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Steps to Get Your Property Rent-Ready

Prepare Your Property for Rent

Before you go on to advertise your property, show the property to the prospective tenants, be sure to do the basics of preparing the property for rent.

In my personal experience, we visited a property which was not cleaned for several months. We visited the property and my executive told me. The property needs to be cleaned and painted. On having a closer look, he realized that the house was painted but due to the dust all over the house, the impression perceived is that the house is not painted.

Steps to Get Your Property Rent-Ready

The impression or the feel that a prospective tenant gets when he enters the house influences him to take a decision about the property (and of course the Owner / Care Taker). Nothing will turn off a prospective tenant than a dirty place.

A clean and presentable property with all electrical fittings in place, no leaks, no dirty walls or kitchen or toilets will influence the prospective tenant to confirm the property immediately.

No doubts that the property will be made ready before handing over to the tenant but the advantage of getting it ready before showing the property is not to miss a prospective tenant and the advantages of showing a prepared property to a prospective tenant are:

  1. The tenant gets a positive impression of the owner and the property.
  2. The tenant is clear of the condition of the property and all the things that have been provided by the owner and gets a message that anything extra may have an impact on the rent.
  3. It gets an indirect message to the tenant that he should return back the property in the same condition.

Steps to Get Your Property Rent-Ready

Each house is different and will have unique things to pay attention to. The steps mentioned below will be a guide line to prepare your property for rent and can be implemented:

  • Once the house is vacated by the tenant, it may be messy at times. First clear the unwanted stuff from the house from both inside and outside the house.
  • Inspect the house thoroughly and make a list out the list of repairs and classify them as Major or Minor Repairs. Fix the Major Repairs first.
  • Pay attention to the fittings and fixtures and appliances inside the house and see that they are in good working condition. Replace any broken switches, plug points, rusted towel rods, rusted curtain rods.
  • Pay attention to the toilet – stained toilet seat covers, stained toilets put off a prospective tenant and turns him away from the property and he may prefer another property.
  • Give special attention to the kitchen – remove the oil stains and repair any damage to the wood work or the modular trays, handles, hinges if rusted are to be replaced.
  • Freshen up the walls by painting or touch up painting as per the condition of the walls. The condition of the walls can make a difference between renting it out and renting it out faster.
  • Thorough cleaning of the house is most essential. This includes walls, floors, fans, lights, cupboards, doors , windows, grills and special attention needs to be given to the toilet and kitchen.
teant screen

Tenant Screening Part 2

Showing the Property

Once the tenant signs the rental agreement, you will have many interactions with them during their period of stay in the house. Irrespective of how perfect they sound during the first contact, it is always better to meet them and get a feel of their personality. This is a good opportunity to screen the tenant before any paperwork is done.

The tenant will be more concerned in looking at the property in details and its suitability for him and his family. Some watchful observations by the Landlord will be extremely helpful when considering the tenant’s application.
(i) Did the tenant arrive on time?
(ii) Is the tenant neat and clean?
(iii) Did the tenant take off the shoes or wipe his feet shoes when entering the house?
(iv) His attitude and manners – Does he show any signs of being difficult to deal with in future?
(v) Are the children well behaved?

Know your Tenant Form

The tenant who does not give any red signal and is interested, can be given an application. The rental application process will further determine if they will be good tenant. You can collect a sample application form from Agile Property Management (Know your Tenant Form) or can create your own application. You have to make sure that the form contains all the details that you need to know about the tenant – his personal, financial and employment information.

(i) Personal Details

You have to include in the form all the basic details that you need to know about the tenant like name, age, number of family members, contact details, native, how long has he been in the current city and all the relevant data that you feel you need to know about the tenant.

(ii) Employment Details

Make sure to include the current employment details of the tenant – company, designation, contact numbers, length of service.

(iii) Financial Details

You need to check on his income and check whether it is sufficient to cover the rent and the normal living expenses. Some indirect questions like – Do you have any permanent address? Or Do you have your own house in native?

