What insurance should I have?

As with your own home, you are required to have Building and Public Liability Insurance.

It is also a good idea to have Contents Insurance to protect all fixtures and fittings inside the property such as light fittings, floor coverings and window treatments.

We STRONGLY recommend Landlord Insurance, which covers for things such as malicious damage and loss of rent amongst other things. With our strong commitment to “prevention rather than cure”, problems of this nature rarely occur, but is still an experience that can happen to any investor and we all wish to avoid so risk management is a must and the annual premium (which is fully tax deductible) is a small price to pay!! (Please consult your preferred Insurer for advice and a comprehensive list of what is covered in your policy). 

How often can rent increases be issued?

The ACT Residential Tenancies Act allows rent increases to be issued once every 12 months. The NSW Residential Tenancy Agreement allows rent increases to be issued any time the tenancy is periodic.

We have strict systems in place to ensure that your rental is reviewed on a 6 monthly basis in NSW and every 12 month anniversary in the ACT. At this time we would research the current market and contact you with a suggested increase if warranted.

Mostly, present rents are continuing to increase approximately every 12 months but we must be sure to keep the rent in line with the current market and not make an “unreasonable” increase to an existing tenant.

When the increase is issued, the tenants must be given 60 days notice for the increase to take effect and the tenancy must be periodic. For this reason, we suggest that fixed term agreements are signed for no longer than a 12 month period at a time and reviewed upon expiration, at which time we would review the rent and offer the current tenants another fixed term agreement after consultation with you.

 What can I do to increase my rental potential?

The best way to ensure maximum rental return is to make sure your property is very well maintained and very well presented.

Tenants will always be attracted to a property that presents well and appears to be well looked after. If your property is neat and tidy and offers fully functioning appliances, the rental return will of course be higher than one that does not offer those features. This also means we can continue to increase the rent in accordance with market fluctuation.

In most cases, the higher the rent you achieve, the better quality of tenant you will attract.