The other nite, while listening to the radio, people rang in to tell of their struggle to find rental accomodation. One young man said it took three months for he and his pals to find a place. But it wasn’t that they were fussy, they were past over again and again.
The young man explained that ‘young singles’ were the last on the list. Cautious landlords wanted families. Young singles, coming straight from the nest with mum and dad, had no credit history or previous rental references.
So this has got me thinking that perhaps i should market my new IP at young singles. 4 working singles have plenty of money to throw at rent [biggrin] I was thinking that since demand is high, I could perhaps charge a higher rent for a share household. What do you think? Do any of you do this?
Also does anyone have any ideas for the specific needs of young singles? I’m going to be renovating over the next couple of weeks so any ideas would be good.
The house is at strathpine Brisbane, close to all amenties.
milly
Hmmm young singles…
Great target market. I would be working on the premise that they could be in need of white goods, and definitely a microwave?
Love the concept though and yes you probably would get slightly higher than average rental return on your property especially if you instructed the Agent to charge the higher rental and to specifically market your property to them. You have to be careful you don’t discriminate here, but ask for more money it’s the only way you’ll get it. I have one of my IP’s returning 20/wk more than the agent told me I would get and it was leased within 7 days of being listed. I have the other one paying 10/wk more than the agent told me in their comparison it was worth so don’t listen to them.
“Ask and ye shall receive.”
I base my rent on what my frends (who rent) would expect to pay for the property. This seems to give a reasonable expectation and remember it’s harder to come up then it is to go down again…..
Stuart Milne
Non-Conforming Specialist
READY Mortgages
http://www.readymortgages.com.au
[email protected]
Mob: 0404 056 055hey thanks for the advise Stuart.
Hi, Milly [biggrin]
The young singles I can think of will probably all be very attracted to:[computer] [computer] [computer]
internet internet internetDoes anyone have experience with making internet available to every bedroom in the house- e.g. a reliable network?
Celivia
In London a lot of landlords cater for this market and works quite well. A lot of times they convert the lounge into another bedroom as well.
As for reliable internet I would be looking at installing a wireless connection for the house that way anyway in the house should be able to get access, relatively simple to setup by yourself
….just my 2 cents here……
Is your property (house? flat?) situated in amongst other similar rentals, or are you in an area where there is hardly anything for the renters…?
Another word, have you got competitions (so the tenants are spoilt for choice)?
While aiming at the young single market is a great way of eliminating competition, it might be worthwhile to be mindful when you are setting up your asking rental price.
My former IP, a two bedroom flat, is located in an area where there are *a lot* of competitions. Almost all targeting at young singles/couples. I made a mistake by charging a slightly higher rent (compared to other units in the same building), thinking I’d attract better tenants. Big mistake.
It was vacant for too long (6 weeks, if not more), and I ended up renting it to the *only* applicants, who turned out to be nightmares.
I have since read somewhere that by charging a slightly lower rent, you are able to attract a bigger pool of applicants, enabling you to choose the best applicants, AND minimise the vacancy period.
What do the rest of the IP Gurus think [eh]….?
The lower rent / better tenant theory is definitely something to think about. If you are trying to get more rent or be picky with your tenants you risk losing money in the long term.
Say you advertise at $200 but market rents in the area are $190. If it takes you 10 weeks to get a tenant because all the good ones go for the $190 a week place, then you need to have it rented for 20 weeks in order to get your money back.
IMHO it’s better to have a good tenant paying good rent rather than risk long vacancies and no rent at all.
Cheers
Mikea lot of young singles take on places individually then let out the rooms – meaning they end up paying $10 per week and the other renters (other not so bright young singles) pay the rest of the rent…
i guess as a landlord the market rate is essentially the same whether its for a family or for a single tenant.
cheers
brahms
Purveyor of Fine Finances
aka Mortgage Broker Brisbanethanx for the comments folks.
I can certainly set up an internet network.. good idea. I like the white goods one too. I love the weekend shopper.
The house is situated in an area of high rental demand. 4 bedders rent between 270- $330/wk. I see no reason not to aim for the latter end.
I take your point Brahms that many a single person has signed a lease and then sublet rooms to his/her buddies, ensuring they pay the bulk of the rent. But if yu think the market value is the same for singles as it is for families, well Im going to find out. I want to be well compensated for damage caused by parties and drug raids.
I still recall a nite about a hundred yrs ago, comin home drunk, and losing my balance whilst climbing in my window and then rolling across the room to smash thro fibro wall. Luckily the place came furnished and I moved a wardrobe in front of the very large hole.
Hi Milly
If your renting room by room (i.e. it’s not a group of 4 friends renting together) then don’t forget to factor in the gas, electricity, water and 1 x week cleaning of common areas into the price. If you pay these it will save a lot of trouble amoung the tenants. You will of cause have to keep track of usage to make sure it stays reasonable.
I don’t know if your anywhere near a college or Uni but if so foreign students would be a good market.
Cheers Elka
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