by George Astudillo | Apr 2, 2019 | Design, Planning, Repairs and Maintenance
With winter nearly upon us it’s time to make sure our rental properties are ready for the change in temperatures and wet weather.
The winter season will invariably bring along frost, potentially damaging storms and excess water. Having your property in tip top shape will mean less chance of expensive emergency repairs and an unhappy tenant.
Get your home “Winter Ready” by going through the following checklist.
1. Roofing
Check the roof, particularly around vents, skylights and chimneys for leaks. With roof leaks comes water damage which can start off as stains on the ceiling or walls that can quickly turn into bigger problems such as mould, rotting frames or destroyed insulation. A regular inspection will save lengthy repairs.
2. Clean Gutters
During rain periods, gutters guide water runoff to drain away from the house. This protects house siding, windows, doors and fascia from water damage. Clogged gutters can form dams where water backs up and can seep into the roof cavity. Using gloves, remove fallen leaves and debris from your gutters, then give them a good rinse with the hose. Spare your lawn by having a large garbage bag handy to collect the debris.
3. Air-conditioning Filter
Air-conditioning is still the safest and most energy efficient system for warming a home saving an enormous 72% less on your energy bill in comparison to portable heaters. Make sure your air-conditioner filter is clean, the unit serviced regularly and working well to keep the household toasty all winter long.
4. Trim Trees
High winds in winter can cause tree branches to break and fall, potentially resulting in costly property damage. Late Autumn is a good time to make cut backs, as leaves fall and branches are revealed once again, making it easier to identify and remove. Make sure to trim back tree branches overhanging the roof, windows or driveway. If you have a large tree that requires council approval to cut back, make an application now.
5. Mould
The number one challenge in winter is mould. There is a number of reasons your home can accumulate mould. Check your that your ventilation is working efficiently, especially exhaust fans in the bathroom where windows will be shut during colder weather. Range hoods in the kitchen are designed to extract moisture from stove top cooking and kettles – a good working range hood will help during the chilly season when window ventilation is low. Be sure to in inspect your window and door seals to make sure they are in good working condition as this will contribute to condensation inside the home.
For more information including tips to counter mould see our previous blog “Is your investment property ready for winter”
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
Copyright © 2018, www.propertyquarters.com.au
by George Astudillo | Mar 21, 2019 | Financial, Landlord mindset, Planning
In today’s post I’m interviewing Theo Angelopoulos from ‘The Loans Analyst’ on mortgages, rates and offers from a property investor’s point of view.
Hi Theo, lets dive straight in, I have 8 key questions for you:
Q1. What are your thoughts on the current interest rate situation?
It’s the most competitive interest rate market ever; record low rates with potentially another rate cut by year end. To find the low rates you need to look outside the big 4 or negotiate with your bank for a better deal.
Q2. Is it a good time to ‘fix’ the interest rate?
Fixed rates are so low you may consider locking in a portion, but be careful when locking in rates as you do lose some flexibility. As an investor in a decreasing rate environment you should remain agile just in case you need to change lenders, either to fund the purchase of another investment property or get a better interest rate on your loans.
Q3. What are some of the indicators that rates are about to change?
The key indicators to track would be the inflation figures. If inflation remains low, another rate cut may be on the cards. Also keep an eye on property values, if there is a sudden surge in property values expect the RBA to slow it down by increasing rates, but I can’t see that happening anytime soon.
Q4. What is the most important thing to know about mortgages?
All banks are not created equal. Every bank has different credit policies, interest rates and appetite for investor loans. Last year we saw APRA impose tighter lending standards in order to slow down the growth in property investing. However, over the past couple of months, banks with a low exposure to property investors have changed their lending policies offering better incentives to increase their market share. This is why you need to shop around and review your property loans every 2 to 3 years. Rates and conditions change, what was good when you first took out your mortgage may not be the best for you now.
Q5. What are the main lending policies for investors to be aware of?
Recent changes to lending policies have made it more difficult for investors to grow their property portfolios. The main change has been around borrowing capacity. Investors with 2 to 3 properties are finding it difficult to buy the next property. The difference in borrowing capacity between lenders can be measured in the $100,000’s. Seeking the advice from a loan structuring expert is paramount. Investors are also paying higher interest rates for their loans compared to owner occupiers. And, if you are paying interest only, you may also notice a slightly higher interest rate.
Q6. Explain re-financing and who should consider it?
Refinancing is simply swapping your current property loan to another lender. Apart from increasing the size of the loan to buy another property, you would want to refinance to get a better deal. There are very competitive home loan deals at present and you could potentially save thousands of dollars by refinancing. If it’s been more than 2 years since you reviewed your home loan, you could be paying more than you should. Although there have been many interest rate cuts, not all of the banks have passed them on to their customers.
Q7. Can you share some special offers in the market at the moment?
If you’re a property investor looking to borrow no more than 80% of the value of the property and prepared to make principle and interest loan repayments, I have a couple of lenders offering extremely low rates looking for investors wanting to pay down their debt.
If you are an owner occupier with a home loan less than 80%, you are a PAYG employee (i.e. working for someone else) and have been with your employer for 12 months or more, then I know of one bank that is offering the lowest variable rate home loan I have ever seen. It also comes with 100% offset account, no application fees or annual fee for the life of the loan. It’s very popular and I’m not sure how long it will last.
Q8. What makes you different?
My smile and that I love helping people to buy property and create wealth through property investing.
