Landlords! Prepare Your Property!

In this very competitive market for sellers and landlords, it’s now more important than ever to ensure that your property ready for showing. There is certainly a lot more to being a successful landlord than just collecting rent.

I couldn’t count the amount of times I’ve shown properties to prospective buyers or tenants that are really quite shoddy – clothes lying around, sinks full of dishes, toilets full of…well, you get the picture… Cleanliness is next to Godliness… but it really doesn’t end at cleanliness. Below is my checklist for landlords wishing to rent out their property. Some of this sounds very obvious, but trust me, there are many potential landlords who neglect:

– Make sure your air-conditioning is functioning correctly. Beyond this, if possible, show up a few minutes early and turn the air-con on.

– Make sure your bathroom is very clean and any towels, deodorant, etc. are put away.

– Make sure you have an active telephone line. I couldn’t count the amount of times we’ve had to get telephone and ADSL set up for our have scheduled air-con maintenance, pest control, etc…these are both for your piece of mind as well as great selling features for potential tenants.

– Try and have a ‘theme’ running through your property – ie. Modern, traditional, modern tropical, etc. Many properties we encounter have certainly had some money thrown at them, but not much time has been taken to make sure everything fl ows. That general feeling one gets when fi rst walking into a place is the most important and lasting impression your prospective tenant will have.

– Take it easy on the nude pictures! This may seem like I’m having a laugh, but I have shown many properties where there are quite graphic nudes hanging on the walls that may make someone of a different persuasion a bit uncomfortable. customers, some of them waiting upwards of a month. Phone line rental is only a little over 100 THB per month, so it’s not going to break the bank if it’s sitting there idle.

– If you have a premium condo (ie: beachfront), it’s a good idea to have UBC installed as it’s always a good selling feature.

– Have lots of plates, pots, pans, glasses and cutlery. They’re cheap as dirt here, and no doubt your tenant is going to ask for them anyway.

– Don’t haggle community maintenance fees or with pool and garden maintenance (if applicable). Make it inclusive in the rental price (adjust your price if necessary) and make it easier for everyone.

– Unless you’re renting out a cheapie-cheapie (under 10,000 THB p/m), spend a bit on your furniture. Sofas, tables, TVs, etc. are cheap as chips here and an extra bit of money spent of furniture can drastically increase your return. Having said this, don’t spend too much on your furniture (imported leather sofas + 3 year old kids = disaster)

– If you plan on removing anything from the property before your tenant moves in, make it VERY clear exactly what will be removed/replaced.

– If you’re concerned about having your property properly maintained, offer an inclusive maid service or

– Make the terms of payment easy (ie: direct deposit) and don’t seek more than a two month security deposit as it’s very offputting to most tenants.

– Please, from an agent’s perspective, don’t knock other properties. I’ve had this many times where I’ll show a property to a customer only to have the owner telling my client which buildings in the area they don’t like and basically trying to bolster up their particular unit. As an agent, this is very off-putting and may hamper your chances of us bringing another customer along anytime soon.

BOTTOM LINE: Make you property as presentable as possible and make it as easy as possible for potential tenants. If I were looking for a property, was shown four or fi ve and one of the properties had an IDD line, ADSL, UBC and scheduled maid service, hands down I would take that property. Not only will all of these points make it more appealing to potential tenants, but to agents as well. I know that if all of the utilities and amenities are ready to go, it’s easier for everyone, so I’ll definitely make a concerted effort to rent it out quickly.

This article was prepared by Stu Sutton, managing director of Jomtien Property. I welcome any comments, criticisms and particularly adulations, so please feel free to contact me at [email protected] or 086 108 6575, or visit Jomtien Property’s extensive web.