Researching, inspecting and applying for the perfect Sydney rental property is at least 100 hours of work. All under the pressure of a deadline.
But that doesn’t have to be your problem anymore.
If you’ve hunted for a rental property in Sydney before, you know it’s like a nightmare version of The Amazing Race. And if you’re new to the Sydney rental market, that might not be what you’re used to at all. Picture this…
You’re thrashing your GPS like never before as you burn another Saturday morning charging between unmovable 15-minute viewing slots. There’s no way to swerve this race against the clock because that lipstick-red X on your calendar is only getting closer.
Saturday mornings are lost to rally driving and crash inspections because few property managers open properties for viewing on request. It’s this slot on Saturday or nothing.
And it’s not as if you can lower the tempo of your search by starting further in advance. Good rentals aren’t on the market for more than a couple of weeks. Really good ones are snatched on the day.
Result?
The pressure is dialed up to 11 for an intense period of internet searches, uninterested property managers and lost Saturdays.
Eventually you’ll find a property. Hopefully, it’s a property you actually like — because every lease is a long lease when you don’t like the place you’re calling home.
But even when you’ve found somewhere, you’re still a mile from the finish line …
The final mad sprint is to craft an application that presents you as the property manager’s obvious best choice. There’s no prize for second place in the rental market, so the tiniest misstep on your application could send you back to the starting line.
For most people that means putting in between five and seven applications before you get one approved.
The other way to find a Sydney rental property
Fortunately, none of that is what finding a rental property looks like for my clients.
At most, my clients inspect one to five properties and they’re accepted for the one they choose. Well, that’s the case for fifty per cent of them …
The other fifty per cent of my clients don’t even visit their new rental homes before they pull up outside on moving day. They know I’ll have found exactly the right place for them, so they just put in their application.
How to find a Sydney rental property in as little as three hours
My name is Melissa Maimann, and I’m a licensed and insured real estate agent in Sydney.
Through Find My Rental Property, it’s my pleasure to help other professionals like you find a rental property in as little as three hours of your time.
I do that by taking on the 100+ hours of research and inspections so you don’t have to take on property searching as a second full-time job.
There are plenty of hard-won laughs in rental horror stories, but if you don’t have the time, I’m here to help you avoid them completely.
My clients see only the best that the Sydney rental market has to offer because I find the gems for them.
No more decoding real-estate-speak
When you brief Find My Rental Property, you won’t be on your own wondering what happened to plain English.
No sitting in front of a screen decoding ads on Domain or realestate.com.au.
No wasted trips to learn that “large yard suitable for kids and pets” means “bring your own machete” or that “modern kitchen” is real estate dialect for “no need to light a fire to cook”.
No more unbelievable photographs
My clients don’t lose an hour on the road to discover how much landlords love those old photo albums — dusting off pictures taken before someone used their property to run an unlicensed circus school.
The smartest tenants in Sydney
Working with Find My Rental Property, you’ll be the smartest, best informed tenant in Sydney.
1. Inside information
As a licensed real estate agent, I subscribe to databases that tenants don’t have access to.
I can see a property’s rental history (you don’t want to sign a lease on somewhere that has a mysterious history of tenants cutting their leases short).
I can see if the property is listed for sale as well as for rent. If you move into a property that’s for sale, your landlord will expect you to accommodate open homes.
I can see photos going way back, so I know if the pictures in the ad are from when John Howard was prime minister.
I can call up floor plans, so we can see when the “third bedroom” would make a monk feel claustrophobic.
I can see exactly what the owner means by “pet friendly” and perhaps save you a wasted inspection. The landlord might not be friendly to your pet — for reasons of size, breed or species. Or they might have changed their minds about being pet friendly but not updated the listing yet.
2. Asking the right questions
When I inspect a potential home for you, I’m looking at it through your eyes but I’m also carrying out an expert appraisal. To do that, I make sure I’m asking all the right questions.
If you say you need to be close to public transport or the shops, I’ll ask exactly how close and if you prefer the bus or the train.
Is the longer-term plan to have a child or a flatmate? Do you need a shower that’s separate from the bath? What are the dimensions of your fridge? Is your washing machine top- or front-loading?
What about pets? If you have them, what do they need? Grass? No grass? A fence?
I leave nothing to chance.
How Find My Rental Property works
My clients can’t believe how thorough I am. In fact, the most common thing they say is “I never thought of that!” (which is definitely not something you want to be saying after you’ve moved into somewhere).
Here’s how I’ll make sure we’ve thought of everything…
Taking a detailed brief
We’ll go through a detailed questionnaire I’ve developed over the years. This probably takes about an hour of the roughly three hours of your time that I’ll need to find you a rental property when I’m doing the legwork for you.
After that hour, we’ll both have a crystal-clear picture of what you’re looking for. And I’ll be able to research properties and inspect them like a laser-focused version of you.
For you, that means no zooming around Sydney at the weekend; you’ll be reviewing my recommendations on an iPad over a coffee.
Comprehensive reports
If I think a property is worth your time, I’ll email you a summary report and images that drill right down to whether the blinds in the third bedroom go up and down smoothly.
You’ll have my report, photographs, a floor plan (if one is available), and notes detailing everything from the capacity of the hot water system to whether your fridge will fit.
Recommendation score
Before recommending a home, I calculate how closely the property meets your brief.
Less than 79% and I probably won’t bother to tell you about the property.
Between 80% and 89% and I’ll suggest you consider the property.
And at 90% or more, I’ll be urging you to move fast.
Making a winning application
The average property manager is responsible for more than 200 properties. Not surprisingly, their focus is on their time. The easier your application looks to process, the more likely you are to beat out the competition.
Working with Find My Rental Property, you’ll have two big things in your favour.
Property managers love working us
Professionals use professionals. That you are the sort of person who engages a licensed real estate professional to find your rental property says a lot to a property manager.
Detail and insight for your application
Fortunately for you, most people don’t include anywhere near enough information to make the property manager’s life easier. When you have inside information on what to include, you have an edge when it comes to positioning yourself as a property manager’s dream.
There are plenty of hidden traps in a rental application. Fall into one and the property manager will start to see red flags sprouting off the page.
I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen to you.
Also, as part of the process, I’ll ensure we’re organised well in advance so that you’re ready to move decisively when the right property comes up.
Do you want to find a Sydney rental property without the legwork and disappointments?
If you don’t want to spend 100 hours scouring Sydney for the perfect rental property, you don’t have to. Let me take on the long hours of research and inspections for you.
You’ll give up as little as three hours of your time. I’ll do the rest and soon all you’ll have to do is watch the ink dry on a lease for the perfect rental.
Sound good?