Selling landlords on improvements

Poorly presented and maintained properties are harder to lease and create ongoing headaches when equipment fails. If these properties are in a state of disrepair due to ill treatment by tenants, you’ll wish you had acquired landlord building insurance and/or landlord home insurance much sooner. ,

While few property agency principals will turn down management of a poor quality property, they are likely to actively ‘sell’ landlords on making a few improvements here and there. Property managers can achieve higher rent, shorter vacancies and potential capital gains for the owner if the property is in good condition.

There are a number of techniques that can help:

When you do inspections, ask the tenants what they would change about the home if they could –and how much extra rent they would be prepared to pay if the work was done. Popular changes include air conditioners and dishwashers.

Have a good look around and list the changes you think could make the property more attractive if it becomes vacant – and advise the landlord of your recommendations and how much more rent you think they could charge.

Break down the numbers by week on any proposed change – and don’t forget depreciation, i.e. do the maths so you can tell your landlord that, after depreciation, a new dishwasher would only cost $X per week but could raise rent by $Y.

Compare the cost of any change you propose to the weekly cost of a vacancy. Another way to cover yourself in case of vacancy is to take out a landlord protection insurance policy in Australia. Don’t always go for cheap landlord insurance as it may not cover all the items your particular property situation requires.

Make it easy for landlords to agree to changes by offering to organise the work on their behalf.

Property commentator Michael Matusik has written a list of 10 simple things investors can do to maximise rent.

Our advice about insurance is provided for your general information and does not take into account your individual needs. You should read the Product Disclosure Statement and Policy Wording prior to making a decision, these can be obtained directly from EBM.

Article supplied by EBM.
Standard home and contents insurance will not protect against many of the risks that landlord’s face. Whether it be loss of rent due to an absconding tenant, malicious or accidental damage, or a whole range of other circumstances including tenant hardship, the RentCover range provides peace-of-mind to property owners like no other policy. And has done for over 25 years.

For more information, or to quote or apply online please visit www.rentcover.com.au.