Are you a property owner renting your property out? Or thinking about it?
As a property owner, you are probably opposed to or skeptical about having a pet in your well maintained townhome or apartment. Hear us out… research is proving that welcoming pets into your property is actually a benefit to your bottom line!
As a landlord do you want to ensure your property is safe, profitable and operating as smoothly and efficiently as possible? If your answer is YES welcoming pets will actually help you to be more profitable than ever!
Pets are Welcome Policies: Good for Business, Good for Pets!
Here are a few questions to consider before listing your home:
1. What is your reason for renting your apartment or house? Once you are pretty sure renting instead of selling or living there is the best option for you proceed to #2…
2. What are your operating costs? Look at the running costs of your property. What are your monthly expenses? Your mortgage, insurance, real property tax and any other fixed expenses you will be responsible for even when the home is leased. This information is important when it comes to deciding on the asking price.
3. Will you be including anything in the rental price? Some landlords prefer to cover the cost of pool or landscaping to ensure it is properly maintained throughout the duration of the lease.
4. What does it cost you to list with a BREA licensed agent/broker? The commission fee for listing with a BREA licensed agent/broker is 1 month rent plus VAT for a 1 year lease, 1.5 months rent plus VAT for a 2 year lease and 2 months rent plus VAT for a 3 year lease OR 10% of the value of the rental plus VAT on leases less than one year.
5. Should you allow pets? Read through the reasons why renting to people with pets is profitable and call Laura @ 457-4411 or 356-5030 to discuss further.
6. Should my property be furnished or unfurnished? Most houses and apartments are listed furnished in the Bahamas. Many are even ‘turn-key’ which includes linens and kitchen equipment.
7. What should you expect to do in terms of preparing your home? Cleaning is key! The home should have a fresh coat of paint inside, and perhaps the exterior, depending on the condition. Carpet is not recommended for rental homes but if your property is carpeted, cleaning is expected. Decluttering is also a must. You know that list of to do’s you have on the fridge? Yes… those need to be done before renting your apartment or house.
8. Should you sign up on the MLS with Graham Real Estate’s Bahamas Pet Friendly? YES! Signing a multiple listing service agreement (MLS) guarantees your property the most exposure for several reasons:
- You receive personalized service and work with one dedicated real estate agent with whom you build a working relationship
- Your property is populated through the IDX onto all participating brokerage websites, so an interested tenant searching on another website will still see your property
- Your property is on the backend of the MLS which all top BREA licensed agents and brokers first turn to when searching for a property for their customer
Why being pet friendly is a benefit to you as a Landlord (HSUS):
Statistically, pet owners do no more damage to rental units than non-pet owners (source: FIREPAW), and only 10% of renters have ever lost a security deposit due to a pet (source: http://rent.com). Therefore fears surrounding additional costs associated with renting to people with pets are largely unfounded.
The average length of tenancy of renters with pets is more than twice that of renters without pets (source: FIREPAW). Therefore, not only do pet-owning residents NOT cost properties more money, they actually can save the considerable costs associated with unit turnover.
Pet ownership continues to rise: 65% of households in the US currently share their lives with animals (source: APPA), and 72% of renters have pets (source: http://apartments.com). That means the pool of renters who own pets is going to continue to increase and properties that arbitrarily restrict pet ownership will be missing out on the majority of highly qualified renters
The average income of dog owners is actually higher than that of non-dog-owners, and dog ownership continues to rise among younger generations (source: APPA); therefore properties that are not open to dog owners will be missing out on the most attractive group of potential renters.
50% of all dogs owned in the US weigh more than 25lbs., and the majority of them are mixed breeds (source: APPA). Typical breed/size restrictions, therefore, exclude half the dog-owning population from consideration as potential tenants.
Step by Step process of listing and renting your home with Bahamas Pet Friendly:
1. Introduction – Call me and we can set an appointment to view your home or apartment
2. Viewing – I will come to your property and meet you to discuss pricing and listing your home
3. Listing and photographing process – if your property is ready for photographing and listing at the first visit that is fantastic, if not we will schedule a time to take photographs and post the listing on the MLS and Bahamaspetfriendly.com
4.I will share your rental property on a variety of media including facebook, grahamrealestate.com, bombbomb direct mail, personal targeted emails, and of course all the websites linked to the Bahamas MLS IDX
5. I will give you bi-weekly updates on the status of your listing with feedback from showings and the current market conditions
6. Once we find the right tenant and negotiate the terms a lease will be drafted
7. Upon signing the lease the first month’s rent, last month’s rent and security deposit(s) will be due. If you need to transfer any utilities over this is the time to start the process.
8. At the day the lease commences we will meet on the property for key handover, inventory check and readings of the utility meters
9. Enjoy collecting rental income on your property
To make things easy, please complete the form below:
Bahamas Pet Friendly
Pet Friendly Apartments & Real Estate
107 Shirley Street, Nassau, The Bahamas
1 (242) 457-4411
info@bahamaspetfriendly.com
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© Copyright 2017 Bahamas Pet Friendly
Pet Friendly Rentals Bahamas
With 10 years in the real estate profession and being an animal lover and advocate I am so excited to help people with pets find their home. I couldn’t imagine my home without my four legged children, and over the years I have seen the challenges people face when searching for pet friendly apartments and homes. Bahamas Pet Friendly wants to make that process smooth and fun! Learn more about Laura here.
