How To Find Tenants Fast After Purchasing A Property

So you've just bought an investment property - congratulations! You've got your Saturday's back. But before you delete the real estate apps on your phone, there's one more thing to do - find some tenants.

By Finn Simpson

| 24-11-2019 | News | 2 min read

(Image source: Shutterstock.com)

So you’ve just bought an investment property - congratulations! You’ve got your Saturday’s back.

But before you delete the real estate apps on your phone, there’s one more thing to do - find some tenants!

Settlement is fast approaching - along with monthly mortgage commitments, so you will want to find a good tenant at the right rent as fast as possible.

But with a million other things to do that come with purchasing and settling on a property, how do you manage this?!

See below for 4 quick tips on how to secure a good tenant as fast as possible after purchasing.

1. Buy the right property

I suppose this one is a little late if you’ve already purchased, but you can use it for the next one.

I’m referring here to the tenancy appeal of the property. Will the property perform well in the tenancy market?

Will it garner enough interest from the tenancy market so that it gets taken quickly - for market, or above-market rent?

Is the property liveable? Are the rooms spacious? Is there room for storage, and does it get enough sunlight? Find out the trends in the local tenancy market - does your property follow them?

An easy way to gauge this is to see what the interest has been from the buying market. If the property has had a lot of buyer interest during the selling campaign, this generally corresponds to the tenancy market too.

A property that does not appeal to the tenancy market may mean your property is left stagnant on the market, and you might need to decrease your asking rent in order to secure a tenant.

2. Assess any improvements/updates you might need to do

To speed up the leasing process, you need to list and cost all the items that need touching up before a tenant moves in.

This might be small things, such as painting a room or landscaping an outdoor area, but it may also be larger updates, such as installing a new oven or laying new flooring.

If you can negotiate early access to do any of these before the property settles, it will ensure the leasing campaign can begin as soon as possible.

3. Negotiate early access for rental open homes with the current owners

This is a big one. The time required for a typical leasing campaign is usually 3-5 weeks (however a tenant can be found much faster than this if marketed and negotiated well), and a typical property settlement is 6 weeks.

If you can negotiate with the current owner early access to do rental open homes inside the settlement period, it will benefit you greatly.

Remaining on good terms with the selling agent is crucial here as he has the relationship and trust of the owner. You want them on your side for this discussion.

4. Price accurately

Spoiler alert: This may not be what the selling agent has told you.

The selling agent is paid to promote the property in every which way they can to get the owners the biggest price, and sometimes this can involve a slightly optimistic - shall we say - rental opinion.

The fix to this issue is having a competent property manager on your side throughout your purchasing period. They will be able to offer their neutral (read: unbiased) opinion on the rental price the property should achieve.

This ensures that you are basing your purchasing calculations on accurate figures, meaning you won’t get caught out from a cash flow point of view in the months and years to come.