When the nice Arab family moved into my one-bedroom flat there was just the two of them. Six years later they have produced two children so the place was getting a bit crowded. Although good tenants with whom I got on well, I have been gently suggesting for some time that this unit is possibly a bit small for a family and that they should perhaps consider larger accommodation. Unfortunately, as their ideal home would be nearer to their place of worship, none of the other places in my block were suitable. Eventually they found a three-bedroom house just a few doors away from their religious base and moved out of the flat at the end of April.
Having recently attended an APIA meeting on property renovation which has generated a few ideas, it struck me that perhaps I could upgrade the place a bit, add some touches of honey and hopefully improve the rent. Provided it doesn’t cost very much, you understand. My view is that this part of Manurewa is slightly on the improve and perhaps I can now move up in quality of tenant.
Of course, after six years the decor of the place was a bit tired. Standing in the empty flat, we planned a wash down and a repaint right through. The carpet would come up well with a clean, and the bathroom needed just minor repairs. The big question – what could we do to make the place stand apart from all the other flats of similar size and appeal to a tenant prepared to spend that little bit more? Looking out through the ranch-sliders, an idea struck. As the flat is the end one of the block it has its own lawn area. There was a small back porch to give access and the clothesline sat slap in the middle of the lawn. Why not make this outdoor area a feature? Move the clothesline off to one side, extend the deck into something large enough to park a barbeque and some chairs, heavily cut back the overgrown shrubbery and the area would be quite a nice little suntrap.
Fortunately the new deck extension would only be 600mm above the ground, which made life easier, and I had a spare new extending clothesline lying around at home. So that was the plan.
Inside, after the repaint was completed I installed new light fittings and shades (bought at Lighting Direct’s sale) throughout, the tiddly little mirror in the bathroom was thrown away and a much larger mirror (50% off at The Warehouse) went up together with some new strip lighting. This made the bathroom look larger and much more modern. The kitchen units are a bit dodgy, but given the budget I’ve just repainted and put those on the ‘next time’ list.
The bugs are a bit of a problem in this area. Treatment can hold up the project. Obviously there is no point in applying a residual treatment before the cleaning and repainting, while expert advice is that new paint should be allowed to mature for three weeks before insecticide is applied. Three weeks multiplied by dollars of rent not received adds up to quite a bit. I compromised by putting the bug people on standby on the basis that they would do their thing just 24 hours before the new tenant moved in.
The lawn area has certainly increased the appeal of the property. We could of course do more. There is an earth bank at the rear boundary that could be improved with some weedmat, low-maintenance plantings and mulch. The property owner on the other side has opened negotiations about cost-sharing a timber fence, which would improve privacy. We could go on, but there are limits.
By the time I added in several trips with the trailer to the tip, some expenses from the plumber (replace the shower fitting), electrician (install the entry, kitchen and bathroom lights) and the bug eliminating people the renovation ran out at $6500. Previous rental was $210 a week, so I had a quick look around and set the new rent at $265. No problem tenanting at that level, and now I suspect that even there I was a bit low so have made a note to put through a $10 increase six months down the track.
I’m always in a bit of a dilemma with selecting tenants. There are two sorts of tenants available, those who can move in more-or-less straight away and those who need to give statutory notice to their current Landlord.
From a cash-flow point of view you obviously want people who can move in and start paying rent right now, but that does raise the question of ‘why the rush’? Perhaps they are under pressure to move out of their current lodgings. If so, why? Do you want to take on someone who is not wanted elsewhere, possibly someone else’s bad news. There may be a sound reason why they are so available, but it does tend to make me a bit cautious.
Conversely, good tenants are presumably valuable to their current Landlord and would be under no push to move on. They need to give their 21 days notice, and are probably not in a position to pay two lots of rent in the interim so there goes three weeks of rent that you are not going to get if you select them. Even if you bite the bullet on that one, there is also the risk that they will change their minds between now and then and either decide to stay where they are or find someplace else even better that what you are offering. It has happened to me in the past, and even holding a whack of the bond back is not much compensation for having to start the re-letting process all over again.
