Six key things to consider when renting out your property

With the property sales market experiencing a low ebb, and the resultant increase in the length of time a property remains on the market, many sellers are considering long-term rentals as an alternate solution for their property. The Zimbali Estate Management Association recently endowed Seeff Zimbali with annual awards for the Top Long-Term Rental Agency in Zimbali and Seeff Rentals Specialist Mellini Naidoo as the Top Rental Agent in Zimbali for 2018. Says Principal of Seeff Zimbali, Andreas Wassenaar: “This is no small achievement, considering how competitive the rental market is and how incredibly hard the rentals business can be. Having placed hundreds of tenants over the past 10 years, we are well versed in the key signs to look out for as a landlord when screening and considering accepting an offer to lease on your property.

“In order to avoid having to deal with a tenant from hell, here are six key things to consider and take note of when renting out your property.

“1. The first and most important aspect to understand and interrogate is the history and past behaviour of the prospective tenant. A Tenant Profile Network and PayProp Credit Profile Reports are excellent tools for a landlord to review prior to accepting a lease. Every professional estate agent will subscribe to this type of service and present the detailed reports together with the offer to lease. If the tenant has been renting previously then the input from that landlord is extremely valuable and a very good indicator of future expected behaviour. The easiest thing in the world is for an estate agent to place any tenant in a property – it is far harder to place a qualified tenant that will look after the property and pay the rental on time, every time.

“2. If a tenant proposes contracting in a family members' name or in the name of anybody or a legal entity other than the person or legal entity responsible for paying the rent, this is a major red flag and is often sufficient reason to put the brakes on the transaction. The reason for doing this typically revolves around a compromised credit profile and an attempt to get around this problem.

“3. If the initial payments to be made by the tenant are made slowly or in parts, this is another big red flag, and indicates a lack of affordability and the inability to perform in the future.

“4. Family structure of the proposed tenant is important. A tenant that is too young carries the inherit risk of not having the commitment to the lease term. Younger children can be harder on a property, as can younger adults such as university aged prospects. Look for tenants that are in a settled and stable place in their lives, who are house proud and seek to add value to their surroundings.

“5. Employment structure is important, as self-employed entrepreneurs carry a higher risk profile than a corporate tenant such as Unilever looking to place an executive on contract for three years. It may surprise some people that corporate tenants do not necessarily pay the highest rental rate.

“6. Pets, and specifically the exact type and number of them, must be considered. With so many of our local gated estates having ever stricter pet policies, it is important to carefully examine what type of pets are being proposed. Dogs can cause chaos in a garden and cats can be equally hard on the interior of a home.”

Contact Andreas Wassenaar, Principal of Seeff Zimbali on 082 837 9094, email: andreasw@seeff.com.