by restructuring this loan back up to the $389k as you suggest we can negatively gear the property?
One question for newbi2 – was does LVR mean?
Many thanks,
Michelle
