What am I doing wrong - People who live in share houses

AG_ACT on 14/05/2014 - 00:45

Hi

I'm keen on getting some feedback from people who are living in shared houses (or have done in the past).

I own a near new 5 bedroom property in Forde (Canberra). It is my understanding that Forde is one of the "better" suburbs of Canberra, and anyone who ever walks into/around my house only ever has nice things to say about it. Each of the rooms I rent out has enough room for a queen sized bed with a study table, and a bookshelf, it's own tv points, locks on the doors, air con/heating, nice large window etc

The trouble I have is, approximately every 6 months or so, one of the "housemates" or tenants leaves, which leaves me struggling to find a new tenant, and I'm wondering if anyone can give me some feedback as to what I might be doing wrong.

I WAS renting the rooms out between $150-$155 when I started renting them out; but have recently dropped to $140, and will probably drop it further given the economic climate in Canberra at the moment. I've looked around, and my rent seems to be in the lower bracket rather than the higher brackets;

I don't live at the house; so I don't think it's my personality
The house is definitely large enough at 300sqm; 3 fridges, 2 sofas, a dining table, and it still looks empty

Yet when I seem to advertise on allhomes, gumtree etc, I never seem to get very many phone calls; what am I doing wrong?

Any insights would be very helpful, and I'm more than happy to answer any questions anyone might have.

Home & Garden

Comments

  • Ughhh on 14/05/2014 - 00:56
    +5

    The condition of the house isn't the only factor people consider- location and easy transport is probably more important than a large house. If most of your tenants are students, they want somewhere close to Uni or School, and at least close to public transport.

  • retiredfeline on 14/05/2014 - 01:08
    +2

    Have you asked the people who leave why they are leaving? I concur with JLove's theory. Forde is not a suburb I recognised and when I looked it up, I saw that it is relatively new, which means that transport is a hassle. A search on ACTION shows only one bus service and it's a loop service to Gungahlin. So renters without their own transport are discouraged by this.

    What are your chances of renting to a family instead of shared? (I don't know.)

  • bucketbong on 14/05/2014 - 01:17

    I, and most people I know, generally looked for sharehouses that more closely resembled homes. Or at least something where I'm pretty confident I'd get on ok with fellow tenants etc. This is especially true when moving to a new city.

    From the sound of your setup, there isn't really that communal sense and perhaps that spooks a lot of people?

  • Davo1111 on 14/05/2014 - 02:34

    Just found your advertisement on all homes, but not gumtree… perhaps that's part of the issue?

    My main gripe with the home would be public transport. It's a bus to gunghalin, THEN a bus to the city. I think you're going to be battling closer rentals. My assumption is most people who rent a single room wouldn't have a car, so you're on the back foot. Is it car friendly? Street parking? you should mention that.

    Are you limited by the number of photos you can add? You could create an imgur album with some proper photos, you might not be allowed to post urls on allhomes, but you can on gumtree.

    I don't get the first photo in "collage" on the first page, is this somehow related to the room? It's not clear.

    Also, why not take a photo of the room with the curtains open? I assume there is natural light?

    The collage idea is an interesting one. but it means you get low res photos.

    Nit picking: the bed frame is a little dated

    Also, the guy above touched on it. No mention of the other housemates. Age brackets maybe? students? professionals?

  • Wallyt99 on 14/05/2014 - 08:16
    +1

    The house is too big. Too many people to not get along with.

  • blitz on 14/05/2014 - 08:44
    +3

    Why are you renting it as a share house and not a conventional rental?

    • Baghern on 16/05/2014 - 13:35

      more money

  • SavatteDodo on 14/05/2014 - 09:29
    +3

    How many bathrooms/toilets in this 5 bedroom house?

    This is one major factor as well.

    Are bills included in the rent?

    Maybe consider free internet for tenants.

    From my experience, too many people in one house with one kitchen is always a big issue.

  • rack on 14/05/2014 - 09:34
    +4

    You should try and get feedback from tenants who are leaving. Maybe there is another housemate causing trouble driving the others away.

  • humdogg on 14/05/2014 - 11:58
    +4

    i suggest you move the house out of Canberra.

    • [Deactivated] on 14/05/2014 - 17:01

      I love Canberra (lived and worked there not long ago) but I still lol'ed.