About Theo
Theo is founder of “The Loans Analyst”. A premium mortgage broking business that has been helping clients to buy property and get a great deal on their home loan for over 10 years. Theo is passionate about property and a property investor himself. Theo is a member of Property Investment Professionals of Australia (PIPA) and full member of the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA). His office is located in the heart of the Sydney CBD and always happy to help aspiring property investors get into the market. Theo’s qualifications include Bachelor of Commerce degree, Advanced Diploma of Financial Planning and Diploma of Mortgage Broking.
For more information or to contact Theo, visit his website HERE.
Copyright © 2016, www.propertyquarters.com.au
by George Astudillo | Jan 8, 2018 | Financial, Landlord mindset, Management Systems, Planning
Does investing in property take you outside of your comfort zone?
Most people understand the concept of living within your comfort zone. When the events in your life are within your comfort zone you feel relaxed and calm. When events occur that take you outside of that comfort zone, that’s when you start to feel pressured and anxious.
And whilst a little pressure is ok, even beneficial, too much will create panic.
How you buy and manage your investment property, which tenants you choose and how high your mortgage repayments are, will have a direct effect on your peace of mind. The higher the risk, the higher your tolerance of risk needs to be. Too much risk and you will become anxious and uncomfortable.
By knowing your position on risk, you can use strategies that will help keep you in the comfort zone. It’s also important to know the risk tolerance of others particularly in the following situations.
Partnerships
When buying an investment property with other people, the risk profile of the partners involved may vary greatly potentially increasing the chances of conflict. If one partner can tolerate a higher risk level they will want to pursue a more aggressive investment strategy, which will make the other partner with a lower tolerance apprehensive and anxious. This dynamic is often the cause of friction between couples where one partner’s ideas are considered reckless and the other partner is accused of stalling. This situation can also occur with other family members and well-meaning business partners.
Financial advice
When seeking financial or property advice make sure the person giving the advice is sensitive to your level of tolerance. If your risk tolerance is low, trying to follow the advice from someone that has a high risk tolerance will result in many sleepless nights. When fear and panic creep in, it will be difficult to keep making the appropriate decisions to maintain a high risk strategy. Alternatively receiving tame advice when you are looking for fast growth will leave you underwhelmed and disappointed.
Overwhelm
Some feelings of nervousness are natural when investing your money, but if you feel overwhelmed on a continual basis you may need to look at your strategy and/or seek advice from a property professional that can help minimise the risks. Many times it’s the accumulation of many small risky decisions that add up to one huge headache. Stepping back occasionally can help clarify which areas are making you feel uneasy.
So, how do you feel about your investments? Are you comfortable?
Thinking of investing? See our previous blog “Mortgage Brokers- What Do They Offer the Property Investor”
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
Copyright © 2016, www.propertyquarters.com.au
by George Astudillo | Oct 2, 2017 | Landlord mindset, Management Systems, Planning, Repairs and Maintenance
How involved are you in the management of your investment property?
Managing an investment property requires many tasks to be scheduled and carried out. Collection of rent, routine inspections and attending to repairs are just some. Responsibility for these tasks can vary from landlord to landlord.
There are however four basic types of involvement.
- Complete do-it-yourself
This means you handle all aspects of managing the property, from finding and screening the tenant to handling repairs, maintenance and all of the accounting.
The most useful skills in property management are common sense and a willingness to understand and compromise.
At this level you will need to understand the tenant’s rights, your obligations as a landlord and applicable documentation.
Apart from understanding the applicable legislation, you will need to have a flexible timetable to allow for problems when they arise. Repairs, particularly emergency repairs, need to be acted on quickly. Problems that come up may require many hours negotiating and possibly time at tribunal hearings.
The two main benefits of this style of involvement are having complete control over your investment and saving on agent fees.
For a closer look on managing deadlines see our blog “Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail”
- Do-it-yourself management with some outsourcing to an agent
This level of involvement is the same as the first except you outsource some tasks.
Finding a tenant and attending to the initial documentation are the most common tasks that DIY landlords hire an agent to assist with. The minimum fee for finding a tenant is usually two weeks’ rent and there are many agents that offer this service.
The benefits and problems of this level of involvement are similar to the previous level with some added agent fees for the services you prefer an agent to do.
- Professional property manager under your supervision
This is where you engage a professional property manager to do all the work and they report back to you for all approvals. You make all the decisions and they carry out all the tasks. The agent is then responsible for complying with all relevant legislation, finding a tenant and managing the property. When a problem arises, they contact you for instructions, then take care of it.
The agent, in effect, becomes fully responsible for ensuring all aspects of your investment are looked after, with clear communication before and after completion. They handle all contact with the tenant, giving you a clear buffer and access to professional advice before responding to problems or tenant requests.
The agents fee is an added expense but it is fully tax deductible. However, keep in mind that not all agents are the same and you may still need to manage the agent.
- Professional property manager with clear written parameters
Sometimes, a landlord has no desire or available time for anything other than emergency issues and engages a property manager to undertake all tasks.
The property manager is given authority to undertake these tasks and reports back to the landlord on completion. This allows the property manager to approve repairs up to an agreed value, review rents as appropriate, negotiate with the tenant and attend to all the necessary duties to keep your property running smoothly and profitably.
This type of arrangement needs a clearly documented and comprehensive schedule, monetary limitations and a plan. Both you and the agent need to be clear on who is responsible for what and when.
Most investors start with a level-three involvement and slowly allow things to slide into a level-four arrangement. As time passes, they tend to take less and less of a hands-on interest in their property and rely more and more on the agent. As the transition is not planned, there is no schedule, guidelines or plan for the agent to follow. This can lead to tasks not being completed and ultimately a neglected property and tenant.
So how hands on are you?
For a simple look at budgeting and expenses see our blog here.
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
