From accepted offer to exchange

Your offer's been accepted. Nothing is legally binding yet - here's what happens between now and exchange, and what we need from you to keep it moving.

The sequence

1. Holding deposit. Some agents ask for a small holding deposit (commonly $1,000 - $2,000) to take the property off the market while contracts are prepared. It's refundable if the deal doesn't proceed and comes off your full deposit if it does.
2. Contract review. The draft contract goes to your solicitor or conveyancer before you sign anything. They check the title, special conditions, inclusions and anything unusual. We don't sign on gut feel - this review has caught expensive surprises more than once.
3. Conditions negotiated in. Depending on the state and the deal, your contract will usually be conditional on finance approval and a building and pest inspection, each with a deadline. These conditions are your exits if something's wrong - we guard them carefully.
4. Signing and exchange. Once your solicitor is satisfied, you sign, the vendor signs, contracts are exchanged and the deposit (or balance of it) is paid as per the contract.
5. Lender gets moving. We send the executed contract and rental appraisal to your broker the same day so formal loan approval starts immediately - the finance clause deadline comes around fast.

Cooling-off

Most states give a cooling-off period after exchange (length varies, and it's usually waived at auction). Pulling out during cooling-off typically costs a small penalty (for example 0.25% of the price in NSW/VIC). Your solicitor confirms exactly what applies to your contract - treat cooling-off as an emergency exit, not a decision-making window.

What you actually need to do

Respond quickly when your broker or solicitor asks for documents, transfer the deposit when instructed (always verify account details by phone before transferring - payment redirection scams target property deposits specifically), and hold off on champagne until the building and pest comes back. That's the next stage.

The fine print. This library is general information from our experience as Buyer's Agents, not legal advice. Contract processes, cooling-off rights and deposit rules differ by state and by contract - your solicitor or conveyancer runs this stage and is the right contact for specifics.

The building and pest inspection: what's normal

The B&P report is where most buyers get an unnecessary fright. Here's how to read one calmly.

What actually happens

A licensed inspector spends roughly two hours at the property covering the building (structure, roof, wet areas, site drainage) and timber pests (termites, borers, fungal decay). You get a long report with photos, usually within a day or two. We review it with the inspector, then walk you through what matters.

How to read the report

Reports grade findings roughly like this:

• Serious safety hazards - rare, and a genuine stop-and-think if present.
• Major defects - items needing significant repair or further investigation. One or two on an established house is common and usually manageable; it's the pattern that matters, not the count.
• Minor defects - here's the thing nobody tells you: every established house has a list of these. Fifteen to twenty minor items (hairline cracking, worn seals, a sticking gate, a cracked roof tile) on a perfectly good house is normal. A report with 17 minor defects is not a bad report.
• Conditions conducive to pests - not damage, just things that make termites more likely later (garden beds against walls, blocked weepholes). These become your maintenance to-do list, not a reason to panic.

Also worth knowing: reports deliberately overstate uncertainty - inspectors can't see inside walls or under floor coverings, so they flag "high risk of undetected defects" as standard language. It's a liability statement, not a verdict on your house.

What happens next

Where the report flags something worth a closer look (moisture readings, drainage, roof plumbing), the usual next step is a specialist inspection - a plumber's full property inspection with a written report typically runs around $300 and often turns a scary-sounding "high moisture in laundry" into "the washing machine drain hose wasn't secured". Cheap certainty.

Then we triage: what's worth raising with the vendor, what's fair wear and tear to let go, and what just goes on your future maintenance list. That negotiation is its own article - see "How we negotiate B&P findings".

The fine print. This library is general information from our experience as Buyer's Agents. We're not building inspectors or tradespeople - the inspection report and any specialist follow-up are the authoritative documents, and inspection standards vary by state.

How we negotiate B&P findings

When the building and pest report flags real issues, there's a process. This is the playbook we run on every deal - so you know what's happening and why we'll sometimes tell you not to chase something.

The triage

Every finding lands in one of three buckets:

1. Raise with the vendor - genuine defects that cost real money to fix: roof and drainage issues, moisture problems, safety items.
2. Deliberately drop - fair wear and tear. Serviceable-but-old taps, tired grout, scuffed paint. Asking for these invites pushback, weakens the credible items, and marks you as a nuisance buyer. We've dropped thousands of dollars of quoted "repairs" from asks on purpose - it's why the real asks get accepted.
3. Your future maintenance list - improvements (better exhaust fans, new gutter guard). You can't ask a vendor to pay for making the house better than they sold it.

