Hi all
I have purchased an investment property (townhouse) in Varsity Lakes (Gold Coast) which I have given to a real estate agent to manage. It has been on the rental market for around 4-5 weeks now and still vacant. It is competitively priced, in excellent condition, presents well, close to everything. I am wondering why we cannot seem to find tenants, I'm thinking that a lot of the would be renters are turning into first home buyers with the interest rates so low. My question is, is it worth changing real estate agents? Will my current agent charge me any fees if I tell them I don't want to list it with them anymore? The only contract I've signed is the PAMD form 20a Appointment of Agent – letting and property management, surely I would not be bound by the 90 days notice to revoke as there has been no management of the property involved as yet? And surely I wouldn't have to pay the 1 weeks letting fee as they have not managed to find a tenant and they stated no cost for advertising? Your comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated on anyway I can speed up the process of finding a tenant without any more cost to me.
Drop the asking price by $20 a week.
When you talk about cost to you- $1000 a year.
Every week the property is vacant is a week of rent lost. Rents are coming down due to the lower demand for rental properties as mentioned in this March issue of API magazine.
I had the same problem 12 months ago and had to drop my asking price on rent. My house did not have central heating and cooling or modern kitchen as compared to what else was on the rental market at the time I was trying to rent it out 12 months ago.Other things to check and consider
Is it advertised by the agent on their web site?
Is it advertised in the local paper?
Is it advertised in the real estate agents window?Thanks Dukster, it was originally on the market for $450, in which I would have got in a normal market, now it is at $390 and still haven't generated a lot of interest. it is priced the same and even a bit cheaper as other townhouses that are much older than mine and not as modern. The agent did tell me that the 4 bedroom homes seem to be rented more so than any other type of property in the area, mine is a 3 bedroom. The townhouse has a/c in dinining/kitchen and ceiling fans throughout. The agent has it listed on realestate.com, domain and other websites and it is out the front of their shop window. It's funny that the ad on realestate.com has had over 300 hits, yet only 4 enquiries, 2 applications – 1 person ended up being on the black list and the other had too much dodgy info on their application. Also I put an ad in the local paper this weekend and the agent advertised an open on Saturday and had it listed as open on the realestate.com ad also, not 1 person showed up!!!!!
Once you've confirmed your agent is actually doing something to get the place tenanted, how about advertising it with "ONE WEEK FREE RENT"? Better to get someone in now and give away a week than have it vacant for another month or more. You may also find you can maintain your higher rent by giving a free week.
In NZ we have property managers that ONLY manage property and are not attached to real estate companies. Personally, I've found these outfits to be a lot more focused and on their game than the real estate rental managers. You might want to do some research to see if there is such a service locally.
Good luck,
VickyHi there
you might like to post a link to your advertising to check that it is useful marketingI note we have just been through the same process on the Sunshine Coast – waiting 2 months for a suitable tenant.
In our case it was the PM who was not aggressive enough – we ended up saying to the existing PM – we are approaching another PM and whoever gets us a suitable tenant will get our listing. The new PM had a tenant within 2 weeks because of a different marketing approach.
thanks
The house across the road from where I live had trouble getting a tenant as I was talking with the landlord and it took two months to get a Tenant. They had done extensive work on the inside of the house.
You may need to regularly check the property condition as I had a property that had a full dump in the toilet that had not been flushed.
Ask the property manager is there any minor things that may need updating as another set of eyes may see stuff you would not notice that Renters might.
I had to repaint a house as the colour scheme was ghastly but I had not noticed it but the agent did.Thanks for all your comments, much appreciated
Raddles, link below for my property, all comments greatly appreciated on any improvements. Also you mention you approached another PM. I'm concerned that as I've signed a property management agreement, it might not be as easy as approaching another PM, I'm hoping they don't try charge me anything or keep me to the contract, however I'm going to mention tomorrow to my current PM that if they don't get any applications by the end of the week we will be contacting other PM's, hopefully that will get them off their backsides to try find someone. Will let you know what they say.
Playa chicken – that's a great idea, I'm definitely going to take you up on offering one week's free rent.
Hi there
yes we also had a property management agreement with the existing PM – then signed a new agreement with the new PM -did do it all upfront and told the existing PM we were doing it – as we had to have a tenant in
they did get a little more frantic putting up applications to us – but they were still unsuitable for our property.Your advertising seems ok – so perhaps check again how many competing properties there are – and if necessary set your rent below the mark – get someone in and further down the track increase it.
thanksI spoke to my PM today and advised that we will have to change agents if they cannot get any applications by the end of this week. They understand and will not charge me anything. They also told me that they have about 28 properties they are trying to rent that are sitting vacant still, and also interestingly they said they are having a lot of people breaking leases so they can buy their first home. So now I'm even more worried. Thinking perhaps I should sell up instead if more people are looking to buy, however I would have to sell for a lot more than I bought for, so as for the time being I think I will have to try get the bloody thing rented!!!!!! Your thoughts and comments are greatly appreciated
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