Property Maintenance

We Operate across Queensland from Cairns to the Gold Coast, Brisbane to Charlton.

Maintaining and Renting out your Investment home can be difficult if you don’t keep on top of general repairs and can turn your investment into a source of stress and loss. BKM property maintenance have a few tips to help you get the most our of your investment with out the stress.

Scheduled Maintenance.

If you never do check-ups or have a maintenance schedule, you’re unlikely to know about minor repairs or maintenance. These can quickly turn into a major, very expensive repair if left unattended, and can be detrimental to the building and tenant’s health.

BKM Australia can perform regular maintenance checks and servicing of your property:

  • Advising you of the items requiring future replacement and items needing urgent repair.
  • With this we can provide a detailed list along with breakdown costs and timeframes.
  • We can schedule these checks to suit your requirements and budgets.
  • Monthly, Quarterly, Six Monthly and Annually.
  • Also available are End of Lease maintenance inspections and assessments.

Why should I keep my investment/rental property in a “tip/top” shape?

A First impression of a property to a potential tenant/investor can be difficult to change.

When a potential tenant arrives at your property, you want them to be impressed from the moment they see the house from the street, right until the moment they’ve seen the very last room.

Practically, this means making sure the exterior is in excellent condition, the garden is tidy, and every room is attractively styled and sparkling clean.

If you want to charge a premium price, you can’t be complacent about the state of your property.

By having your property in a great condition, not only attracts far better tenants, it also encourages tenants to look after it as if it were their own.

Why make my rental property low maintenance?

The last thing tenants want to do is to live in a home that needs a lot of work.

You should aim to make your property as comfortable and low maintenance as possible.

Often this is about going the extra mile, like having someone mow the lawns or look after the exterior of the house on a regular basis.

You want your tenants to feel like they are getting excellent value for the above-average rent.

Some simple improvements to maximise your rental return

There are many things you can do to increase your property’s appeal to a prospective tenant and increase the rental return in the process.

Although it is difficult to put a figure on how much the improvements would increase your rental return, keeping your property well maintained and up-to-date makes it attractive to tenants.

1. Wash the walls and repaint them
Keeping to neutral colours throughout. That way people can move straight in and feel warm and welcome.

With a light colour on the window frames, architraves and skirting to draw the eye outside, making the space feel bigger.

2. Take the waste away from the inside and outside
This includes tree prunings, leaves and garden waste. Excess building materials, etc…

3. Create bright areas with new light bulbs and shades
Light fittings don’t have to cost a lot but can detract from the look of the place if they are dated.

4. Clean, clean, clean
Clean the floor coverings and carpets and deodorise the curtains.

Even if the carpets aren’t dirty, cleaning and deodorising leaves the house with a fresh smell.

5. Change the floor coverings
Even though carpets depreciate well and are a good addition to a property for that reason, polished floors or porcelain tiles can bring in a much better rental return.

6. Update your kitchen
One that’s old and worn-out can take the fresh look out of a property. Having  your wooden or laminate cupboards and drawer-fronts painted in a 2 pack finish is a very cost-effective way of improving the look without the expense of replacing them.

Replacing your worn bench-top aswell as painting the cabinets, make it look like you have just installed a new kitchen.

Did you know?

Spending a bit of time and money sprucing up your investment can make a big difference when it comes to re-letting and minimising vacancies between tenants. Not only will a home that’s well cared for reduce the likelihood of it sitting empty for long periods of time, it will have the added benefit of attracting better quality tenants willing to pay a little extra for top-shelf presentation.

Essentially, some small and inexpensive improvements can give your property that point of difference and make it stand out from the rest.

Many families are being forced out of home ownership with affordability issues and increasing interest rates.

Therefore the property they chose to rent may be their home for a number of years.

And given the current market prices tenants are required to pay, many expect high priced rental properties to at least look decent and well cared for.

Hold your horses.

Before you start thinking about the potential cost of knocking down walls and building extensions, STOP!

You do not need to spend tens of thousands of dollars undertaking costly renovations to ensure you get the right tenants at the best possible price. In most cases all that is required to bring a tired looking rental back to a fresh, clean and enticing place to live is to give it a bit of a makeover or rejuvenation.

Firstly, your rental property requires street appeal.

With tenants scouring the internet and driving past prospective properties before they even consider making an appointment or attending an OFI, it is more crucial than ever that your investment looks neat, tidy and fresh on the outside.

Ensuring lawns are mowed, garden beds are done, paths and driveways are clean and the front of the property is presentable. For older style weatherboard homes, this might even require a few coats of paint.

Of course tenants are not going to live in the front yard. So it is also necessary to consider what you can do on the inside of your property to increase its appeal.

Keep in mind that little luxuries such as air conditioners and dishwashers can make a big difference as to how much a tenant is prepared to pay to live there. There will always be more demand for a rental that offers these options rather than one that does not. It is these extras that make a property stand out from the crowd.

Perhaps consider a repaint inside to freshen up the property. This simple cosmetic enhancement can really transform a tired looking investment into something modern and engaging, which will catch a prospective tenant’s eye as soon as they open the front door.

What is a cosmetic renovation or rejuvenation?

Cosmetic renovations or rejuvenations, in contrast to structural renovations, are changes to the visual appearance of a property. To differentiate between a structural and cosmetic renovation, it is important to first understand what a structural renovation entails.

As a general rule of thumb, anything that requires moving or adding load-bearing walls, including adding a storey or an additional room, is considered a structural renovation.

A cosmetic renovation or rejuvenation, on the other hand, is any other renovation that changes the physical appearance of a property.

A cosmetic renovation or rejuvenation could involve:
• Painting
• New flooring
• Replacing light fixtures
• Replacing door handles
• Replacing cabinet handles
• Refreshing the kitchen or adding a splashback
• New blinds
• A facade refresh with new paint
• New plants in the garden or new fencing
• Replacing bathroom tiles
• Change of colour scheme
• New window fittings

In addition to these small updates to the appearance of the property, cosmetic renovations can also involve much larger-scale projects, such as:
• Ripping out the kitchen to replace it with new cabinets, bench tops and appliances
• Ripping out the vanity in the bathroom
• Replacing an old combined bath tub and shower with a more easily accessible shower