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. 

​Let's start by understanding what rental yield is.

The NSW Government First Home Owner Grant (FHOG) has provided a great incentive for many to build their new home. 

One of the well-known eligibility criteria for receiving the grant was that the owner must "occupy your first home as your principal place of residence within 12 months of the construction or purchase of your home and the minimum period of occupancy is six continuous months."

Many would-be property investors noted the six month criteria carefully, understanding that to be eligible for the First Home Owner Grant they needed to live in the property themselves for 6 months once it was built. Astute first-time investors saw a future opportunity to turn their new home into a rental property after their required six months of occupancy had finished. 

Now, some time on from the grant first being introduced, many owners who took advantage of the First Home Owner Grant are approaching the end of their six months and wondering what happens next. How do they turn the place they currently live in into a rental property?

As readers within and near the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie area would know, the Hunter region went into COVID lockdown from 5pm Thursday 5th August. 

Following the media announcement from the Premier, we briefed our team and were all up and running working remotely and fully operational from 9:30am the next morning. 

During the lockdown period, our office is closed and our contact page is updated with the best means of contacting us whether for urgent maintenance, non-urgent maintenance, or general enquiries.

While some aspects of business are temporarily paused in the interests of public safety, our ability and commitment to the continued management of our landlords' valuable investments remains ongoing. 

If you'd like to talk to us about the management of your investment, we're still available to reach any time. 

Stay safe
- Natalie, Paul and the team 🏡