Are you a developer or home owner? Leasing or selling your property can be such a herculean task when you are not properly guided as to how to go about it.
Below are few points to make it easier for you;
1. Agents: Who needs an agent when you can do it yourself? Why use an agent when you can use three? Usually home owners and developers are so eager for their property to get off the market that they engage the services of up to three or more agents to market and thereby causing unhealthy rivalry among the agents and confusion for interested buyer/tenant. As much as it is important for the property to get off the market, it is also important that you engage the services of agents that you can trust (e.g. Luxury Villas Group). There have been several stories of tenants and even homeowners being duped by unscrupulous persons tagging themselves as agents.
Some home owners even go as far as putting up banners in their own names, the danger in this is that since you are not a professional in this field, you will be prone to mistakes which in most cases may be detrimental.
2. Fitness for purpose: Always ensure that your property is fit for the purpose for which the tenant wants it. Fulfill all your contractual obligations (including but not limited to, the home should be wind and water tight, all statutory rates, levies and taxes should be paid and up to date, etc). If you know your property is designed for residential purpose, insist on tenants who want it for that purpose. This is because if it is used otherwise, it would cost you a lot to restore it to that position.
3. Know Your Client: Every diligent agent understands the importance of a KYC, you should too. If your agent is good, they should conduct a background check on the tenant. However, you cannot rule out the possibilities of human errors. Therefore, if possible meet your tenant before the transaction is concluded so as to be able to personally do a psychological evaluation of your would be tenant. Remember you owe other people a duty of care to ensure that you do not jeopardize their safety.
4. Reasonable Price: So you just purchased or built the property as the case maybe. You want quick returns on your investment; that is very good. It is however important that you pay attention to the market before fixing your price otherwise you run a risk of scaring off potential tenants/buyers. You really don’t want your property lying fallow for 2/3 years.
5. Agreement: This stage is very important especially for leases (in sales transaction, the buyer drafts the agreement). The importance of an agreement to a tenancy relationship cannot be over emphasized as it spells out the rights and obligations of each party upfront. It is also very important that you get a qualified lawyer to draft this for you. DO NOT DO IT YOURSELF!!! Except of course you are a lawyer. It is better that you pay a lawyer for this service now than pay heavily in future for them to right your errors.
With all these at the back of your mind, you are well on your way to becoming a happy landlord/home seller.