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Several aspects, which we want to explain because it could possibly serve the apartment owners
If you want to rent out an apartment, you should pay attention also to details
„We in our company have observed that there are a lot of apartments, which have been offered for rent in announcement websites for several months, but customer interest in those apartments is close to zero. This is due to several aspects (we won't speak about price, because an adequate price is the aspect No. 1!), which we want to explain because it could possibly serve the apartment owners", says Ms. Līva Jaunozola, Head of the Rent Department of ARCO REAL ESTATE.
Often an apartment has been unoccupied for more than 3 months, and any potential tenant when entering the property, has no feeling of homeliness, which is one of the key factors promoting positive decision-making. We recommend to owners of such apartments to ventilate the apartment a couple of hours before demonstration, lit candles, turn on the TV, or at least to toast bread in the toaster. Such supposedly little things frequently unwittingly trigger a potential tenant to make a positive decision regarding the apartment.
After the previous tenant it is recommended to carry out a cosmetic repair, or at least a "spring-cleaning". Exclusive property rental market practice shows that also the bathtub, toilet bowl, shower stall, dishwasher, washing machine, dishes, linens, etc. are replaced. These are the things associated with hygiene, and this is one of the primary requirements set by high-profile international clients. Also, if the apartment is vacated in good condition, we suggest you repaint at least any of the walls to have the "post-renovation" feeling of freshness in the apartment.
„We recommend that you do not show the apartment while the former tenant is still living, or you should notify the existing tenant that he/she would bring the apartment in order and prepare it for viewing", comments Ms. L.Jaunozola.
The more original is the apartment interior, the more interesting it is for the tenant. If you do not have enough money to carry out a repair or buy new furniture, you can use additional interior elements, such as decorative pillows, a unique chandelier, pictures on the walls, upholstered furniture etc., which in most cases make an apartment more attractive. Even investing only 100 LVL in the interior, it is possible to increase the rent of the apartment by a dozen lats.
To arouse interest of a client in your apartment, it is important to advertise it. To create the right impression, you must have good quality photos. So, to avoid wasting your time and the tenant's time, we recommend specifying in the announcement both the public utilities charges and any additional costs. If you have a beautiful apartment but the building stairwell is in poor condition - do not deceive prospective tenants and show photos of this defect.
If you want to seek your tenants by the help of a brokerage company, we recommend that you work with not more than 2-3 companies, because in this way it is easier to communicate with the brokers, if you decide to change the price; you do not place any misinformation in advertisement sites and your apartment is not "commonplaced" due to placement in various announcement portals. Often, prospective tenants have the feeling that if an apartment is advertised by 10 companies, it is likely that there is something wrong with this property, and they have do not pay attention to this property any more. We've figured out that clients pay attention to an apartment if the apartment is advertised on a site for one month. If an apartment is advertised for several months - mostly customers do not pay attention to this property any more.
As far as the rent is concerned, we advice to consult with the rental market professionals before letting an apartment to determine the optimal rental price, because a rent amount is considered to be calculated correctly when the apartment is rented out in 2-4 weeks. „We advise owners to figure out what is better - to hold an empty apartment on an inadequate price for several months, or to review the rent and start earning right away", says Ms. L.Jaunozola.
Rental market trends in February/March may be described with a single word: Jūrmala. With each year, potential tenants are beginning to look for rental property in Jūrmala earlier and earlier. Already now a growth of prices of short-term rental property in the resort town is observed, while the long-term rental property prices are noticeably lower. In this way, apartment and house owners hope to attract customers who would be willing to rent the property for a year or more. In this situation, we recommend the real estate owners to consult with professional lawyers in issues of preparation of contracts, in order to avoid situations when the tenant has abused the trust of the landlord, and after the summer period terminated the lease contract, since such events are being observed with increasing frequency.
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Additional information
24.03.2011.