Gadgets that Property Investors Should Avoid

When looking at property that you intend to rent out, Australian property investors really should take a long hard look at the chattels and gadgets included in the property – some of them are just too much trouble to be bothered with. Here’s some of my least favourite household chattels:

Swimming Pools

Sure everyone wants a pool- but no one actually wants to maintain it! If your property is executive level – sure include a swimming pool and include the pool man in the rent, but most tenants won’t want to pay extra or pay for the maintenance. If  you are stuck with one see if you can run it as a salt pool rather than a chlorinated one – a lot less maintenance.

Old Style Air Conditioners

The old evaporative air conditioners are expensive to run and not work well, and cost a fortune to replace. Make it a negotiating point on the sale, and then replace it and get a better rent and a guarantee to boot!

Fancy “Gold” Taps

Usually installed by someone who is in love with the instant makeover your home TV shows. They look fantastic – for about 6 months and then they look old, scratched and well fake. Replace with stainless steel ASAP.

This is my new favorite, number one thing to avoid though as a property investor: the Water Gurus Air-To-Water generator.  No this is not a joke – really I couldn’t have made it up  -here it is features on Australian news:

You can have one of these lovely devices installed in your home – complete with hot and chilled water options for $2000(+GST). The generator is so noisy it has to be installed outside. As a landlord I can see the maintenance bill now, and the tenant complaining about the power bill. Oddly most Australian houses already come with clean drinking water installed: its called a tap!