by George Astudillo | Aug 2, 2017 | Financial, Management Systems, Tenant
According to an ABC news article dated 14 April, 2015, “More than three quarters of a million Australians were the victims of identity theft in the past year, costing the average victim about $4,000…”.
As a landlord you must be sure who is getting the keys to your property. Using the “100 point checklist” together with a tenant reference check, will virtually eliminate the risk of identity fraud. The checklist is designed to accumulate 100 points from various sources. There must be at least one document from the primary documents list and one from the secondary documents list that has a photo.
Primary documents (only one can be used) 40 points
- Australian passport (current, or expired within past two years, but not cancelled)
- International passport (current, or expired within past two years, but not cancelled)
- Other document of identity, e.g. diplomatic/refugee (photo or signature)
Secondary documents – First document 30 points, others 25 points
- Current driver’s licence or permit (government issued)
- Working with children/teachers registration card
- Aviation security identification card
- Maritime security identification card
- Public employee photo ID card (government issued)
- Department of Veterans’ Affairs card
- Centrelink pensioner concession card or health care card (government issued)
- Current tertiary education institution photo ID
- Birth certificate/birth extract
- Australian citizenship certificate
- Reference from a doctor (must have been known for a period of at least twelve months)
10 points
- Foreign/international driver’s licence
- Proof of age card (government issued)
- Medicare card/private health care card
- Council rates notice
- Property lease/rental agreement
- Property insurance papers
- Tax declaration
- Superannuation statement
- Seniors card
- Electoral roll registration
- Motor vehicle registration or insurance documents
- Professional or trade association card
- Utility bills (phone, gas, electricity, water)
- Credit/debit card (if using more than one, each must be from different sources)
- Bank statement/passbook (if using more than one, each must be from different sources)
And don’t forget the tenancy reference check.
About Us
George Astudillo is the founder of Property Quarters, an agency that values communication and great relationships with its landlords.
George now has more than 30 years in real estate, including 15 years as the owner of a national real estate franchise. He’s also an accredited auctioneer and is the author of “The Landlord Mindset”, a book with his best tips to help landlords look after their investments. His book has been quoted in the SMH, The Huffington Post and The Age.
As the founder of Property Quarters, George takes great care in looking after his landlord’s investments. Having seen it all and worked with may landlords and tenants, he’s a strong mediator and negotiator and knows how to navigate through property legislation.
George is trusted by his landlords to advise on the financial management of their investments. He’s put in place proven processes to ensure each property he looks after is managed effectively to retain its value, quality tenants and rental income.
If you’re looking for a property manager who thinks like a landlord and whose business is built on tested processes, contact us by clicking HERE.
Copyright © 2022, www.propertyquarters.com.au
by George Astudillo | Jun 5, 2017 | Financial, Landlord mindset, Management Systems, Planning
Property management is more than collecting rent and organising repairs.
An investment property requires planning and follow through.
There are many events that need to be scheduled over the course of a tenancy. For some events the reminders come in the form of invoices such as Council and Water rates. But even these need to be scheduled to make sure they get paid on time.
Missing deadlines can be costly, for example, forgetting to pay the insurance can put your whole investment at risk. Overlooking rent reviews means you are missing out on potential income whilst missed routine inspections may mean the difference between a simple timely repair and a costly emergency.
It’s easy to create an annual calendar on which you can record the events for the year and check them off as they occur. This way nothing gets missed and once you know everything is covered, you can relax.
The dates you’ll want to monitor include:
o Tenancy expiry date
o Routine inspections
o Rent due dates
o Insurance due date
o Smoke alarm inspections
o Rent review date
o Pest inspection
o Pool and garden maintenance |
o Taxation
o Council rates due dates
o Water rates due dates
o Strata levies due dates
o Dates to invoice tenant for water usage
o Dates to follow up water usage invoice
o Budget review
o Regular maintenance |
Add any event to this list that is specific to your property that is necessary for the protection and maintenance of your property and income.
For the financial component to planning see our blog “Budgeting and Expenses”
Do you know what’s due or coming up this month?
About Us
George Astudillo is the founder of Property Quarters, an agency that values communication and great relationships with its landlords.
George now has more than 30 years in real estate, including 15 years as the owner of a national real estate franchise. He’s also an accredited auctioneer and is the author of “The Landlord Mindset”, a book with his best tips to help landlords look after their investments. His book has been quoted in the SMH, The Huffington Post and The Age.
