Renting out the house while travelling?

Who screens your prospective tenant
Who has the list of defaulters & house wreckers.
Who completes the quarterly inspections.

What happens
When the tenant defaults.
Maintenance needs to be done
The rates etc need to be paid

You want to be away for 12 months with peace of mind
Not running back every 5 minutes to see if all is well with your property.

Leave the letting to a professional. It is cheap

It will save you all the hassell & give you peace of mind whilst away,

& no I am not a real estate agent.

Daz

blueriderwa,

I agree with Daz and while it may be seen to be expensive there are a number of benefits to having a properly managed property. Search around through the local real estate agents, asking what their rate is and for customer references or ask around for people who have rentals and get their opinion.

10 to 15% is a small price to pay for piece of mind.

Just our opinion, though there is a good chance others will differ.

Cheers,
Wayne & Sally.

For the last two winters we put our home in the hands of an agent and were very happy with the results.
However, a word of warning.
We insured using a Landlords Policy which is fine BUT this negates your normal household policy and in so doing you will find that your personal effects such as jewelry ,cameras. laptop etc which are covered under the household policy are now not covered. The first year we just did not realise this and got away with it but the second trip we tried without success to find a cover for these items so decided to "wing it". The only cover available is a travel insurance ( as in OS travel) and the cost was prohibitive. We did lose a camera along the way but got back with everything else.

You could always try the Forum page of ExplorOz.

Hi Bluerider, you could try realestate.com.au, they are nationwide but I don't know if they accept adverts from private people (ie. non-agents) like you & me.

Incidentally, I am currently renting out two properties with no managing agent, but I do have someone in my family in the next suburb who attends to maintenance, inspections, etc. - hope you have an agreeable family member/friend who can do the same for you.

USE AN AGENT and talk to your accountant about the tax implications. We have had rental properties for many many years and have been down the track of doing it ourselves, never again, an agent at 7.5% of the rent is good value.

Also the ATO will get very interested in you if they find out that you have taken $35,000 in cash rent in a year and have not told them.

BUT you have to get a good agent as there are some dodgy ones out there.

Tenancy law these days is tricky and in favour of tenants, especially if the deal is under the table, so my advice, do it properly with professionals to help - there are untold pitfalls taking shortcuts, too many to mention here.

Most of our income is from rents so we should know.

Stevesub

Blue, For what it is worth, you could try "house sitters". No income but peace of mind. They provide a list of names and references from previous house-owners. They feed the chooks, cats, dogs look after the garden, etc and are there all the time.
No income means no tax to pay but against that no repairs either.
I have a friend who has been house sitting for the past 12 years. She has a round like a milkman. Same house, same time every year.
You can find them on the internet. By the way, the house sitter pays a fee and you get to meet them and make your own assessment.
Good luck.
Brian

Woops forgot. $680 a week CASH? Pipedream, the taxman will find out. That much money for no return to renter? Maybe they could grow some "weed" to offset their outlay. Then the coppers would watch the property and after the renters go to prison the place will be vacant.
Pipedream Blue.
Brian

Try advertising in Saturdays newspaper. I use it in WA and can always find good tennants. Should be just as effective in Qld. I tried realestate.com but its only available to real estate companies.

Good luck with it all and enjoy your travels

Dan

HI blueriderwa,
I am not here to give you counsel - thats your business what you do with your property.
But in order to find a tenant my suggestions are:
1. Try to do it by putting out feelers - rather than advertising publicly in The Courier mail or on line. This way you get a tenant recommended by someone else and can check out their credentials. For example:
2. Try the local banks in Samford village - they often rent executive homes for their managers. I have a friend who leases his fully furnished luxury home to one of the big 4 banks - the manager gets it as part of his salary package. Yours would be in the price range they consider.
3. Try local clubs (rotary, lions etc) - as these generally have reputable business people as members. It may be they have a member who is in need to rent for 12 months (eg maybe building a new home etc).
3. Try local church groups or any other community organistaions- they often have noticeboards they can put such info on.

It will take a few weeks for word of mouth to get around but you may be surprised at the results of such a simple marketing strategy. And the good news is doing it this way it is probably someone who is already living in the area and you can thus checkout their background more easily and even visit them in their current abode.
All the best,
Cheers
GPM

Try aussie house sitters.
Regards Bryan.