(iv) Previous Owner Details

The contact details of the previous owner, contact number, rent paid, reason for leaving and duration of stay with the previous house.

(v) Reference

Names, relationship, period of acquaintance, contact numbers.

Tenant Screening Part 2

You have to carefully read all the applications to check for any inconsistencies or disqualifying factors. For example if the tenant is unemployed and has other source of income, then you may need more information. You can have direct reference checks with the house owner or employer or the references that are provided in the application by the tenant.

Search on Google to confirm the existence of the company that he has mentioned in his application. Look for ways to confirm his income, such as letter of employment from his company. There are also other ways to check on his employment for instance telling him to send a mail from his official ID with company id. Checking in from Social Media like Facebook, Twitter, Google+ are a few of the ways to get more information and confirmation about the tenant.

We do not mean you to become a detective when you meet a new prospective tenant. Use your instincts and try to get a feel for the tenant cross verifying them with the facts given in the application along with the facts that had come to surface when you had a conversation with the tenant. Also do not overstep your boundaries which can put you at a risk of losing the tenant if he feels that you are intruding in to his privacy.

Conclusion

Summarising up the entire process

1. Prequalify the tenant.
2. Show the Property to the Tenant.
3. Get the feel of the personality of the tenant.
4. Get the application form filled in by the tenant
5. Check in for any red flags or discrepancies
6. Do reference checks / employment checks / house owner checks
7. Fill in the Police Verification Form
8. Draft a Proper Lease Agreement
9. Collect the Security Deposit
10. Handing over the Keys to the Tenant.

Tenant Screening Part 1

Tenant Screening Part 1

Tenant Screening Part 1

Whether you are a Rental Agent or a Property Management Company or Landlord, it is not difficult to screen the tenant and do back ground checks by following some basic and right steps. The Tenant Screening Process starts when you decide to rent your property and start thinking of the next process to rent out your property.

There are standards set in your mind on the rent, security deposit, type of tenants and their backgrounds, other terms and conditions. Based on these preferences, you start to look for a tenant. There are various ways to find a tenant – through print ads, online ads, references, word of mouth, social media, hoardings or display boards at the entrance of the house.

Tenant Screening Part 1

First Contact

The first contact with the tenant is usually through a mail or a phone call. From the very first contact, the screening process has started. Communicate the features of the property in a detail and effectively to the prospective tenant. Simultaneously you have to qualify the tenant by asking proper and appropriate questions. The questions can be like:

  1. Name
  2. Phone Number & Email ID
  3. Occupancy Date
  4. No of Family Members
  5. Details of Family Members who will live in the property
  6. Occupancy Date
  7. Reason for leaving / shifting
  8. Discussion on the Rent & Security Deposit & will you give the security deposit before moving into the house?
  9. Do you have any pets?
  10. Do you have relatives or friends who frequently spend the night at your house?
  11. What is your typical day look like?
  12. Do you have any questions?

Do not waste your time showing the property to people who will not qualify. Discuss with the tenant your expectation for property upkeep of the property. So you need to ask the correct questions to qualify the tenant before proceeding to the next step of showing the property.

Tenant Screening Part 2

Property Valuation and Property Price

Property Valuation and Property Price

Purchasing of property is the most important investment which people make in their life time. The economic forces of demand and supply are the major factor in deciding the price of any product and the real estate is no exception. The Value of the property is the function of demand and supply and if the demand for the house increase faster than the supply, then the prices go up and vice versa. A few of the factor that affect the value of the property is listed below:

