You’ve found the perfect investment property, and just picked up the keys, now assuming the property is empty, the first thing you’ll want to do is to look at your purchase!

But what else should you do before your tenant moves in?

Besides the décor and aesthetic appeal, there are some essential maintenance checks and other things you need to do before a tenant moves in. To help organise your tasks and make sure you don’t miss anything, here is are some essentials to put on your checklist.

1. Landlords Insurance

We highly recommend taking out a quality Specialised Landlords Insurance. Most of the standard Landlord Insurance products we come across rarely payout when required as they are full of loop holes and ‘get-out’ clauses. Many also include buildings insurance if this isn’t covered by strata.

2. Set up a deprecation schedule

This is something often overlooked by property investors. Read our blog post on this subject as to why it’s important for tax purposes, and get in touch with a specialist to set up your schedule.

3. Maintenance

• Check and replace, if necessary, the light bulbs in every room as well as outdoor lights
• Fix leaky and dripping taps, and unblock poorly draining showers
• Fix broken cabinets and doors, and torn window screens
• Ensure all appliances are working and adhere to the latest safety standards such as the oven, dishwasher, extractor fans etc.
• It’s often a good idea to change the locks, particularly if it’s been a rental property for a while – you never know who has a spare set!

Depending on the type of property, you’ll also need to check on the external maintenance, such as ensuring the fencing is safe and sturdy, and/or the balcony railings are safe.

4. Adhere to health and safety regulations

It is imperative your investment property adheres to the current health and safety legislation. These include:

• Smoke alarms
• Window locks/restrictors on windows which are 2m above the ground
• Blind/Curtain ropes restricted to stop accidental death
• RCD Electrical Safety Switch. While these are mandatory on newer buildings they were not on older, but we highly recommend this for peace of mind
• General Trip Hazards – eg worn carpets

More details can be found on the NSW Fair Trading ‘Health, safety and security in a rental property’ webpage.

5. Water and energy savings

Tenants love energy-saving features; these will not only add value to your property, but it may also give your investment property the edge over other similar properties.

Furthermore, having water saving devices is a requirement if you want to charge the tenant for water usage.

Take a look at our blog post ‘3 areas of energy saving your tenant will love’ for more details, and for more details about utilities in rental properties can be found on NSW Fair Trading: Water, electricity and gas in rental properties webpage.

6. Clean, clean, clean

No-one wants to move into a dirty property, or discover someone else’s grime at the back of a cupboard or in the extractor fan, so when all the maintenance and any decorations have been completed, give the property a thorough deep clean.

Check all the nooks and crannies, and all those hard to reach places, such as tops of doors, under the fridge, and the extractor fan in the bathroom. Employ professional cleaners if you don’t fancy the job yourself!

Many of the costs involved with preparing a property for rent are tax deductible, so make sure you keep all receipts for work and items, and speak to your accountant.

Want to know some more?

Get in touch to learn more about how we can help with preparing your property for rent, and how we can help with managing your property. Our experienced team loves to talk and share its knowledge! Give us a ring on 02 4956 9777, send us an email to mail@newcastlepropertymanagement.com.au or pop into our Cardiff office for a chat.

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