News

The time between tenants is a good time to clean and improve your property. It will draw new, high quality tenants to you, lessen vacancy times and make sure your investment retains good value.  Some items such as 'repairs and maintenance' such as painting will be deemed and expense and immediately deductible, while other items such as replacement of an entire structure such as ovens, kitchen cabinetry will be deemed 'capital works' and deductible over the life of the item (for more clarification on this read here).

Update your paint

Keep your walls fresh by painting them regularly. Don't go overboard - you don't need to paint them every time a tenant leaves. Consider how long the tenant has rented the property and the condition of the walls. On average, walls should be painted ideally every five years. If your tenants had young children there is likely to be more wear and tear to the walls and they may need to be painted more regularly. When choosing your colour palatte, stick to light, neutral colours. Colours like off-white or ivory can make your rooms look bigger and therefore increase the rent and your rental desirability.

Update your flooring

Tired old flooring can turn off great tenants.  Updating to clean modern carpets and flooring is a great way to keep your property looking its best.

Improve your curbside appeal

The front of your rental is the first thing a prospective tenant will see and great tenants are drawn to pleasant looking spaces.  Over time gardens may have become overgrown - requiring old woody plants to be removed and replaced with newer more modern (and water wise) plants.  Mulch may need replacing or gravel topped up.  It might be time to fertilize lawns, trim back hedges, or if the budget allows a complete overhaul.  Simple things like cleaning driveways with a high pressure cleaner also add to curbside appeal, as does updated paint to the exterior of the building.

Redo the kitchen and bathroom area

The kitchen and bathroom are known as 'impact rooms'. A well-maintained, modern room is far more likely to attract the highest quality tenant. If these rooms are dated back to the 1970s, they probably need to be updated. You have the option of going simple and updating small fixtures such as sinks and appliances or replacing larger fixtures such as cabinetry.