  • Infrastructural Development – Infrastructure is the major consideration for home seekers. Locations having good infrastructure have a higher value. Facilities like accessible roads, railways and other means of public transport have been seen to have a higher price. Proximity of Social infrastructure such as schools, hospitals, super markets, retail stores, shopping establishments, parks hospitals are priced higher.
  • Location – The location of the property is the most obvious factor when it comes to valuing a property. The location is not just a geographical location, also the closeness to key amenities and facilities. The location includes the quality of the area of the city or town and properties in prime location get a higher price. Properties located in rural areas cost less.
  • Geographical Stability – By Geographical Stability we mean the areas that are prone to the effects of the natural phenomena. If natural showers or rains cause water to be stagnant in the area, then these areas are not preferred. Similarly areas prone to natural phenomena like flooding, tsunamis, water scarcity are not preferred.
  • Age and Condition – The Land on which your house or apartment is built usually increases over a period of time but the structure is depreciated as the years pass by. Properties that are well kept and maintained well are preferred than properties that need renovation or works to be done. The buyer will also take into account the costs involved for renovation.
  • Size and Design – Houses that are well designed with optimum use of the space and natural sunlight and ventilation increases value of your property.
  • View – Any buyer will check on the view from the windows / balcony and will prefer an unblocked good view than a blocked one. Property with blocked view will have a lower value than a property with a good unblocked view.
  • Surrounding Area – What is located around your neighbourhood will have a great impact on the price of your house. This also includes the plans for the neighbouring areas situated like an upcoming project or new infrastructural development coming up in the near future.

Property Valuation and Property Price

Property Valuation

Property Valuation is the estimate of the current market value of your property based on the factors mentioned above and other economic factors, etc. Property Price is the price that is executed between the buyer and the seller and this price is either below or above the market value. The motive of the buyer is to buy the property at the lowest possible price and the motive of the seller is to sell it at the highest possible price.

If the seller is in need of urgent money, the buyer can use it to his advantage. Similarly if the property is appealing to the buyer and is his dream home, he will be willing to pay a higher price, the seller can use it to his advantage. The emotional and personal needs of the buyer and the seller also play a very important part in the price of the property and the one who wins is …………….

roles responsibilities property-manager

The Roles and Responsibilities of Property Manager

A Property Manager is a third party person or a firm hired by the owner of a property to manage and maintain his property and to handle the day to day affairs of the property. The property could be residential, commercial, industrial ranging from single homes to large apartment complexes – Roles Responsibilities of Property Manager.

When the owner is not able to handle and attend to the details or not interested in doing or handling the day to day affairs, he hires a property manager for a fees. Therefore the Property Manager’s main responsibility is towards the owner and secondly towards the agency for which he works. The Property Manager has to periodically report to the owner with necessary updates on the property and the owner may also delegate specific tasks apart from the regular tasks that is carried out by the Property Manager which is done for an extra fees mutually agreed upon.

A Property Manager has to arrange for a wide variety of services as per the needs, requirements and goals of the ownership. He has to deal with the regular services and also be quick enough to tackle the emergency issues services as and when it arises.

The Roles Responsibilities of Property Manager

Roles Responsibilities of Property Manager

Property Manager should have a good understanding of the market value and rental values and also be able to understand the rent where the property is located and its comparison with properties in the same locality for any difference in rent. Property Managers should advice the owner on the right rent and fix the right rent to attract the tenants.

One of the major responsibilities of the Property Manager is Rental Assistance. It starts from finding a good tenant through reference or advertisements and other marketing techniques. On identification of a tenant, proper screening is to be performed by the tenant. A good property manager will ensure a long term tenancy and prompt payment of rent on time every month. If any point of time, the tenant does not pay the rent, the property manager should get to the core of the situation and ensure proper payment of rent and may have to handle and evict the tenant.

The Property Manager handles the lease with necessary protection to the owner and his property. The Property Manager is responsible for listing the amenities when a tenant moves in.

Similarly he is responsible for inspecting the property when the tenant moves out and determine the amount of deduction from the security deposit and cleaning the property and bringing it back to rentable condition. The property Management should be able to fill in the vacant property in minimum time by his Rental Assistance Service.

Property Managers are responsible for physical management of the property and has to be well equipped to handle any Repairs or Maintenance irrespective whether it is vacant or occupied by the tenant.

The maintenance could be a regular maintenance like servicing of the amenities in the house or any emergency maintenance that may arise during the tenure of the maintenance. Overall the Property Manager should provide excellent Property Management Services.