08 February, 2010

Top tips to find a tenant

There are alot of properties being handed over at the moment and many landlords are asking about how easy it will be to find a tenant when they recieve the keys. Here are some of my thoughts taking into account current market conditions.
Properties soon to be handed over are:

Marina Residence, Palm Jumeirah

Oceana, Palm Jumeirah

Taj Grandeur, The Crescent, Palm Jumeirah

Fairmont, Palm Jumeirah

I would estimate that there are at least 2,000 apartments in these four developments, and they are all due to be handed over before June. This is alot of units and agents and investors need to be aware that this will impact the rental and the resale market.

We have been lucky throughout 2009 as rents on the Palm have stood up pretty well with one beds in Tiara reaching as high as 150k p.a.

The question is can the market withstand all these new ones coming on at the same time. If you are a landlord who wants to limit the void period then you will be pushing your rent down to get the first batch of tenants in your unit. This, I think, will be a common trend throughout 2010 which will undoubtedly lead to a new pricing structure for the fresh stock coming on.

Link this is with new towers in the Marina and JLT coming online and the simple facts are that supply is going to outwiegh demand.

As a responsible agent we have to take these factors seriously and monitor the situation closely so we can advise both landlords and tenants.
There are a number of simple things we can do to enhance the chances of finding suitable tenants with limited voids.
These are:
  1. Face facts immediately and do some research on prices and understand exactly where the pricies are at. Overshooting the market will result in an empty unit so accept the market price and start returning an income.
  2. Keep the apartment clean and organise regular cleaning of the floors and windows. Show it off to its best.Dirty toilets are a put off when you are viewing the one next door which is immaculate.
  3. The state of the apartment is a reflection on the landlord. Over the course of a year the Tenant will need something and if he has a choice of a property which has been ignored since handover or a property which is presented well he will think to himself that the landlord cares and will be easier to deal with if anything goes wrong.
  4. Landlords should start considering paying the agent fee on the basis that they don't charge the tenant. Advertise with no fees to a tenant and I gaurantee your property will be first off the shelf.
  5. Choose one agent and give them a key. Those of you who like to send drivers to open the door are not helping yourselves. Your agent needs immediate access and does not want to spend hours waiting for a key everytime there is a viewing. Most properties will need a dozen viewings befiore there is a tenant found and leaving the driver to liase with agents is minimising your chances of being the property of choice in the agent's office.
  6. Be flexible on the cheques. You don't need to offer more than 4 cheques but insisting on one is suicide these days.
  7. Be open to furnishing the apartment. Corporate rentals are a good source of enquiries and they all want furnished apartments.
  8. Tenants love managed properties. They have a point of contact and the property is maintained. They always stay longer.

PLEASE TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY. YOU WILL THANK ME ONE DAY!