As the founder of Property Quarters, George takes great care in looking after his landlord’s investments. Having seen it all and worked with may landlords and tenants, he’s a strong mediator and negotiator and knows how to navigate through property legislation.
George is trusted by his landlords to advise on the financial management of their investments. He’s put in place proven processes to ensure each property he looks after is managed effectively to retain its value, quality tenants and rental income.
If you’re looking for a property manager who thinks like a landlord and whose business is built on tested processes, contact us by clicking HERE.
Copyright © 2022, www.propertyquarters.com.au
by George Astudillo | Apr 3, 2017 | Management Systems, Planning, Presentation, Repairs and Maintenance, Tenant
With winter now upon us, it is important to ensure your investment property is prepared for the change in weather.
The number one challenge in winter is mould.
More and more research is becoming available on the health dangers posed by mould, though it is still a grey area in regards to rental properties.
There are basically four ways that mould exists in properties:
Lifestyle
Cooking, showers and drying clothes indoors are the main ways that tenants contribute to the build-up of excessive moisture inside a property. Without adequate ventilation, the excess moisture will result in condensation and eventually mould will form. The best and cheapest remedy is ventilation – opening windows or providing airways to let the steam and condensation escape.
Repairs and maintenance
Mould can also be caused by a lack of maintenance, or repairs that have not been carried out quickly enough. For example, if a blocked gutter spills water onto walls and inside wall cavities, this would be a maintenance issue. If the gutters need replacing, it would be a repair issue.
It is the landlord’s responsibility to ensure that the property is maintained correctly and that repairs are carried out in a timely manner to prevent mould occurring.
Design of the property
Sometimes it’s the design of a property – the way it is sited or built – that may cause mould to become a problem. Some south-facing walls rarely see any sunshine and will remain damp for much longer after rainfalls. In persistent wet weather, walls may not get a chance to dry out. Additionally, there will be areas of the house such as basements that are more prone to condensation.
Climate
Tropical zones where high temperatures are combined with high humidity and/or rainfall, such as Cairns, are more prone to mould growth.
Given that there is little one can do to change the structure of a property, it becomes the tenant’s responsibility to make sure there is adequate ventilation to prevent the build-up of mould.
Mould can be destructive to both the property and its fittings. By making it easier for the tenant to manage and prevent mould build up, you are also looking after your own interests.
Tips to counter mould:
- Have the kitchen exhaust fan and clothes dryer ducted to the outside wherever possible to help ventilate rather than recirculate.
- In bathrooms, choose an exhaust fan activated by the light switch to control steam.
- Regular cleaning is necessary in bathrooms, kitchens and laundries particularly around tile grout and silicon.
- Make sure showers are properly water-proofed to meet the National Construction Code standards so as to prevent water seeping through walls. This is very common in older properties. Waterproof membranes don’t last forever and are likely to break down in five to ten years.
- Under-house ventilation systems can reduce moisture collecting under floors. They can be inexpensive and automatic, timed to self-activate throughout the day.
- Use mould-inhibiting paints to reduce the effects of condensation.
- In wet areas, use paints with a higher gloss level and avoid a matt or flat finish.
- Control damp coming from outside by checking for leaks in roofs, gutters and downpipes.
- Install a gutter-guard system to prevent leaves causing blockages.
- Consider window security that enables some windows to be left slightly open to provide ventilation.
Winter is coming, is your property ready?
For more handy tips on preparing your property for winter see our blog “Winter is Coming- A Rental Property Checklist”
About Us
George Astudillo is the founder of Property Quarters, an agency that values communication and great relationships with its landlords.
George now has more than 30 years in real estate, including 15 years as the owner of a national real estate franchise. He’s also an accredited auctioneer and is the author of “The Landlord Mindset”, a book with his best tips to help landlords look after their investments. His book has been quoted in the SMH, The Huffington Post and The Age.
As the founder of Property Quarters, George takes great care in looking after his landlord’s investments. Having seen it all and worked with may landlords and tenants, he’s a strong mediator and negotiator and knows how to navigate through property legislation.
George is trusted by his landlords to advise on the financial management of their investments. He’s put in place proven processes to ensure each property he looks after is managed effectively to retain its value, quality tenants and rental income.