Building the ask

We don't negotiate off the B&P report alone - inspectors describe problems, they don't price them. So we get a specialist (usually a plumber, since roof and drainage dominate these lists) to inspect and itemise costs. That itemised quote becomes the evidence behind a written ask to the vendor's side, framed as a choice: rectify the items before settlement, or adjust the price so we can do it ourselves.

In our experience, written, itemised, reasonable asks in this format get accepted - often in full, sometimes within a day. What doesn't work is vague verbal requests through the selling agent; those get denied later. Everything material goes in writing, through legal channels.

The evidence rule

If the vendor agrees to fix things rather than adjust, we never accept "it's been done" over the phone. Paid invoices, photos and video evidence before settlement, then we verify the work at the pre-settlement inspection. Where possible we push for the vendor to use our tradesperson - then we know the work is real and done properly.

What you decide

You approve every ask before it goes out - we recommend, you authorise. And occasionally the right call is to skip the negotiation entirely: on a small item, speed to settlement and getting a tenant in can be worth more than a few hundred dollars of vendor repairs. We'll tell you when that's our read.

The fine print. This library is general information from our experience as Buyer's Agents, not legal advice. Contract rights around inspection conditions differ by state and contract - formal requests to the vendor run through your solicitor or conveyancer.

What happens after you go unconditional

Going unconditional means the contract is now binding on both sides. The deal is done - what's left is the run-up to settlement, which is usually 4 to 6 weeks depending on what was negotiated in your contract.

Here's the sequence, and who drives each step.

Straight away (this week)

1. Insurance. Get building insurance in place now if you haven't already. In Queensland the property is at your risk from the first business day after signing, so this can't wait. See our insurance article for the state-by-state detail.
2. Deposit. Your solicitor confirms the balance of the deposit has been paid as per the contract.
3. Loan documents. Your lender issues formal loan documents. Sign and return them promptly - slow loan docs are the single most common cause of delayed settlement.

The middle weeks

1. Your solicitor handles the legal work: title searches, adjustment calculations (rates, water and any rent apportioned between you and the vendor), and booking settlement with the other side.
2. Your lender completes any valuation follow-ups and certifies funds.
3. We stay across the file and chase anything that stalls. If a vendor agreed to fix items from the building and pest report, we chase the evidence - paid invoices, photos or video - before settlement, not after.

The final week

1. Pre-settlement inspection. We do a final walk-through, usually within 3 to 5 days of settlement, to confirm the property is in the same condition as when you signed and any agreed repairs are actually done. See the pre-settlement inspection article.
2. Shortfall funds. Your solicitor tells you the exact amount to transfer for settlement. Do this a couple of days early - same-day transfers can get stuck on bank limits.

Settlement day - covered in its own article. Short version: it happens electronically, you don't attend, and you'll get a call or message from us when it's done.

What you actually need to do: insurance, sign loan docs fast, transfer shortfall funds when asked. Everything else is your solicitor, your lender and us.

The fine print. This library is general information from our experience as Buyer's Agents. We're not property managers, tradespeople, accountants, insurers or lawyers, and nothing here is financial, legal or tax advice. Processes and timeframes vary by state and contract. Check legal questions with your solicitor.

Insurance: what to get and when

The question we get on almost every deal: "we've gone unconditional - what insurance do I need?"

When to insure

Queensland: the day you sign. Under a standard QLD contract, the property is at the buyer's risk from 5pm on the first business day after signing. Not settlement - signing. Get building cover in place immediately, even while the contract is still conditional. If it falls over, you cancel the policy.

Other states: at unconditional, no later. In NSW and Victoria the vendor technically carries risk until settlement, but you're contractually committed from unconditional, your lender will require cover anyway, and if the house burns down mid-settlement you do not want to be arguing about whose insurer pays. Cover from unconditional is our standing position. Your solicitor will confirm the rule for your state and contract.

What to get

Buying a house: landlord insurance. This is building cover plus the landlord-specific extras - loss of rent, tenant damage, malicious damage, liability. Rent default and flood are often optional add-ons; read what's included before choosing on price.

Buying a unit or townhouse in a strata scheme: the body corporate already insures the building - you don't insure it twice. What you need is landlord contents cover: internal fittings, floor coverings, curtains, blinds, plus liability inside your lot and the landlord extras. This is why unit premiums are so much cheaper.

