Frequently Asked Questions By Landlords?

How long will it take to find a tenant for my property?

It's hard to guarantee an exact time frame. Some properties rent the first day that they hit the market, while others may take a little longer. We generally find that if the rental property in Glenelg or a western beachside suburb is priced accurately, and well presented, we can source quality tenants within about 14 days. In this regard it is important that your rental property is priced accurately in relation to the current Glenelg and western beachside, coastal rental market and we can advise you appropriately on this important matter. At Raine & Horne Glenelg our Property Managemnt and Real Estate team will ensure that you receive the best possible rental return, but at the same time alleviate any delay in the rental of your property.

How will you find me a tenant?

We use a range of cutting-edge methods to secure a quality tenant for you. These will include our extensive tenant database, an internet strategy using our own web site as well as Australia's two leading real estate portals, on site Raine & Horne Glenelg For Lease signage and newspaper advertising. We design a combination of these strategies specifically to suit your rental property to generate significant enquiry of Glenelg and western beachside and coastal enquiries to maximise the opportunity to select the most appropriate application for your property.

How do you qualify tenants?

There are two main criteria to consider when selecting a suitable tenant for your property; their ability to pay the TOP MARKET rent for your property, and their ability to MAINTAIN your property in its current condition.

We rigorously qualify all prospective tenants in relation to both these criteria. At Raine & Horne Glenelg our application form extracts all of the required information to qualify your tenant’s suitability. Raine and Horne Glenelg has tight property management procedures to ensure that applicant’s references are thoroughly checked, and the information provided by each tenant is qualified. At Raine & Horne Glenelg we discuss the information collected with you and, together, only with your consent, select the best tenant.

What costs do I need to pay?

The fees payable to Raine and Horne Glenelg are an initial marketing and letting fee to secure the best tenant, and a monthly management fee to handle the ongoing management of the property.

How do I receive my rent?

Your rent is paid to you by electronic funds transfer into your nominated account twice each month.

How do you guarantee that my property will not be damaged?

Even though every tenant’s application is screened very carefully, accidents do happen and there can be no guarantee that your property will not be damaged. At Raine & Horne Glenelg we conduct regular and thorough inspections to curtail any problems that may arise. Routine inspections generally take place three months after a tenant moves in, and quarterly thereafter.

As the owner of the property you can be present for inspections if you wish. Periodic inspections allow us to check on the condition of the property and report any required maintenance and repairs to you as early as possible.

How are maintenance and repairs handled?

Minor repairs are normally handled by your Raine and Horne Glenelg Property Manager, and we will discuss a cost limit on these repairs at the start of the tenancy management. For any larger repairs quotes will be organised and discussed with you prior to moving forward.

Urgent repairs, regardless of cost, may be required by law to be acted upon immediately as legislated in the Residential Tenancy Act. At Raine and Horne Glenelg we only utilise high quality licensed trades people and suppliers, and all their work is insured.

How often will I hear from you once my property is rented?

At Raine & Horne Glenelg we will liaise with you to determine your preferences regarding both the frequency and method of our contact with you, once your property has been leased. We ensure our communication keeps you informed and updated without distracting you unnecessarily.

What happens if my tenant doesn’t pay rent?

In today’s harsh economic climate tenants sometimes run into hardship paying their rent. Even after passing the most careful tenant selection, this risk is still present.

Our tenancy arrears at Raine & Horne Glenelg are minimised by;

• our strict tenant selection criteria
• by monitoring tenant arrears on a daily basis
• by enforcing a ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY.

When a tenant is in arrears we will contact them via telephone, email and SMS in accordance with our strict ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY and procedure for rental arrears.

Our procedure includes:

• same day overdue - sms alert automatically sent that rent failed to be collected.
• 1 day overdue – a phonecall and second sms is made to recover rent. If un-contactable, a first letter is sent.
• 3 days overdue – a phonecall and sms is made to recover rent. If un-contactable, a second letter is sent.
• 5 days overdue – a third reminder letter is sent and and an sms and telephone call is made. This is followed up with a personal visit.
• 10 days overdue – formal notification to Residential Tenancy Tribunal, stating that if the rent is not paid within 5 days, a termination notice will be issued. This is followed up with a personal visit.
• 15 days overdue – a termination notice is issued

At Raine and Horne Glenelg our experience is that a tenant can’t hide from our ZERO TOLERANCE procedures, and they’ll either pay the rent or vacate the property. Throughout this process, we’ll communicate closely with you and a termination notice will never be issued to a tenant without discussing the situation with you first. It is our objective at all times to minimise any loss to you the owner, that’s why we enforce these actions rigorously.

