Next steps for first time landlords
You’ve sorted the finance, signed on the dotted line, and the keys to your investment property are in your hands.
After you’ve popped the champagne and celebrated, now what happens?
Here are the next steps to becoming a successful landlord:
- Health, safety, and minimum standards
Rental properties come with a number of health and safety legislation, relating to aspects such as smoke alarms, door locks, window locks, gas and electrical installation safety, and cleanliness.
Before you can lease your rental property, you need to ensure it is safe and secure, and meets minimum standards for a rental property.
As well as meeting legal requirements, health and safety standards are also a requirement for landlord insurance.
- Duty of care
Whether it is your tenants and their guests or tradies and delivery people, you do have a duty of care to avoid foreseeable harm to another person on your property. Failure in your duty of care, and your tenants (or anyone else legally on the premises) are injured, or their possessions are damaged because of your negligence, you could be sued for compensation.
For instance, if a person injures themselves from falling into a pool that is not fenced in line with regulations, an insurer is likely to knock back any claims because safeguards were not in place to maintain the property and keep the tenant safe.
- Organise your paperwork
It’s easy to put paperwork to one side in the flurry of activity, however, if you start in an ordered way, it will make life a lot easier, particularly when it comes to doing your tax return.
Document everything!
Record expenses, such as strata fees, council rates and water bills, and get a good filing system in place for both electronic and physical documents.
A good property manager will take the headache out of some paperwork, such as organising comprehensive tenancy agreements in line with legislative requirements, and completing property condition reports.
- Get the insurance right
Being a property investor, and renting out your property is a business, and like any other business, you need specialist insurance to cover you for the risks associated with that business.
As well as damage from fire, storm, flood, or falling trees, as a landlord, you do need specialist cover for the aspects covered in steps one and two of this list, and for other risks too. For instance, loss of rent or damage to your property by your tenant (either accidental or otherwise).
First time landlords may be forgiven in thinking landlord insurance provided by a general insurer will be adequate, but one size doesn’t fit all, and the devil is in the detail…
Only a specialist landlord insurance provider will cover the risks associated with being a landlord, and you need to make sure you choose the right policy for your circumstances.
For instance, a strata-titled property probably comes with building insurance, but does this cover you for any damage caused by your tenant?
Always read the small print of your insurance policy to see what you’re covered for and what you’re not, and get quotes from different companies.
- Employ a property manager
It is possible to manage your property yourself, but do you know all the nuances of ensuring you’ve got a water-tight lease, the entry and exit reports are correct, and the bond is correctly lodged?
Have you got the time for routine inspections, screening tenants, and organising repairs and maintenance?
Managing property does require specialist knowledge; this is why our team regularly attend industry training sessions so we are on top of the latest legislation and regulation.
From smoke alarms requirements and pool safety to discrimination and animals, we ensure all our properties adhere to the law and we act within the law.
We also manage and correctly record the financial outgoings and rental income paperwork. We send a copy of this to you at the end of each month, and also a final one at year-end to help with filing your tax return. You can view this, and lots of other information such as current and past repairs and routine inspections, at any time through our dedicated online owners’ portal.
We only work with quality, professional trades people and our motto is very simple – we treat every property entrusted into our care as if it’s one of our own.
With many of our team having investment properties themselves, we always go the extra mile.
Get in touch with us now, and we tell you how our property management services can make your life easier, and offer tips to increase your return on investment.
With nearly 50 years of property management experience behind us, we’ve helped thousands of people realise their dreams through property and our aim is to make your life easier. Simply 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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If you are looking for a property management agent, would like to know more about our services or how property management and investment works for future reference, our knowledgeable and experienced team would love to help. With nearly 50 years of business, we are one of Newcastle’s longest established property management offices, so give us a call on 02 4956 9777, send us an email to mail@newcastlepropertymanagement.com.au or pop into our Cardiff office for a chat.
For more property management tips check out our Facebook page.