CONTRIBUTED BY STACEY PENNICOTT, STACEY LEE REALTY
As many are aware, Queensland is currently in the grip of a rental crisis where there are more tenants than there are properties available. This results in a lot of stress for those out there currently trying to find a new home.
As a property manager, it means we are receiving applications from many people who would be wonderful tenants, but we only have one property available for them to apply for and can only approve one application. The common question we are getting at our inspections is, “why aren’t I getting approved for a property? I’ve been submitting a lot of applications, and I’m just not getting mine across the line.” So I thought I would share with our community some tips that may be helpful.
Ensure your application is completed in full. Many real estates accept online applications using the same or similar platforms that tenants may have used before, so sometimes tenants forget to update their details and the details of their current employer and current reference for their current agent, and this wastes the property manager’s time trying to get references that are no longer current, or those referees ignore our requests.
Let your references know that you are applying for properties and ask if they can respond to the request for a reference as quickly as possible and treat the request urgently. If we have multiple applications for a property, as soon as we have completed one application, we submit it to the owner, and we continue processing the others, but if the owner approves the first one submitted, then the other applicants are missing out simply because their referees did not respond.
Check that you can afford the property – one of the first criteria a property manager checks is the rent-to-income ratio, where we do not want the rent to exceed more than 35% of the tenant’s net weekly income. Otherwise, this would place the tenant under financial stress and unable to meet their weekly rent commitment.
If you have pets on your application, include photos of your adorable four-legged family members and references if possible.
Be prepared to pay the bond and first two weeks’ rent within 24 hours of having your application approved. If you cannot afford this financial commitment, you may miss out on the property, and it goes to another applicant.
Call the agent after you have submitted your application to confirm they have received it and ask if they can let you know if they need any other information as part of processing your application.
I hope these tips have been helpful to you, and I wish you all the best with finding your new home.