Is your office location important to your ability to manage my property?

One of the most common misconceptions about finding a Property Manger or Real Estate Agent to manage your property is that we need to be located within your neighbourhood.

That’s not so!

Long gone are the days when prospective tenants went from real estate agency to real estate agency looking for homes to rent in any given area. They simply don't have the time. Over 95% of Raine and Horne’s Glenelg entire tenant enquiry now comes from the internet and our online marketing, which meaning that we can quickly and easily rent out properties in a very large geographic area. With our online tools we can also very quickly assess rents in any given area to determine what you are getting right market rent that’s going for your particular property.

Bottom line is at Raine and Horne Glenelg we manage properties across a broad range of suburbs in the western, southern and coastal suburbs of Adelaide, and all from our one Glenelg Real Estate Office location at Glenelg. If we feel we can’t manage your property because of the distance from our Glenelg Real Estate Office we’ll refer you to one of Raine & Horne’s 48 other real estate office in South Australia, or one of the 450 plus Raine and Horne Real Estate offices throughout Australia.

Why Do I need landlord’s insurance?

As with any anything, it’s not compulsory to have insurance BUT we strongly recommend that every investment property owner should have a specific landlord insurance policy in place for their property.

Landlord Insurance protects you in the event of a tenant not paying rent, departing the property early or damaging the property. It also includes public liability and limited cover for contents (eg floor coverings, curtains). The cost of landlord insurance is less than 1 week’s rent, and at Raine & Horne Glenelg we believe that this is a good investment so you can have peace of mind. For full policy details please contact us and we’ll arrange to send you brochures.

How should I know what my property will rent for?

You’ll get the best indication of what rental amount you should be getting on your property by closely comparing it to other Glenelg and coastal rental properties similar to yours that have just been let. You should be careful not to base your opinion on what the asking rents are for comparable property, because often these rents are not achieved, and these properties remain vacant.

The best way to determine what your Glenelg or western beachside, coastal rental property will rent for is to talk to Raine & Horne Glenelg as so we can research our extensive databases to look at what properties are for renting for in your area. The truth is, market forces will determine exactly what amount of rent you achieve. If you have a very popular property you’ll get more interest and subsequently a higher rent. If you have a property that is less rentable.. you’ll find it hard to command a premium rent.

At Raine & Horne Glenelg, we’re skilled Glenelg Real Estate Agents and letting consultants who accompany all tenants on rental inspections, similar to what a good real estate salesperson does. We ensure that all tenants are made aware of the positive features of your property and hence we’re more likely to get you a higher rent.

What happens if we are concerned about the wrong type of tenants?

Prospective tenants are qualified as suitable by checking past employment, past real estate and personal references. We’re extremely hard to please when it comes to selecting tenants and only choose tenants who hold bona fide real estate references or bona fide private landlord references.

In the case of a person who has recently sold their property, we’ll talk to the real estate salesperson involved who can often give us an idea of the applicant’s lifestyle. Should we be uncertain about a tenant, we’ll always refer to you for your advice.

It is important to ascertain that the prospective tenant is who they say they are.

This is easily verified by carrying out a 100 Point ID check – i.e. sighting photo identification. (Drivers Licence, or Passport), credit cards, etc. We’re also online with TICA and NTD, both are national tenant default databases specialising in tenant default records. These databases contain information on tenants that have defaulted on their rent or who have breached a term of their tenancy agreement. Although not every defaulting tenant is listed on this database, it’s growing on a daily basis and is an vital tool for processing a tenant application.

This service is also very beneficial in debt collection matters. If we have a tenant who’s defaulted on their rental payments and has vacated your property owing money, we’ll lodge their details with the databases. Should your defaulting tenant try and obtain another rental property within Australia through a member office, the tenant’s current details will be passed onto our office for debt recovery action. In practice, that tenant won’t be able to rent a property until the debt is cleared on the database.

What value do you put on tenants?

At Raine & Horne Glenelg, we are skilled Real Estate Agents and our philosophy is that tenants are our business!

Without tenants you don’t receive rent and we don’t receive our fees. Today there is more competition to attract the best quality tenants … as more and more people moving around the place with their jobs, so tenants are becoming more sophisticated and have grown accustomed to better things… naturally they’ll want a better standard of housing and living conditions.

The best quality tenants also have more money to spend, and that’s why we can show you how you can maximise your rent. For this reason it’s more important than ever to know what tenants really want and how we can get tenants to pay you more rent.