  • halfnhalf71 on 14/05/2014 - 12:03
    +1

    I think the combination of answers above are the answers to your questions. Personally, i have lived in a number of share houses and now rent my own place out (much smaller than a 5 bedroom. If I was looking to share this is what I would be thinking about your place:
    Pros:
    Looks new
    Clean
    Cons:
    Looks like you are trying to get 5 separate housemates. Way too many for my liking.
    On the outskirts of the city
    Transport.
    Other options aren't too dissimilar and better locations.

    Based on the above I wouldn't even bother contacting you.
    I would be trying to rent to a family or even professional couple. Yes you will theorteically get less but you can get a more consistent rent and the merry-go-round of looking for new tenants will be reduced significantly.
    Good luck!

  • [Deactivated] on 14/05/2014 - 12:28

    I agree with all suggestions and comments posted on here so far. Why go for single room rentals instead of renting the whole house? Are you planning to return to stay in one of the rooms in the future? Maybe you're trying to reap a greater reward by renting single rooms (which will always total up to be a greater profit than renting the whole house).

    If you're urgent to rent your property out, I suggest talking to a reliable local real estate company to do it for you for a small commission. They will handle the ads, inspections, manage future tenants, house conditions etc. They will be the experts to advice you on the price based on locations, closeness to public transport, condition etc.

    • [Deactivated] on 14/05/2014 - 13:59

      I agree with getting help from a real estate agent. They know the best places to advertise and can screen the tenants for you. If you want tenants who are going to stick around for a long time, an agent may be able to find people like this for you. There will be times when the real estate agent will be able to let you know in advance that the tenants will probably only want a 6 month "lease" before they move on.

      The impression I get with most people in the rental market is that they are not looking for long term accomodation. I'm guessing with Canberra, some people only have short term postings in one location for work and then move onto other areas.

      I know there are people in the rental market who want to stay in one place for a long time but I think these people and families are the exception rather than the rule.

      What I'm trying to say is that regardless of how good your accomodation is, you are probably going to get people moving in and out on a frequent basis.

  • AG_ACT on 14/05/2014 - 19:57

    Wow, thanks a lot for your replies guys. I really appreciate it.

    To answer the issues raised:
    Why not rent it out through a real estate agent: I can't really afford to rent it through a real estate agent, at 10% fees roughly + no control over how the repairs get done + long vacancy periods (no one seems to be able to rent out a house of my size without suggesting it will be vacant for 1-2 months).

    Why not rent it to a family:
    Because families generally would prefer to own a 4 brm house rather than pay rents for a 5 brm house; even those that I don't weed out, it'd take too long to find one.

    Area
    I agree the area isn't central; and the bus services anywhere around Canberra isn't great.

    People leaving vs attracting new ones
    The people leaving isn't an issue, it's finding the new ones that's my issue. Once someone sees the house, then they don't leave without a very good reason. The latest guy is leaving because his sister is moving to the neighborhood, the one before that went overseas; one left Canberra.

    I don't really have an issue with the people leaving; just with attracting new ones.

    Photos & AD
    I'm not sure why my ad on gumtree wasn't appearing; it's one of the top ads. I created the collage when only one photo was allowed on allhomes; but I guess it isn't necessary; maybe I'll borrow a decent camera and take some photos.

    Most helpful tips ever; I'll take photos of the parking, and get better pics; and mention current housemates; hopefully this will increase the traffic slightly.

    • Davo1111 on 14/05/2014 - 21:00

      Awesome. Be respectful with the current housemates. But it doesn't hurt to provide an age bracket and if they're professional or all students

      • AG_ACT on 14/05/2014 - 21:15

        Thanks, I'll definitely put the info in the ad.

        The most frequent source of new tenants is the outgoing or remaining tenants; so I guess I just wanted to know what else I can do to improve my ads so I don't continually waste money on advertising.

        I guess I have learnt some tips to improve the ad, and also, that waiting for existing tenants to find other tenants to find new tenants may not necessarily be a bad thing:)

        thanks again everyone.

  • Baghern on 16/05/2014 - 13:41
    +1

    I'm surprised no one said this.

    Assuming 5 independent renters, that's a 3 year turnaround. That is good, and going by what you said they like the place, 3 years is very good.

    Whats going against you is that it is shared accommodation with 4 other rooms, that's a lot of strangers to trust. I'd be advertising at Unis and places where hostels advertise, people looking for longer term accommodation at the same time low rates would be your target market.

    I think 2-3 year turnaround is exceptionally lucky for the situation you are in

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join