FAQs

Yes, but we’re here to you guide you into find the perfect tenant who pays on time and looks after your property as if it was theirs.

After weeding out weak applications, we will present you with our top picks (usually 2-3 tenants). From there it’s up to you who you place in your property. If you’re not happy with the selection, we will repeat this process until you are.

We will also work off your instruction to find the exact type of tenant you are looking for.

The main things we look for in a good tenant are:

• Full time employment with a strong professional history
• Serviceability – is there income enough to cover rent plus expenses and discretionary spending?
• Rental history: a minimum of 12 months with records of timely payments, evidence of a fully refunded bond and good inspection reports
• 100 points of identification
• Lifestyle: we match tenants’ lifestyle with the property they want to live in. Families don’t rent 1-bedroom apartments.
• Savings in the bank

Choosing a fair but favourable rental price is essential to drawing attention to your property in a flooded rental market.

Things to consider:

• Demand for rental properties: is your type of property currently in demand in the rental market? This can change quickly and is affected by many external factors.
• Competition: your property is contending with other similar properties in the market so special care is taken to analyse other properties in the area and find the maximum rent that can be charged.
• Property condition: the age of your home and its condition will affect its demand and how much people are willing to pay.

Our average leasing times is under 14 days, but this can vary based on current market conditions.

All leases we offer are 12 months long. This duration keeps short term renters away but allows us to remove the tenant in 12 months (or sooner if any breach of contract is made) should they prove to be problematic.

We cannot guarantee the tenant will pay rent in any particular month. What we can do is find good quality tenants who have exceptional rental history and put them in your properties. We rarely have to deal with rental arrears or missed payments due to our thorough screening process, but if something does go wrong, we will rectify the situation as soon as possible.

When a new tenant moves in, we will document the state of the property before they move in and conduct a full inspection three months after the start of their lease. After that, we conduct property inspections every six months.

All our tenants are on 12-month leases. Near the end of the 12-month period, we conduct a market appraisal to see if we can increase the rent (most of the time, we can) before offering the tenant a new lease.

We also consider:

• If the tenant paid their rent on time
• How the tenant maintained the property during their stay
• Comparable rental prices in the area.

You don’t have to remind us to increase the rent because we are constantly revaluating the price of your rent so you get the maximum possible return on your investment.

This is a comprehensive report which includes photos which is done before the tenant moves in. It gives you a record of what state the property was in before the keys were handed over. The report is used to compare the state of the property at 6-month inspections, and at the end of a lease. It allows us to see in detail, whether or not the tenant has done any damage for which they could be financially liable.

The rate agreed upon when the lease is signed is applicable for the duration of the lease term, unless there is a specific clause in the rental agreement allowing for an increase. At the end of the 12-month lease, we provide written notification of a rental increase to the tenant.

We do not tolerate withholding of payment. If a tenant refuses to pay, we send them an eviction notice as soon as legally possible which is 14 days in Victoria.

No, they cannot. If they wish to change the locks, they must seek permission from the landlord first. If they do change the locks, we are legally entitled to a copy of the key.

You can, provided we give the tenant 48 hours-notice. The Residential Tenancies Act restricts the number of inspections that can be carried out to four inspections in a twelve-month period.

If the tenant wishes to move out at the end of their lease, they must legally provide 28 days-notice. If they which to break the lease and leave early, they must pay rent until a new tenant is found or until their lease expired – whichever comes first.

You don’t have to, but we recommend you do. It’s a good way to protect yourself against lost rent, damage to your property, and theft. We can recommend some easy to deal with insurers with whom we have good relationships.

There are two types of repairs as outlines by the Residential Tenancies Act 1997.

Urgent: Things like burst water pipes and leaks, toilet failure, serious roof leaks, dangerous electrical faults, flooding, fire and storm damage, failure of essential service, or anything which causes the property to be unsafe to live in. These sorts of repairs must be rectified within 48 hours by law.

Non-urgent: Anything that is not cover by the list above and doesn’t pose an immediate risk to the inhabitants. These repairs must be rectified within 14 days of notification of the fault.

There are two types of repairs as outlines by the Residential Tenancies Act 1997.

Urgent: Things like burst water pipes and leaks, toilet failure, serious roof leaks, dangerous electrical faults, flooding, fire and storm damage, failure of essential service, or anything which causes the property to be unsafe to live in. These sorts of repairs must be rectified within 48 hours by law.

Non-urgent: Anything that is not cover by the list above and doesn’t pose an immediate risk to the inhabitants. These repairs must be rectified within 14 days of notification of the fault.

You pay:

• The service charge portion of the water bill
• Rates
• Body corporate fees

The tenant pays:

• Water usage
• Electricity
• Gas
• Internet
• Phone bills

We will take care of the transition period and will notify the water authority that a new tenant has moved in.