Maximising the return on your rental property

The rental market in Brisbane is more competitive than ever, and landlords are seeing rents flatline or go backwards due to strong competition. The fact that over 24,000 new apartments have been built locally in the past 5 years hasn’t helped the situation.

But it isn’t all bad news. Investment property owners who are prepared to ensure that their property meets the needs of tenants are still finding great people, who are prepared to pay the right price.

Making clever, considered improvements to your rental property can really support its performance, particularly in today’s market conditions. At Bluebird Property Partners, we regularly manage improvements to properties for our clients in order to enable greater returns.

Here are a couple of strategies that you might like to consider, if you aren’t happy with your current rental performance:

Clever cosmetic updates

Sometimes, some simple cosmetic updates can do wonders for improving the desirability of a home. Options like a fresh coat of paint, ripping up old carpets to expose lovely old floorboards below, or tidying up old garden beds, can make a world of difference to a tired space. However, the trick is to not overcapitalise or make decisions based on ‘trends’. Simple, classic colours are timeless, and preserve the value longer term.

Adding an extra bedroom

Some older apartments and houses were built much larger than what is common now, so it’s possible to transform spare space into an extra bedroom to increase both your rental yield and property value. It can be as easy as a a simple stud wall, new door and ceiling fan, none of which add huge cost, but which can really change the rental appeal.

Talk to a property manager first

The worst mistake we see investment owners make is deciding to renovate on their own personal preferences or tastes, before they’ve talked to a property manager about what will actually change the rental outcome. If a kitchen is just a little outdated, but still perfectly functional and non-offensive, it may not be worth updating it. Investing that money into a new bedroom or air conditioning, as an example, might be better for that particular rental property. Property Managers will generally be happy to provide you with this input upfront at no fee, because it means when the property is ready to rent, they’ll have the best chance of achieving a great outcome.

Adding a secondary dwelling

A granny flat or secondary dwelling can double the rental yield of your property because it allows multiple tenants to dwell in self-contained areas. While you’ll need to navigate town planning approvals to do this, the effort will generally be rewarded with stronger returns.

If you have an investment property that could benefit from some fresh thinking, we would be delighted to look at it with you and make some suggestions. We routinely manage renovations, and have achieved some great rental results for our clients. In fact, we have just completed a comprehensive renovation in Alderley, that has seen the rental value increase by 70% in just over 3 months.

If you are hoping for a similar outcome, Claire would be delighted to help. She’s available on 0420 377 025.