If you’re looking for a property manager who thinks like a landlord and whose business is built on tested processes, contact us by clicking HERE.
Copyright © 2022, www.propertyquarters.com.au
by George Astudillo | Feb 15, 2017 | Financial, Management Systems, Planning
If the cost of owning an investment property is more than the income you receive, what’s the point?
I mean sure, Negative Gearing allows you to offset those losses against your other income, but even on the highest tax scale you’re still losing some of your hard earned cash (at least on paper).
So, let’s talk depreciation.
A property with a large depreciation allowance allows you to have a positively geared cash flow yet be negatively geared for tax purposes.
Let me explain further.
The Australian Taxation Office regards depreciating assets as a long-term cost of ownership.
In most properties there are many items that will, over time, deteriorate – i.e. the value of those items will depreciate. The ATO has worked out what items you are allowed to claim as depreciation as a deduction over specified period of time. There are two main types of depreciation claims: those for capital works and those for depreciating assets.
- Capital works are improvements to the property that are of a structural nature and fixed to the property. For example, kitchen and bathroom renovations, paving and driveways, built-in cupboards, clothes lines and fences are regarded as capital items (but note that not all capital works are recognised and advice should be taken here). Capital works include the initial cost of building, but not the cost of the land. When buying into any brand new building, you are entitled to claim all or a portion of the construction costs.
- Equipment and appliances are depreciating assets and include such items as kitchen appliances, carpets and other floor coverings, window finishes, air-conditioning units, alarms and pool equipment.
When you buy a brand new property, a list of these costs, known as a depreciation schedule, should be available from the property developer; this identifies the cost of every item that can be claimed. On older properties, there may still be items that you can claim depreciation on.
You can commission a quantity surveyor who specialises in preparing depreciation schedules to draw up a schedule for you.
A claim for depreciation is treated as an expense and is included as a cost of ownership that is deducted from the rental income. Negative gearing legislation allows any loss made on an investment property to be applied against other income.
If depreciation is the cause of the loss, then it seems you can have your cake and eat it too.
For a better understanding of negative gearing see our previous blog “What’s This Thing Called Negative Gearing?”
About Us
George Astudillo is the founder of Property Quarters, an agency that values communication and great relationships with its landlords.
George now has more than 30 years in real estate, including 15 years as the owner of a national real estate franchise. He’s also an accredited auctioneer and is the author of “The Landlord Mindset”, a book with his best tips to help landlords look after their investments. His book has been quoted in the SMH, The Huffington Post and The Age.
As the founder of Property Quarters, George takes great care in looking after his landlord’s investments. Having seen it all and worked with may landlords and tenants, he’s a strong mediator and negotiator and knows how to navigate through property legislation.
George is trusted by his landlords to advise on the financial management of their investments. He’s put in place proven processes to ensure each property he looks after is managed effectively to retain its value, quality tenants and rental income.
If you’re looking for a property manager who thinks like a landlord and whose business is built on tested processes, contact us by clicking HERE.
Copyright © 2022, www.propertyquarters.com.au
by George Astudillo | Sep 8, 2016 | Landlord mindset, Management Systems, Repairs and Maintenance, Tenant
We’ve all heard the stories about the landlords from hell.
The ‘slum landlords’ who treat their tenants like lower class citizens. Repairs either take forever or don’t happen at all. Some landlords preside over conditions that are inappropriate, sometimes even dangerous…
Read the full Huffington Post Australia interview HERE.
Copyright © 2016, www.propertyquarters.com.au
by George Astudillo | Mar 18, 2016 | Landlord mindset, Management Systems, Planning
With over 25 years in real estate I have seen the good, the bad and the outright ugly.
Good property management should be more than just collecting rent and attending repairs. As a residential property investor, I need to know that my property is in great condition, my future security depends on it. So does your future.
There has never been a better time to be a landlord. Technology has provided us with all the information we will ever need as well as software applications that handle complicated number crunching and calendars to remind us of important events.
All we need now is the confidence to be a great landlord. And confidence comes from knowledge, the knowledge of what needs to be done and the knowledge that if anything ever goes wrong, we have the solution.
That’s where this blog comes in. I believe to be a successful investor you need to have clarity on 3 key areas that will affect the result you achieve from investing in property. You can learn more about the 3 keys here.
In the meantime feel free to leave a message to say hello or if you have any questions.
George Astudillo