Decisions, decisions. Who was it that said being a Landord is an easy stress-free life?
Having recently attended an APIA meeting on property renovation which has generated a few ideas, it struck me that perhaps I could upgrade the place a bit, add some touches of honey and hopefully improve the rent. Provided it doesn’t cost very much, you understand. My view is that this part of Manurewa is slightly on the improve and perhaps I can now move up in quality of tenant.
Of course, after six years the decor of the place was a bit tired. Standing in the empty flat, we planned a wash down and a repaint right through. The carpet would come up well with a clean, and the bathroom needed just minor repairs. The big question – what could we do to make the place stand apart from all the other flats of similar size and appeal to a tenant prepared to spend that little bit more? Looking out through the ranch-sliders, an idea struck. As the flat is the end one of the block it has its own lawn area. There was a small back porch to give access and the clothesline sat slap in the middle of the lawn. Why not make this outdoor area a feature? Move the clothesline off to one side, extend the deck into something large enough to park a barbeque and some chairs, heavily cut back the overgrown shrubbery and the area would be quite a nice little suntrap.
Fortunately the new deck extension would only be 600mm above the ground, which made life easier, and I had a spare new extending clothesline lying around at home. So that was the plan.
Inside, after the repaint was completed I installed new light fittings and shades (bought at Lighting Direct’s sale) throughout, the tiddly little mirror in the bathroom was thrown away and a much larger mirror (50% off at The Warehouse) went up together with some new strip lighting. This made the bathroom look larger and much more modern. The kitchen units are a bit dodgy, but given the budget I’ve just repainted and put those on the ‘next time’ list.
The bugs are a bit of a problem in this area. Treatment can hold up the project. Obviously there is no point in applying a residual treatment before the cleaning and repainting, while expert advice is that new paint should be allowed to mature for three weeks before insecticide is applied. Three weeks multiplied by dollars of rent not received adds up to quite a bit. I compromised by putting the bug people on standby on the basis that they would do their thing just 24 hours before the new tenant moved in.
The lawn area has certainly increased the appeal of the property. We could of course do more. There is an earth bank at the rear boundary that could be improved with some weedmat, low-maintenance plantings and mulch. The property owner on the other side has opened negotiations about cost-sharing a timber fence, which would improve privacy. We could go on, but there are limits.
By the time I added in several trips with the trailer to the tip, some expenses from the plumber (replace the shower fitting), electrician (install the entry, kitchen and bathroom lights) and the bug eliminating people the renovation ran out at $6500. Previous rental was $210 a week, so I had a quick look around and set the new rent at $265. No problem tenanting at that level, and now I suspect that even there I was a bit low so have made a note to put through a $10 increase six months down the track.
I’m always in a bit of a dilemma with selecting tenants. There are two sorts of tenants available, those who can move in more-or-less straight away and those who need to give statutory notice to their current Landlord.
From a cash-flow point of view you obviously want people who can move in and start paying rent right now, but that does raise the question of ‘why the rush’? Perhaps they are under pressure to move out of their current lodgings. If so, why? Do you want to take on someone who is not wanted elsewhere, possibly someone else’s bad news. There may be a sound reason why they are so available, but it does tend to make me a bit cautious.
Conversely, good tenants are presumably valuable to their current Landlord and would be under no push to move on. They need to give their 21 days notice, and are probably not in a position to pay two lots of rent in the interim so there goes three weeks of rent that you are not going to get if you select them. Even if you bite the bullet on that one, there is also the risk that they will change their minds between now and then and either decide to stay where they are or find someplace else even better that what you are offering. It has happened to me in the past, and even holding a whack of the bond back is not much compensation for having to start the re-letting process all over again.
Decisions, decisions. Who was it that said being a Landord is an easy stress-free life?
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