5 Investment Property Hacks You Need to Know
Check out these 5 investment property hacks when managing your own property.
Make your money work harder for you and get the most out of your investment property with these 5 investment property hacks.
Future you will say thank you!
Today, more than ever, it is critical to keep an eye on cash flow. Not just because interest rates are rising or you want to increase the return on your investment property, but because it could be the difference between buying your next property several years sooner.
Taking advantage of these investment property hacks will put you in a great position to buy that next property.
In this article we’ll go through 5 hacks to get you going. If you have any suggestions or ideas to share on this topic, please feel free to email us at info@rentbetter.com.au we’d love to hear from you.
- Fix your interest rate and pay in advance
- Get your tenants to open the door
- Complete a tax depreciation schedule
- Rent out storage space or a garage
- Utilise the right software to save time and money
Fix your interest rate and pay in advance
One way to improve your tax efficiency is to fix the interest rate on your mortgage and prepay a full year in advance. This will give you the opportunity to take advantage of a discounted fixed rate as well as recognising the full value of the tax deduction for your interest repayments in the current tax year.
If you have earned a bonus or a higher income that year, it’s a brilliant way to bring the benefit forward and put more cash in your pocket with an immediate tax deduction.
You can discuss this strategy with either your accountant or your mortgage broker as a way to make this work for you.
Get your tenants to open the door
Managing your own rental property is both rewarding on a personal and financial level. It has become quite common in Australia for investors to self-manage their own properties, allowing them to save about $2,000 a year in fees, and more importantly taking control over their property.
When it comes time to find a new tenant and advertise your rental property, utilise the existing tenant to open the door and show the prospects through the property.
This relies on you having a positive relationship with your current tenants, but in most cases we’ve found this to be common when landlords are self-managing their property. Asking the current tenant to help you show the property can save you time attending the property for inspections and often enables you to be more flexible in that you can respond immediately to interest with someone who is already at the property opening the door.
We have heard some owners offering sweeteners to their tenants like ‘half a week off their rent’ or other benefits to help out, and it’s just one way to take the friction out of the whole process, save money and manage from the palm of your hand!
Complete a tax depreciation schedule
Complete a tax depreciation schedule to help you pay less tax. Ultimately the report or the depreciation tax schedule helps to determine how much you can claim as a tax deduction each year for wear and tear and regular use of the assets in your property.
It helps you take into account the reduction in value (depreciation) of the assets over time and can be a fairly sizeable tax deduction each year, so it is definitely recommended for investors. The cost of a report is typically quite reasonable, especially when compared to the annual deduction you should be able to claim as a result.
There are two categories included in the typical report:
- Capital works like air conditioning units, windows, doors and even bath-tubs
- Plant and equipment like curtain, light fittings and hot-water systems
If you haven’t already completed a tax depreciation schedule, we’d recommend booking one today!
Rent out storage space or a garage
Fortunately we live in a time where there is a platform for pretty much everything. Whether it’s renting out time in your swimming pool, access to your garage, or extra storage space, there is a way to monetise the extra areas of your property you may not be using frequently, and make some money out of them.
Once you’ve found the right platform to list your extra space, you will be well on your way to increasing your monthly income. Whether it’s a garage for $200 or a pool for $100 over the weekend, the ability to generate extra income from your property is well worth it.
Utilise the right software to save time and money
We encourage you to register for a demo of the RentBetter Platform so you can see for yourself why thousands of landlords across Australia have decided to choose the RentBetter Platform to manage their own property.
From advertising for tenants, handling enquiries, applications, tenant checks or setting up a lease agreement and signing electronically, sourcing inspectors to complete condition reports and track every payment and expense, you’ll find the RentBetter Platform an incredibly valuable tool, and wonder why you had not been using it for years!
Our customer base is growing rapidly and we believe it’s not only because our customers are saving time and money managing their own property, and not just because they get to increase the level of control over their investment, but because they very quickly realise it is truly a better experience for both them and their tenants.
We’d love you to join us and see for yourself just much better RentBetter can make the process of managing your own property.
