Winning A Rental Application

We all know how competitive the rental market is right now and gone are the days where you hard the luxury of booking a private inspection to view a rental and take your time going through it. These days, you attend an open inspection with 50 other interested renters where you all fight your way for some alone time with the property manager and try and get them to notice you so you stand out and encourage them to accept your rental application. 

You have now attended 10 other rental inspections and have had no luck so how do you turn on the charm? 

When a property lists a rental available, there is no doubt that within an hour of listing the property they have already received numerous applications, enquiries and phone calls from potential tenants wanting to rent the property without even taking a look. And with more interstate and international people moving to the beautiful, sunny Gold Coast - finding a rental is harder than ever before. 

 As a tenant, you must present yourself as a desirable renter to get your foot in the door as let’s face it – the last thing a landlord or property manager wants is a bad tenant. But what exactly are agents and landlords looking for? 

Below are some tips to help you get ahead:

Security and Trust

Most agents agree that secuirty is paramount as no one wants to put a tenant into a rental where they know they will not be able to pay the rent. Ensure you have proof of employment and the ability to pay the rent as this is the number one thing. 

Trust is also important. Property managers want to know that the property is being looked after. 

These are things that property managers will find out from your references. Now when we talk about references, we do not mean put your best friend and mum or dad down. We are talking about putting down references such as previous landlords and your boss or manager from your workplace that will give honest feedback. 

 

Documentation

Get ahead of your competitors and ensure you have all your documention and application completed in full and ready at all times. Realestate.com.au now allows you to create your tenant profile so ensure this is created so that when a rental property is listed, you can simply apply for the property online. 

If the property manager has their own application, ask for it before you view the property and bring the completed application to the viewing. If they only hand out applications at the viewing, have all other documents ready so you can fill in the application and send it in ASAP. 

And ensure your application is completed in FULL. By the time the property managers asks you for more information to complete your applications, another 10 applicants have applied and you could miss out. 

 

Standing Out From The Crowd

Keep communication short and sweet. The property manager has spoken to 50 other people about the property and why they would be the best tenants and how long they have been looking for a rental and what they ate for breakfast and so on.... KEEP IT SHORT AND SIMPLE. 

Keep your communication to the point and your application short and to the point. If a property manager has received 50 applications, we can guarentee you, if the first 5 applications they look at are great candidates, this will be their shortlist and they will not look at the remaining applications. When it comes to rental applications on the Gold Coast, only around 40% of applications will be processed on each property (that's a fact). Keep your application and communication to the point. 

And do not forget to use the word "house proud" - property managers love this! 

 

Laying Your Own Demands

Once a rental property has been listed, there are numerous candidates contacting the property manager offering to rent the property for 6 months paying the full 6 months rent upfront and renating it without even inspecting it. For us, this is a big NO NO. 

Yes, fantastic if you can pay 6 months rent in advance as this eliminates the risk of you not being able to pay rent however, we like to meet our potential tenants prior to leasing them our owners most important asset. 

Then you have the applicants that come and look at the property, love it, and start laying out their demands..."I am in another rental and the lease ends in 2 months, do you think that would work?"...when the ad clearly states AVAILABLE NOW and there are 20 other ideal applicants who are viewing the rental that can move in tomorrow. 

 

Inspecting The Property

As a tenant, if you are invited to an inspection, this means your application has been shortlisted and you have more chance of being selected. Trust us when we say, do whatever you can to be at that inspection as with the current rental market, it only takes 1 inspection to lease that property. 

Show up and most importantly, show respect to the property manager and property while you are there. 

And leave the dirty laundry at home - the property manager does not want to you venting about how difficult is it to get a rental - there is a time nd place for this.

It is all about being having a great rental history, great references and being and excellent tenant at the end of the day. 

 

In short, here is a list to help you prepare for your application and what agents are looking for: 

• Longer term employment with payslips as evidence
• A good rental history
• Tenants that have manners and show respect to the property during the inspection
• Tidiness in appearance
• A truthful and comprehensive application

 

Disclaimer: This blog post is not to be considered legal advice. If you are seeking specific legal advice we suggest that you consult a legal professional before making any significant decisions in this regard.