You know you are in the final 2 months of year in Property Management – the students are on study leave, those that are finished have moved back home for the summer (although their Tenancies are still in place until next year), rent is still being paid, some lawns are long because no-one is home (although we are on to them!), and in the next couple of weeks as we carry out our final inspections for the year, we will see Christmas trees and decorations going up – yes it’s definitely beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!!
October proved to be an interesting month with the election results promising to provide a few challenges to the property management industry in the coming 3 years.
Whilst it is early days yet to be sure of exactly what will transpire – we know that the Healthy Homes Bill (currently before parliament) will likely be expanded to include a minimum temperature that each rental home must be able to be heated to (throughout the property). There will be changes to the letting fee which will no longer be able to be charged to the tenant, this will become a landlord cost (as it is in Australia, and most other countries), and there will be changes to periodic tenancies. As always we will be keeping all our owners and tenants informed of these legislative changes as more information comes to hand.
The rental market in Christchurch remains much the same with still lots of choice for people renting, lots of new properties, and very competitive pricing. We are still leasing properties but most people viewing are very price driven, so rental prices continue to be keen. Mind you as many of you would know, better to accept a $30 or $50 reduction in weekly rent to secure a good quality tenant with minimal if any vacancy, then see weeks on end of vacancy trying to achieve a price that with each passing week of vacancy, is clearly not going to be reached, thus reducing your annual income further.
Insulation – just another reminder for those of you who still have to carry out the installation of insulation to your rental property(ies) by July 2019, do consider budgeting for this in the new year. Naturally, the cost to insulate increases each year so always best to do as soon as possible rather than leaving it to the last minute. We do find now that one of the first questions tenants ask when they are coming through our viewings, is about insulation. Many are not interested in viewing properties which have not had their insulation carried out. Another reason why the new or newer properties are proving a popular choice with tenants.
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