The PROPERTY DOCTORS, Sydney Australia Novak Properties

NOVAK NEWS - HOW TO STAND OUT WHEN APPLYING FOR A RENTAL PROPERTY

August 19, 2024 • Bidhan Shrestha and Harry Larcos • Season 27

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What does it take to stand out in the competitive world of rental applications? Get ready to uncover the secrets of making your rental application shine with expert insights from Harry, our seasoned property manager. We break down the critical factors landlords prioritize, like previous rental history, financial stability, and employment status, and reveal how comprehensive documentation, including references and pay slips, can boost your chances. The current market dynamics are brought to life with real-life scenarios, showing why it's crucial to make a strong impression among multiple applicants.

Get ready for essential tips on submitting a compelling rental application. Discover the importance of an accurate employment history, reliable references, and the power of honesty throughout the process. Harry underscores that a truthful and detailed application, complete with personal descriptions and hobbies, can set you apart. We also highlight the need for professional references over family ones and discuss how property location and condition can affect rental timelines. From market conditions to the support available from real estate agencies, this episode is packed with valuable advice to help you secure your next rental property.

Speaker 1:

All right. Monday night Novak news it's Badan and my colleague Harry. Yes, yes. So we're talking about how to stand out in a rental application, and it's pretty tough out there. It is very tough, it is very busy, so stay tuned and let's find out how to get your application approved. All right, here we are. How are you doing, harry?

Speaker 2:

I'm well, I'm well, first time, excited for it.

Speaker 1:

Excited. No, this is always fun. That's it. How's the Monday been?

Speaker 2:

Busy for you. Busy, busy, always flat on a Monday, but you get through it Definitely so yeah, harry works in the rental team going through lots of applications going through lots of tenants right.

Speaker 1:

So yeah, so he's been in the floor experiencing everything, and he's seen through some good applications and some bad applications, and I've been on the other side too, you know, looking for properties, like everyone's out there, like you apply for a lot of properties, and it's a hassle to apply for these properties you know, going through all the references, pay slips and lots of documentation and at the end of the day it's very sad to see that, unfortunately, the guest didn't go through right.

Speaker 1:

And at the end of the day, it's just you are the messenger, yeah. But if I'm looking for a property, I always blame the agent.

Speaker 2:

Yeah it's difficult because as an agent you're always acting as the third party really, between the prospective tenant and the landlord and, as you said, getting the reference checks. I would say the three biggest things that would increase your chances with applications is number one your previous rental history. So providing the contact details of your previous property manager so we can give them a call and say, hey look, we just want to ask you a few questions of how, how you, of how you were during your tenancy. So rental history is a really big one that the landlords love. I would go with. Financials whether or not you can afford the property itself, of course, is another really big one. And the third one employment. Obviously landlords love to hear that. That security, whether or not you're employed, if you've got any source of income coming in, really doesn't matter if that's passive or that's just your normal wage from your job. Those are the three biggest factors.

Speaker 1:

Excuse me, I would include in your application yeah so with that income battery, like, is there like a percentage of something that you guys measure, like if I earn less, a thousand bucks a week? Yeah like, does it have to be like certain percentage of that? To us already it's it's generally so.

Speaker 2:

There's a there's a general percentage that we work around with. We look at um someone's income. We take 30% of someone's income and we use that as a factor on whether or not that they can actually afford their property. So let's say their income is $1,000 a week and the rent is $250 a week, because 30% of that they'd be able to afford it.

Speaker 1:

Definitely, I think, with also the market. I think everyone knows it's been going for a few years now. There's not a lot of stock out there.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and probably you can see a lot of numbers in open home as well. Yeah, and it gets very tricky, and probably you can see a lot of numbers in Open Home as well and it gets very tricky and there's one property, there might be 10 different people walking through.

Speaker 2:

And it's interesting because I've been working in PM for about six pushing seven months now, and it's crazy because when I first started working alongside with Thomas, we would just fall out just leasing properties back to back. Now I think we're really going through a stabilization period really, but I think in the next few weeks we're going to start having a lot more stock, purely because we're getting a lot of rent reviews, and normally when we get rent reviews, we get a lot of stock coming on the market, because that's when um landlords make the decision on whether or not they'd like to increase the rent um. And uh, yeah, normally when we have a lot of rent increases, there's a lot, a lot of properties that get vacated um, so that's when we start seeing a bit more more stuff coming on the market and this is the article as well.

Speaker 1:

I think it was published two days ago Now. Rental market it's done its peak. Now it's on a plateau stage.

