Finding good tenants in anarea that has an oversupply of property’s can be an impossible task for the untrained eye. Take for instance the suburb of St Kilda, it’s one of Melbourne’s most densely populated areas next to Melbourne’s CBD. Most of the real-estate available looks very similar, low-rise apartments where there could be over 1000 vacant rentals at any one time. 

Property managers that make the wrong moves during an advertising campaign can be stuck withlong-termvacant property or worse, tenants that shouldn’t be in a good rental property. Both scenarios will end up costing the landlords thousands of dollars.  

We look at the how landlords can save money by reducing vacant time on market and selecting a great tenant that will stick with your property for the long term. 

Selecting the right tenant.

Most of the work in having a successful long-term rental is done during the leasing process,hence a tenured property manager is key.How do you evaluate if your property manager is adequately qualified? 

Usually asking questions about the below will let you know where your property manager stands.  

Suburb Knowledge: They need to understand the different type of properties within a suburb and the type of demographics the property types attract.  

Long term experience with tenants: Experiencing many lease cycles with a property, tenants starting and fishing leasesgives a property manger the street smarts in spotting what to look for in new applicants. 

In-depth applicant analysis:A skilled property manager is not just looking for financial serviceability, they should be digging intothe applicant’s long term rental history by speaking to their old property managers. This can uncover how well the tenant looked after the property, if they were high maintenance and how earnestly the tenantspaid rent. 

How to reduce your vacant time on market.

An advertising campaign has a short lifespan before it disappears into the realm of competition and overpriced property. Once a property falls off the first page on an advertising platform the only tool a property manager has left is discounting weekly rent.

To avoid this and maximise peak advertising performance a property manager needs to understand rental values in the area, understand how price sensitive tenants are and know the condition of the marketplace. 

In addition, the property needs to be well-presented with professional wide angle lens photos that have been edited to make the property look it’s best. Lastly,buy an advert that maximises views across the most successful platform where all the tenants are looking for rentals. 

A new to market property has the attention and interest of tenants that are coming to market and all the existing tenants that have been looking. So, the balance of a competitive weekly rent, a perfect advertising campaign and a well-presented property will attract the many potential tenants to the open for inspection. 

How to convert window shopping tenants into rental applications.

Once the adverting campaign is working well and a massive crowd attends the first open for inspection this can all be wasted with a poorly presented property.

How many times have you walked into a property that is for lease or sale and thought the advertised photos don’t match the look of the physical property? 

When a tenant walks into a property they spend approximately five minutes inspecting before they make a purchasing decision by submitting a rental application. Hence first impressions make all the difference. 

Hence having an immaculately presented property is the final step in attracting many potential applicants. Things like well-kept garden, a professionally cleaned interior that doesn’t require any maintenance or repairs.  Small things like having the power on with switched on lights and room deodorizers can give you property the extra edge. 

Having achoice of applications will only increase your chances of finding a better tenant that is going to stay in your property for the long term. 

About the author: Mark Ribarsky is a fully licenced real estate agent and the owner of Property Managers St Kilda.