The housing crisis continues in New Zealand and attitudes on smaller abodes are evolving. Now there’s a new style of ‘apartment’ called a “micro-flat” and it’s all the rage in the UK and Europe. What are micro-flats and will they also be the housing of the future in our more populated cities like Auckland?
Firing your property manager is a Landlord’s right and many do it without a second thought. Landlords have the power to do it and for some there’s joy of taking the action with a sense of accomplishment i.e. increasing in cashflow by getting rid of the property management fee. However as we know good times don’t last and this is when property managers come into their own and landlords using them breathe a sigh of relief.
It’s a full house in Auckland and Wellington now the students have returned for the 2017 year. Traffic is heavy and patience is needed as we’re all tested in peak hour. On the home front development is soon to get underway on the huge 57 floor apartment tower call “The Pacifica”. It will have 295 Apartments many will be premium with a price tag to match.
With ever-increasing costs, Landlords often wonder if they’re doing the right thing using a Property Manager, and it’s a topic that’s discussed a lot on PropertyTalk. Why pay for the service when they could do it and save hundreds of dollars every year per property? Well one reason to not do it yourself is all the rules and legislation. The use of property management firms is increasing due to the complexity of owning rental properties today.
Ten year tenancies are back in the news and also in the discussion on PropertyTalk.com. On the news site stuff.co.nz an article reports Auckland Property Investors Association (APIA) have called for a change in the fixed term tenancy agreements offered to residential tenants.
Demand is up for rental properties in most areas except Canterbury where the median rent has fallen over the past twelve months by two percent. Increased supply of property in Christchurch post-rebuild has meant less demand for rental accomodation and the median weekly rent is now back to where it was three years ago according to Trade Me Rent Price Index.
Meth contamination is a big threat to rental properties as it’s popularity grows. Clean up costs are in the tens of thousands and investor experiences with contamination are now on PropertyTalk.com including this discussion: Meth testing between tenancies which has nearly clocked up 20,000 views in just nine weeks.
Most residential property investors start investing while in full-time employment. Income is a primary consideration in qualifying for home loans and the security a mortgagee’s full-time employment offers, is usually a key prerequisite for the lender.
The countdown is on now the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill will be passed into law on 1 July 2016. From this date Landlords and Property Managers need to beware of their respective responsibilities around rental properties meeting the required standards by the ‘Amendments’ due dates.
A discussion on PropertyTalk on joint ventures this week suggests there are many property investors whom have heard of the joint venture strategy but have very little knowledge or experience of how it works. Entering into joint venture deals lightly can be thwart with obstacles that can turn a deal bad.
Property sales data on non-resident buyers has proven interesting so far but is from conclusive and is not likely to singlehandedly trigger further action by the Government or the RBNZ. The new rules introduced late last year shrunk the pool of foreign buyers who were waiting for new IRD numbers.
In the media a couple of reliable sources confirm rent increases have not risen alot over the last twelve months – so where are the greedy Landlords? Property sales and prices continue to forge ahead with gusto while rents remain static thus widening the gap between sales and rents according to the latest Trade Me Property Rental Index.
