If you've considered moving out of your family home and converting it to a rental property, but with a view to returning at some point in future, you may be familiar with the six-year capital gains tax rule. This important rule offers a significant tax benefit to investors in this circumstance, but there are only certain circumstances under which it will apply. 

Every week we are contacted to provide rental appraisals on investment properties. Over time we've come to realise there is a question many investors wonder but rarely ask - "Why did you estimate lower rent than the other agency?".

We realise of course that when we are contacted by an investor to provide a rental appraisal, we are usually one of many agencies contacted with the same request at the same time. Unfortunately, an agency's response to a rental appraisal is a very one-dimensional way of assessing the value the agency they will bring in managing the investment. This has been covered separately in the article The 3 Criteria Most People Use To Select A Property Manager (And Why They're Flawed).

An investment property is a wealth creation vehicle. An investor of course wants to return the greatest revenue they can reasonably achieve while the property is in their possession, through capital growth and increases in equity to strong rental return and ideally a positive cash flow. 

In conversations with landlords, we often here that their previous agent handled the rent collection just fine, made maintenance arrangements as needed, and found new tenants when required. However, once a tenant was signed on to the property, things seemed to go into automatic pilot, set-and-forget. This at times included neglected to monitor and action a potential rent increase from time to time. 

​In this article we discuss our approach to completing rent reviews and actioning increases in rent.

The marketing of many Newcastle real estate agencies can make them all seem much the same. "We'll always call you back", "We look after your property as if it's our own", "Number 1 Agent in XXXX Suburb", etc. 

How do you separate the marketing promises from the actual service experience you are likely to receive from the real estate agent? If you have a family member, friend, or colleague who has direct experience with an agency, this is a good way to get a read on the agency's performance. 

However, more likely you will need to read a number of real estate agent reviews. Here are some tips to ensure you make the most of your research.

Two years ago we wrote the article "Should I Use An Online Property Management Service Instead of Hiring A Property Manager?". In this post we spoke about one of the many online property management service providers offering very low fees, raising some food for thought around what may or may not be included within those low fee structures. 

Now, two years later, there are even more options for investors to consider in the management of their property. In this article we revisit the potential pitfalls of selecting a very low cost or flat fee property management business. 

When budgeting for the costs of holding a rental property, most investors factor in the regular, repeatable expenses such as council rates, water service charges, building and landlord insurance, property management fees and strata fees (where applicable). 

From time to time there are additional expenses every investor is likely to incur - the trick is that the timing and extent of these expenses tends to be unpredictable. Due to their unpredictability, they can be more difficult to budget for and are sometimes neglected completely. 

Following is not an exhaustive list by any means, however should help as a reminder to new and seasoned investors alike of the importance to allow for a savings buffer to ensure any untimely surprise expenses are little more than an inconvenience. 

Whenever we meet a new landlord, part of our conversation around preparing the property for the rental market includes a discussion of smoke alarm compliance and testing. Often, landlords may be unaware of their obligations, while others have a limited understanding of what appropriate smoke alarm testing and compliance entails. 

In this post we discuss the primary elements of smoke alarm law in NSW as it impacts landlords, and address the question of whether landlords should feel satisfied with testing smoke alarms themselves.