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Christmas rush trying time for renters, landlords
Topic Started: 23 Dec 2013, 12:39 PM (837 Views)
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Christmas rush trying time for renters, landlords

By Stephen Taylor
Sunday, 22 December 2013


Gosh, it’s that busy time of the year again. Everyone’s in a rush and there’s so much to do: get presents for the kids, book the annual holiday and plan for Christmas dinner.

Then, you have to move out of your rental property and find a new one to lease before the kids start school in January.

"What? Haven’t you found a place for us yet?" asks your better half incredulously. "You were going to do that weeks ago! What are we going to do now?"

Gee, better get cracking. It’s going to be busy out there:
Rob Exell, regional manager of the publicly-listed Run Property Group, which has 11,000 properties under management in Victoria, said the rush was always on pre-Christmas and early January as relocating tenants tried to get their children enrolled in new schools.

This is especially relevant as many – even primary schools – have catchment zones where their pupils must live or they can’t go there.

"So you can see how important it is for them to get settled in the right location," he said.

Excell says there are "quite a lot of properties available for rent at the moment, with a good turnover. We’ve had a lot of applications over the past six months and there is a good supply."

He pointed to a recent Run survey which found 197 two-bedroom properties for rent in the St Kilda and St Kilda East markets alone. They were seeking rent of $380-$450 a week.

"At the moment I am advising prospective landlords – often older couples who may be downsizing –to smarten up their homes in order to attract tenants. They should be recarpeting, repainting and renewing all aspects of their homes in order to set a point of difference.

"We are finding that there are so many new or well-done-up properties available that tenants are asking why they should rent old properties when they can rent new ones."

Excell said a frequent "sticking point" was an older property’s presentation – or lack of it. "Spending $7,000 or $8,000 on renovations is money well spent. From the landlord’s view it may not be a reasonable proposition, but the potential loss in rent would cost half that amount anyway."

Scott McIlroy, director of Hocking Stuart’s inner-north office covering the popular rental areas of Brunswick, Carlton and Fitzroy, said leasing inquiries were strong until mid-December before fading until mid-January. "We get people wanting to be settled by Christmas so they can relax and before they go on holidays, but people are looking all the time – they have their reasons.

"Actually, February is far busier than January because of university enrolments and early work starts, and of course, being on the northern side of town we are usually frantic because we are close to a major hospital, the university and access to the airport."

While the rush in the lead up to Christmas affects both vendors selling property and tenants seeking leases, there is often a major difference in their attitudes to property. "Renting is totally different to selling," McIlroy said.

"Tenants tend to be more picky than property buyers, who don’t mind overlooking certain shortcomings as they know it will be theirs soon. On the other hand, tenants have lots of options and they know they can pass on properties not up to their standard. They won’t pay extra."

McIlroy’s office – with 2,300 properties on its rent roll – is a "good litmus test doing 400-500 new rentals a year", he said.

His tip to prospective landlords in the lead up to Christmas is to present their properties as best they can. "A lick of paint and perhaps some new carpet will make a lot of difference to the new tenant," he said. "And, with online listings, a house looks so much better with good quality furniture – even if it’s hired for the occasion."

On-screen, even virtual furniture can bring a room to life where there were only drab painted walls.
Alex Musman, of Thomson Real Estate Murrumbeena, said the feeling of an approaching Christmas "deadline" for renters – and landlords - was exacerbated by the looming holiday period. "We are closed over Christmas and so there’s no ability for us to let a property then," he said. "I feel the pressure because if we can’t get a suitable tenant in before the break then the landlord will be losing money.

"We know when a property’s coming up for rent in this busy period so we really push it."

In what he describes as a ‘tenants’ market’, Musman said Thomson had 60-70 properties coming up for rental and it was "very important that we get them let".

He said it "seems strange" that there are so many rental vacancies on the books but a lack of confidence in the jobs market - and the availability of so many other properties - may have enticed tenants to seek new digs.

Whether you’re a landlord or tenant, the pre-Christmas property rush can be daunting. To succeed in finding a tenant, or a house to rent, start spreading the message to as many people as possible. Use real estate search engines Nestoria, Flatmates, or Gumtree as well as the more established realestate.com.au or domain.com.au.

But don’t stop there: By putting eye-catching flyers in neighbours’ letterboxes, or handwritten notices saying ‘Tenant wanted’ or ‘House wanted’ and your details on shop windows, or the supermarket notice board, you can achieve results.
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