Landlord Information

 

We commence marketing and contact you to discuss any rental rate adjustments or potential improvements to your property as soon as your current tenant provides us notice of their intention to vacate.

 

We maximise prospective tenant enquiry using effective and innovative marketing strategies such as quality photos at no charge to you.

 

Full listing of your property on realestate.com.au, domain.com.au, myhome.com.au and Google’s real estate mapping service as well as our own website therealestate.com.au.

 

Additional advertising in newspapers if required.

 

Signage at property (subject to any body corporate or other restrictions).

 

We don’t hand out keys! We accompany prospective tenants to vacant properties and also carry out open houses where possible to create a competitive environment for interested tenants. These inspections also provide us and our clients with valuable feedback from tenants.

 

We’ll provide you with advice on any improvements required to achieve both a higher rent and a shorter vacancy period. 

 

 

We carry out detailed rental history, personal reference and employer checks before recommending a tenant’s application to you. We always check the national TICA database to search whether applicants have been listed for any rent arrears, damage etc at any previous residences. We will not approve any applicants without the required, three forms of identification (including one photo).

 

To encourage tenants to apply we provide a maximum 48 hour approval turnaround and, other than where we cannot contact you, we will always discuss these applications with you before approving. If you have specific instructions on letting please let us know in advance (eg if you require a short term lease for you to possibly be able to return to the property or perhaps list the property for sale).

  

 

Tenants must pay two weeks rent within 24 hours of us notifying them their application has been approved. Until that payment has been made we will usually continue marketing the property and accepting applications. Tenants are then required to pay their bond and execute a lease prior to taking the keys. We will provide you a full copy of the Entry Condition Report with your first monthly statement.

  

 

Arrears are checked every day with reminder correspondence (emails and SMS where possible to speed things up) where they are four days behind. Appropriate default notices are sent to the tenant as per the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act and unless otherwise directed we advise owners of all major rent defaults.

  

 

We carry out regular Agent Property Inspections and provide you with a written report to ensure your property is being looked after by the tenant. The first inspection for each tenancy is three months after commencement, allowing for an early check on how they are maintaining the property.

 

We report to you on maintenance items and act on such matters appropriately as per your instructions. Naturally we will call you immediately with any emergency repair issues.

 

Recent court judgements now make it prudent for you to have a registered builder carry out an annual inspection to advise on any concerns. Whist we take all care with our inspections we do not have the expertise of a builder. We recommend we arrange this for you each year.

 

Please remember - all landlords should have insurance for their property, both for their own contents (even in apartments some items are not covered by the body corporate), building and liability. If you would like further information please let us know.  (Remember we do need you to have a minimum $10 million public liability cover prior to us working for you.)  

  

 

Your rental income is held in our audited Trust Account with Westpac Banking Corporation. We conduct prompt, end of month payment, your funds are sent direct to your financial institution.

 

Your end of month summary statement can be mailed and/or emailed as per your request. We also provide end of financial year summaries for your convenience.

 

We can pay your Gold Coast City Council rates, body corporate fees and insurances on your behalf if you advise them to send the notices directly to us. If there is available funds we will pay the account on-time, however, if we are not forwarded the account within enough time for payment then it will be forwarded back to you for prompt payment.

  

 

Tenants are able to log maintenance issues with us 24 hours a day, seven days a week via email, and we provide them an after hours contact number for emergency repairs.

 

We contact our owners with all maintenance requests and if we can’t reach you within a reasonable time will (if urgent) spend up to an amount equivalent to two weeks rent if necessary. Please be aware that if emergency repairs are needed we will organise them urgently and, by law, your tenant can spend up to two weeks rent on these if no assistance is provided.

 

All contractors used in works on your property have provided us with their licenses and insurance as necessary. We only use tradespeople with a proven track record and regularly check their prices through quotes. Naturally we can use your instructed contractor and will always obtain quotes on larger items. 

 

 

We carry out lease renewal consultation and rental review proposals with the owner in each case. Keeping you informed on market trends ensures together we can both retain quality tenants and maximise your market rent.

 

We keep you informed at every opportunity and find emails a highly effective way to keep in touch. We will always return calls as soon as possible and guarantee to do so within 24 hours.

 

We welcome your attendance at our Agent Property Inspections and can arrange access at other times with seven (7) days written notice to the tenant. To ensure your tenants quiet enjoyment the RTRA does limit the number of inspections that can be carried out. 

 

 

Detailed exit inspections are undertaken with tenants with reference back to the Entry Condition Report, and our duty to the owner is a paramount consideration.

 

If a tenancy is terminated due to a tenant breach we follow a strict RTRA procedure, and can, if required due to a bond dispute, attend Small Claims Tribunal on your behalf to seek recovery of outstanding rent and cleaning/maintenance costs not covered by the bond.

 

Managing arrears and the condition of the property during the tenancy helps minimise the risk of this. Landlord insurance can also cover you for tenant defaults, malicious damage and loss of rent (please note landlord insurance policies vary in many aspects, please ask us for more information). 

  

 

Our experienced Sales Team are available to provide you with a complimentary Comparative Market Analysis to inform you of your properties current market value and discuss current market conditions.

 

The law now requires regular inspections and maintenance of smoke alarms. Unless you would like to handle theses yourself we will organise a contractor to do this, at a fee…

 

We can organise Building and Pest Inspections to carry out full inspections and reports on your property. We recommend a building report and termite check-up annually, especially for houses. You will need to advise us if you would like us to organise this for you.

 

Insurances for your property are critical. Please ask us for information regarding liability, building, contents, landlord insurances. These premiums can be paid from your rental funds.

 

A property valuation from a registered valuer will be useful if you are looking to refinance. We are happy to arrange for you. To maximise your tax deductions you may wish to have a quantity surveyor inspect your property and provide a detailed depreciation schedule. This will give your accountant the information they require to complete your tax return. Again, we can arrange this for you upon request.

 

If you are considering renovations or would like to discuss ways to improve the presentation of your property we can advise you of professional contractors that are best placed to advise on the latest trends.