Speaker 2:

It's plateaued, yes.

Speaker 1:

It's plateaued, so people might not be getting the same amount of rent that they're getting. Like you know, you might be like, oh, who is going to pay that much amount of rent for that property? So that article was there saying now it's finally something's looking good. It's been going on since COVID which is 2020, which is four years ago seems like yesterday but it's been going on for a while that the rental market has been very tough, but now we can see it's plateaued a little. It has done all the growth it has done and even now. But people are still looking. They are. There's still a lot of perspective tenants.

Speaker 2:

One in particular, 29 Plateau Road. We have an inspection for that one, an open inspection on Wednesday at 11.40 to 12, for those of you that are watching, that might be interested. Yeah, we've already got about four applications four or five actually already for a beautiful home that hasn't even had its first open inspection.

Speaker 1:

So you, can really already see the numbers Exactly. Yeah, so there are four applications.

Speaker 2:

So like as a tenant, of course, if I'm applying for a property.

Speaker 1:

I've gone through all the hard work but, applying for it, I would love to be in that space, yes, so out of those four, how do I stand out?

Speaker 2:

So, as Harry mentioned the three factors employment, references, financials and rental rental history.

Speaker 1:

I think rental history goes a long time. It does. It's basically serious how you've been as a tenant, yeah, and looking at the history, oh cool, they're paid rent on time, they maintain the property very well, no worries, is also a really big thing.

Speaker 2:

If you're a really good rent payer, you pay your rent on time. Um, that is, yeah, that's, that's one of those top factors. That land, why do we?

Speaker 1:

do all this background checks, harry um, it really.

Speaker 2:

It really just gives you a better understanding of how the person is as a tenant and how the person is. You know, as as a person, you know what I mean. Um, but um, yeah, it's just just to see whether or not they're a good fit for the property, if they can afford it, if they're just an overall good tenant, really that's great.

Speaker 1:

I also heard the other day, if you dress well, present well at the open home, that agent remembers you. Oh, 100%, is that true? 100%, that's great.

Speaker 2:

First impressions. Are everything really? There we go. Yeah, if you're, you know, if you're well, well presented, you're well mannered. A lot of people that, um, that come to our opens, they kind of you know, they're a bit, they're a bit uneasy, they're a bit scratchy, they're a bit kind of you know, not not too sure. But the people that are calm and that are very you know, they're very open, polite and everything you know you generally last longer in the memory.

Speaker 2:

So, um, yeah, and then you come back to the office, you do your call back because you go. Uh, mr and mrs xyz, I remember them, they're very lovely people, there you go personality wise, is um also also a big big thing. I would say um, just so you know you can get a better understanding of them as a person definitely, the screening process is different.

Speaker 2:

So at the end of the day, like you know, it's the landlords, the owners, who decide what they want to go ahead with what they feel comfortable with, I believe, and as the PM, you kind of, I would say you help them make that decision, like you consolidate with them who you believe would be the best application, the best fit for their property, which I believe is a huge responsibility, because you're deciding the people that are gonna be living in the property for the next 12 months, or however long the duration of the lease agreement is really.

Speaker 1:

So, yeah, so basically, I think everything has to be up to date. When you're applying for a property, you know get your references in order, let your people employment uh, history to be accurate, uh call your management boss saying, hey, I'm applying for this property. Do the different checks because that goes a long way. Yeah, if the reference checks has been done, because, as a property manager, harry will call your employee and all your property managers saying how has they been?

Speaker 1:

yeah, mr john. How is he doing? Is he paying in time? Is he actually making that amount that he stated?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, oh my God, the amount of time where I have a lot of tenants that might be lying a little bit, just a little bit of time. Push them over over the line with their how much they're earning. Yeah, um, then you know. You go through your application, you go to pay slips, bank statements and sometimes it just does noise.

Speaker 1:

That doesn't mean I get a lot of the time.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, um, but, yeah, definitely, definitely. Don't lie. Yeah, um, that's another other really big thing I'd keep in mind always, always, be honest, be truthful on your application, definitely. So what does a good application look like, harry? Um, a good application, good application, is something that includes those three points that I've mentioned. Um, and, honestly, what I just said truthful and honesty for me is a big thing. Yeah, um, because if you're truthful and honest on your application, it gives me a good understanding of how you are as a tenant and I know that I'm not going to have any issues or too many issues with you during the tenancy.

