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| What Every Landlord Really Needs To Know |
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| Wednesday, 15 June 2011 16:54 |
 Top Tips For Landlords. Irish landlords lose €millions every year because their rental property is standing empty. It's not just loss of rent that hits their pockets: mortgages, service charges, NPPR (www.nppr.ie) levies, and utility bills all still have to be paid. Here are a few tips to help: 1. Always advertise with photos. Our tenants tell us the kitchen and living room are what they want to see most. The old days of an advert in the evening newspaper property listings are quite simply over! Landlords need to realise they are dealing with generation of renters who want maximum convenience - they want to see multiple pictures of your property before they view it in person. In fact WEB Lettings now even offers a video service to prospective tenants who can view your property online before they confirm they wish to view in person. Landlords hoping they can compete with this level of service and expectation with a two line advert in an evening paper are going to be sorely disappointed.
2. What's your unique selling point? We know of one landlord who fits all his student properties with Jacuzzi baths: needless to say, they're always the first rooms on campus to be filled. So what can you do to make your property have that X factor? It could be as simple as making sure that the garden and approach to the property is as attractive as possible - a tatty appearance to the exterior of the property is an instant turn off for many potential renters and yet generally speaking in terms of expense it costs landlords little more than a few hours of their time to rectify.
3. Complete repairs and decorating work. If something needs fixing, or redecorating, do it before you show the property. Promises that "it'll be fixed before you move in" are worth nothing. Tenants can afford to be more demanding than ever these days - they are truly spoilt for choice in terms of the number of available properties to rent. Landlords need to make sure that tenants first impression of your property is a very favourable one. Promises of repairs in the future are worth the same as IOUs in the eyes of tenants. 
4. Every lead's a hot lead. The average tenant looks at only three or four properties before they decide to rent. Put simply looking for a home to live is a chore most people would rather avoid, it's hassle, it's disruptive, it's time consuming, and tenants just want to sort out where they are living. The fact that they are interested enough to come and view your property in the first instance means they potentially could be your next tenants.....losing them for the sake of replacing some dirty carpets/curtains/mattresses or some other such relatively easily fixed issue is simply bad business. 
5. Get your property noticed. The vast majority of tenants now start their property search on the net, so it's crucial that they can find you. Make sure your agent advertises across all the major property listings portals including www.daft.ie, www.rent.ie, www.property.ie, www.eircom.net, www.rte.ie, www.tv3.ie, and www.ebay.ie . A high definition video of your property really sets your property apart from the crowd as tenants particularly appreciate the fact they can clearly see what is on offer before they set out to view your property. |
| Last Updated on Thursday, 07 July 2011 18:08 |