Recently an article appeared in the Newcastle Herald titled "Newcastle Suburbs Are Delivering Newcastle Landlords Some Of The Highest Rental Yields In Australia".

Our ears pricked up and we shared the article on social media with some additional comments. It also provided some fuel for this post. While rental yield figures can provide an interesting indicator of a suburb's viability for investment, as is usually the case there is more than meets the eye with this statistic and often the finer detail is not considered. 

There is no property management business perfect for everyone. As an independent, family-owned property management business in Newcastle, we know for example that some people are more comfortable with a "big name". Our personal and directly-accessible service is not for everyone.

We see part of our role in the local market as helping to educate investors and potential investors. At times, this means we will take a more detailed look at other property management options - not to coerce, but to clarify the differences. 

"Can I do a rental appraisal on a property myself?" is a question commonly asked by investors. There are many ways to obtain an approximate rental estimate on a property you own or are considering purchasing. 

But these methods are not without their shortcomings. In this article we go through the top 3 mistakes investors make when estimating rental return themselves.