Speaker 1:

So, yeah, so it kind of when you're applying for properties, always. Sometimes it helps, I guess, to put a little description about yourself as well 100%, I love a good description how they are, what they do.

Speaker 2:

Hobbies Exactly. Go to the gym, morning walks with the dog. I love it.

Speaker 1:

You never know, because I think we send it to the owners.

Speaker 2:

Yes, we do. And when the owners say, oh, this guy has the same hobby as me you might have a better preference.

Speaker 1:

You never know, that's it because you gotta outdo the competition, that's it, you know. Four applicants for one property, yeah, and if all four will offer the same rent, they have the same income, like even for the owners. Like they gotta choose someone, that's it. Yeah, right, so do the best you can, like you know, go that extra mile and you will be able to secure that property. Couldn't agree more with you, right? So, uh, like I've been on the end too, so I've been through a few ups and downs and, being in the industry myself, even I might be, like you know, slacking a little.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

You know I'm more into sales in that period, Like you know, everything is on point but rentals. It is a bit tricky because, as a property manager, harry is responsible for putting the right person in a property that the owners have trusted Harry with.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

And it could be a million-dollar property and something could go wrong anytime, like I've seen lots of cases, lots of stories that the whole place has burned down.

Speaker 2:

The place has flooded, very unlikely, by the way, very very unlikely, but you know not possible it has happened.

Speaker 1:

I have seen some disturbing photos. I might say so, things do go down, and having the right AT&T and the right property manager goes a long way. So that's why there's a very good screening process there, just to protect the tenants and the owners both. So yeah, when applying for rental properties, just be who you are, get all the documents there, get your ducks in a row, basically, and having all the pay slip on, order your ids, uh, get your references, like put your friends, put your uncles, like who will say good word about you, right?

Speaker 2:

yeah, um, just to touch base on that, if, if you're working, I I wouldn't necessarily go towards towards family straight away. I would only include family as a, as a, as the last backup really. But generally you'd go for someone that's unbiased, like an employer, obviously. But if look, if you're unemployed and you know you don't really have anyone to fall back on, definitely go for a family member, but I wouldn't always recommend it as a first priority. Just to add to that one, yeah, and yeah, we're always here to help like I know market is a bit tough.

Speaker 1:

You can always give us a call and say, hey, this is what I'm looking for. Please give us a call. Yeah, something similar comes in. Or if you need even help with the application like we have both physical and digital version. Like I think Harry is very well across it. But yeah, it will always here to help. I know the market stuff and I think Harry is very well across it. But yeah, it will always here to help. I know the market stuff and I think Harry knows it as well yeah and there are a few properties out there, like you know, that go instantly.

Speaker 1:

I think normally they're what's the average days on market one open one.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, sometimes one open looks there's some properties that might take a very long time to lease. Others will just go within after the first open and get it done with two, three, four days. Easy, no problems. So it really does vary, like, obviously, the condition of the property, the location. You got a lot of stuff to factor in, but yeah, it does vary.

Speaker 1:

I think we've got pretty much everything covered. So yeah, overall that is what it is. And yeah, just have a look out there. Like you know, if you're looking for rental property, inquire on properties from every real estate agency.

Speaker 1:

They will add into your database so you don't have to keep looking. You'll get an email from them. I think that has been the biggest thing from my end. When I was looking for a property, I inquired on multiple properties from different agencies and I was to get email. Okay, you know, this might be suitable for you yeah, so there's lots of things to do and we can also always help you to see what you can look for rental property, you know, go for the north facing one, of course, when you're in the property yeah, when in the property check for you know how the property's been taken care of.

Speaker 1:

And the most important thing I think people miss harry is they don't check how the network is on their phone when in the property, yeah, the network, yeah that's always a very tricky thing, because once you sign the lease and because it happened to me, I signed the lease there was out there. Then when I'm in the property and every time I call, I just break out.

Speaker 2:

So I had to switch three different providers Then, finally, I ended up with Telstra A lot of people and this actually just happened. I actually moved places last week. They actually take the NBN box with them, which is very, very frustrating as a property manager, just because the NBN box doesn't actually belong to the tenant. It actually belongs to NBN and it can only work with that property.

Speaker 2:

So it is a bit of a hassle chasing up old tenants with the new tenants and just going back and forth trying to get that NBN box back, because it is a little bit annoying, a little bit frustrating. So for everyone watching, yeah, keep the M box in the property, all right.

Speaker 1:

That is from us Signing out Beautiful Harry, have a good night, Thank you guys, and we'll see you next Monday. See you, cheers, goodbye.