#PropertyReport: Landlords must avoid the void

Surfing property portals will show you rental properties make up a sixth of the market compared to sales listings.

The general shortage of residential rental properties is not a new phenomenon, and neither is the high number of tenants searching.

The reason for the shortage of rental stock is simply owing to the fact that most people tend to buy property to occupy themselves, and not for long-term rental investment.

Rental properties also tend to only stay on the market for a few days or weeks when they are available, so we do not get an accumulation of rental properties that haven’t been let out, unlike what occurs in the sales market.

Rental demand is getting stronger. As we know Ballito is no longer a sleepy holiday town. It is now a hub, a large town with much higher levels of business, commercial and retail outlets, as well as associated property developments.

In addition, we also now see the emergence of young professionals choosing to live here rather than relocating to other areas such as Umhlanga and Gauteng like years gone by.

These people need somewhere to live, and most of them, be it young professionals, employees or people relocating, prefer to first explore where they want to live before taking the plunge to buy.

For many people, buying a property is just out of reach right now, so renting is the way they will go.

Add to the mix people who like to remain flexible and liquid, plus the number of people who are building on the North Coast and obviously need to rent somewhere in the meantime.

However, as healthy as these market conditions may seem from a landlord’s perspective, they should not be fooled into thinking they hold all the aces and can leave things until the last minute to find a tenant.

I would strongly advise landlords to list their properties on the market two months before the occupation date to give themselves enough time to find the best tenant at the best price.

Too many landlords leave it until a week or so to go and then immediately find themselves on the backfoot and under pressure.

My advice is for landlords to steer clear from “void periods” where the home sits empty between tenants. The worst situation for a landlord is to be paying a bond for a month without any rental income.

So be careful not to turn down offers too hastily in the hope of something better – and then miss the boat.

Taking a 10% below asking price offer for 12 months works out about the same as holding out for the price and missing a month’s rental, and that’s assuming they do get the desired offer price the next month.

So, give yourself time and avoid the void.

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