Can we say we don’t want children or single mothers

Under federal and state anti-discrimination laws, we cannot accept discriminatory direction from Property Investors.

Both the property manager and the property investor are legally liable if complaints are made. It is neither fair nor lawful to pressure a property manger to break the law.

When selecting tenants, the only requirements that can be addressed are:

• The number of people suitable to reside in the property
• The tenant must be able to prove that they have and can maintain the weekly rent
• The tenant must be able to prove that they have and can maintain a rental property in a clean & tidy condition

You can however discriminate against pets and smokers!
References from Real Estate Agents are the most desirable information for obtaining this information. Sometimes references from private landlords have been found to be “glowingly untrue”, so the private landlord can move-on an undesirable tenant to a new tenancy. However, we cannot by law discriminate against private landlord references. Don’t worry though we have other ways of confirming that references are bona fide.

Unfair discrimination happens if you treat someone less favourably simply because of their sex, age, race, nationality, marital status, the fact that they have children, sexual preferences, disability or impairment, pregnancy, religion or political beliefs.

You do have the right to choose the most suitable tenant provided no unfair discrimination occurs.

At Raine & Horne Glenelg as professional and licensed Real Estate Agents we have your best interests at heart and do appreciate that it is you property and you should have the right to choose who resides in the property. However, we must act in accordance with the law when processing a tenant application.

There have been successfully defended cases in the past where discrimination against children and race have resulted in compensation claims against the Real Estate Agent and the property owner.

What happens if the tenants leave owing money?

At Raine and Horne Glenelg as Real Estate Agents and Property Managers our role is to maximise your return and minimise hassles.

If a tenant does vacate the property owing money, we have access to debt recovery agents to assist us in claiming outstanding debts. Albeit, as we all know you can’t get blood out of a stone.

As part of our service and continual effort to mitigate your risks and at the same time protect your investment dollar $$, we would like to reiterate landlord insurance cover, which protects your rental income, property contents and public liability claims.

That’s right…it pays your rent when your tenants won’t!

At Raine & Horne Glenelg we strongly recommend that you take out Landlord Protection Insurance. For further information on the terms and conditions of the policy and premiums, please contact Raine & Horne Glenelg for further information.

What should I do if the property is vacant?

At Raine and Horne Glenelg we understand that many investors rely on the weekly rent to meet mortgage commitments and every endeavour is taken to minimise vacancy periods .BUT the real question to ask your yourself is.. Why do properties remain vacant?

Here’s why…

The rent is too high The market and the tenants determine rent. We’re constantly monitoring the market rent to ensure that you’re receiving the maximum return on your investment. Demanding too high a rentscan lead to long-term vacancies, which ultimately affects your income.

High vacancy rate If there’s a high ratio of properties to tenants (more properties than tenants) it will have an effect on the vacancy factor. Tenants will then have more choices and are in a stronger position to negotiate on rents.

Poor presentation It’s important that your property is maintained in an excellent condition to attract the best quality tenant. Always remember that untidy properties attract untidy tenants, like dogs attract fleas. On the other hand a tidy well presented property will always attract a tidy quality tenant, You’ll also discover that quality tenants will often have a choice between two or three properties, so you must be prepared to keep your property in it’s most presentable condition.

Accessibility to local facilities and transport Often a property can be maintained in an excellent condition, the rent is at market value and it still remains vacant. This is most likely due to its location. The best tenants today with the most to spend can sometimes be choosey. Often they’ll require a property that is close to town, shops, clubs, beach, transport, schools etc.

We’ll make every endeavour is made to locate a quality tenant to suit your investment property and we promise to keep you updated immediately on our progress with obtaining a tenant.

How do I change my property over if it is currently being managed by another agent?

Simple! If you currently have a property managed by another agent and you're not satisfied with the service you’re getting. And you would like to change over to Raine & Horne Glenelg, all you’ll have to do is fill out the Raine and Horne Glenelg 'Other agent termination letter' (we’ll send you this letter and form). You then send back a signed copy of that letter to us, and fill out a new management agreement with us and we’ll take care of everything else for you.

At Raine and Horne Glenelg we’ll organise to recover all of the paperwork from your current property manager, organise for the tenant to be notified and for the keys to be collected from your previous property manager. Everything else carries on as usual. Changing your property management over to us could never be easier.

That’s why at Raine & Horne Glenelg, we can say that we’re probably the best Glenelg Real Estate Agents because “we’ll look after you”…