Property Management and Your Investment

The “corner stone” of a successful investment property is having the best people managing your valuable investment.

Property management is a highly important service that is often undervalued. Having the best property management team looking after your investment property can mean the difference between a smooth or rocky investment, and profitable or unprofitable one!

Our property management team at Harcourts – The Property People works extremely hard to deliver the very best service to our investment clients. Our property management team performs so well that they are consistently placed in the top three in NSW within the Harcourts Real Estate group.

Here’s a little insight into the first class and award-winning service our team provides:

• When first advertising a vacant property, we work swiftly to advertise the property to as many potential tenants as possible. This results in maximum applications in the shortest possible time. This way we get a tenant into your property and paying you rents faster. 
• From tenant applications received, our property management team uses our systems to diligently scrutinise applying tenants, and help our landlords make the final selection. This is a highly important part of the process, as the “big picture” of the final selection is: less maintenance expenses, little or no rental arrears, and maximum capital growth on your property.
• Our first class service and systems ensure rent is paid on time, expenses and bills are tracked and paid, and there are regular inspections conducted on the property to ensure it is being kept as agreed. 

At Harcourts our property management team are leading the way in property management service. Eight dedicated Property Managers and several support staff work to ensure that all details are attended to.

Investing in a quality Property Management agency makes a lot of sense. A well-managed investment property will provide maximum income, no hassles, and the best long-term outcome.

Preparing Your Home for Sale

Every seller wants his or her home to sell at top dollar. And 99% of the time it is not about “good luck” - it’s about careful planning and knowing how to spruce up your home that will send potential buyers scurrying for their cheque books.

Here are some ideas on how turn your property into an irresistible and marketable home.

1. Disassociate yourself with your home

Give your agent the opportunity to do their job, and potential buyers the space they need to be drawn to your property. Sellers that linger during an open inspection, or start telling stories about their property, will turn most buyers off.

2. De-personalise

Pack away personal photos and family heirlooms. Buyers want to be able to imagine their own life in your home.

3. De-clutter

De-clutter systematically, completing one room at a time. 

4. Clean out and organise storage spaces

Buyers love to see what kind of storage space they will have. Imagine if they open a closet and everything falls out! If they open an organised closet, it makes buyers feel your home is easy to live in, and that you have taken good care of it.

5. Rent a storage unit

Almost every home looks better with less furniture. Consider storing items that block walkways or aren’t necessary to keep in the house while you’re trying to sell.

6. Remove or replace favourite items

If the chandelier in the dining room is a family heirloom, take it down. If buyers never see it, they won’t want it to be included with the house.

7. Make minor repairs

Fix things such as cracked tiles, leaky faucets, burnt out light bulbs and doors that won’t close properly.

8. Make the house sparkle

Buyers will not be impressed if they see lots of dust or dirt. Make sure your home sparkles, or hire a professional cleaner if you need some help.

9. Check your street appeal

If a buyer doesn’t like the exterior of your home, you’ll never get them to look inside. Mow the lawn, trim back plants, clean up, and plant flowers to enhance your home’s street appeal. 

It always helps to put yourself in the shoes of the buyer, and by making a few little improvements to your home, you are giving it the best chance to sell at the best price.

2014 Real Estate Year in Review

Happy New Year everyone and welcome to 2015! I hope you’ve had a wonderful break over the holidays and are recharged and ready for an outstanding and successful 2015.

At Harcourts – The Property People, we are excited about the year ahead. We have a huge list of exciting projects and plans to be realised over the next 12 months in both our sales and property management departments.

Looking back, 2014 was a highly successful real estate year. Most suburbs enjoyed excellent median price growth of between 15-19 per cent from 2013, with many suburbs achieving record house sales. 

2014 was another huge and successful year for our auction sales. We conducted 13 in-room auction events over the year, placing 100 local properties to auction. Overall, we achieved a 68 per cent clearance rate at the auction events, with a median of 12 days on the market before selling for the properties that were “passed-in”.

I expect that in 2015, sales will continue to hold strong, however growth be at a steadier rate than that experienced throughout 2014. 

In property management, I expect vacancy rates to remain low and rent prices to remain steady, or perhaps increase a little over the year.