What it costs (annual, ballpark)

Canstar's March 2026 research, based on a $1,000 excess:

Premiums move with your sum insured, excess, address and the add-ons you pick. Get two or three quotes; the spread between insurers on the same property can be large.

One more thing worth knowing now rather than later: termite damage is generally not covered by any of these policies. That's what building and pest inspections and annual termite inspections are for.

The fine print. This library is general information from our experience as Buyer's Agents. We're not insurers or financial advisers and this isn't financial advice or a recommendation of any product. Premiums vary by property and state - the figures above are ballparks for cross-checking, not quotes. Confirm risk rules for your contract with your solicitor.

The pre-settlement inspection

You're entitled to one final inspection before settlement, usually done in the last 3 to 5 days. We handle this for our clients and send through photos and videos, so this article is mostly about what we're checking and why it matters.

What it's for

Two things only:

1. Same condition as when you signed. The property should be as it was at contract date, fair wear and tear excepted. New damage, missing fixtures, or a vendor who's taken the dishwasher that was included - all settlement-day problems if nobody checks.
2. Agreed repairs are actually done. If the vendor agreed to fix items from the building and pest report, we verify them - and we don't accept "it's been fixed" over the phone. We want paid invoices, photos or video evidence, and we check the work in person at this inspection.

What we check

Every tap, toilet flush, hot water at the taps, lights and power points with a phone charger, air conditioning on both heat and cool, garage door, all keys and remotes, oven and cooktop, obvious new marks or damage, rubbish and vendor belongings gone (unless the contract says otherwise), and each item on the agreed-repairs list against its evidence.

If something's wrong

Don't panic, and don't delay settlement on your own initiative - that has costs. The usual path is your solicitor raises it with the vendor's side same day, and it's resolved by the vendor fixing it before settlement, a price adjustment, or an amount held back at settlement. Which one depends on the issue and your contract. This is exactly the situation your solicitor exists for.

If the property is tenanted

The inspection still happens - the property manager or selling agent arranges access with the tenant. We also confirm the tenancy paperwork (lease, bond lodgement, condition report) is being handed over correctly at settlement.

The fine print. This library is general information from our experience as Buyer's Agents. We're not lawyers and this isn't legal advice. Inspection rights and remedies vary by state and contract - your solicitor is the right person for anything contentious.

Settlement day: what actually happens

The short version: you don't attend anything, nothing dramatic happens, and at some point in the afternoon you get the message that you own a property.

The mechanics

Settlement is electronic (through PEXA in most states). At the booked time, your solicitor, your lender and the vendor's side all log into the same digital workspace. Your lender hands over the loan funds plus your shortfall, the vendor's mortgage gets paid out, stamp duty is paid, the title transfers to your name, and your lender registers its mortgage. The whole exchange takes minutes once everyone's ready.

Delays happen and are usually boring: a bank verification takes an extra hour, a figure needs re-confirming. A settlement that slips from 12pm to 3pm is normal. A settlement that slips to the next day is uncommon and your solicitor manages it - penalty interest provisions in the contract exist for exactly this.

Before the day

• Shortfall funds transferred to your solicitor's trust account a couple of days early.
• Insurance active (should have been done weeks ago - see the insurance article).
• Pre-settlement inspection done and any issues resolved.

The moment it settles

• Your solicitor confirms settlement. We'll be in touch the same day.
• Vacant property: keys are released to us or to you, usually via the selling agent.
• Tenanted property: the tenant stays put and probably won't notice anything changed. The property manager collects the keys, lease and bond paperwork, and rent starts being paid to you from settlement day - the adjustment for any prepaid rent was already handled in the settlement figures.

The week after

• Your solicitor sends a final settlement statement - keep it, your accountant wants it at tax time.
• Rates and water accounts transfer to your name (the adjustments were done at settlement).
• If tenanted, confirm the property manager has you set up for monthly statements.
• Order your depreciation schedule if you haven't - see the depreciation article.

The fine print. This library is general information from our experience as Buyer's Agents. We're not lawyers and this isn't legal advice. Settlement processes vary slightly by state - your solicitor runs this and is the right contact for specifics.

Choosing a property manager (and what fees are normal)

We're not property managers and we don't take kickbacks from any - but we've watched a lot of them work across our clients' portfolios, and the difference between a good one and a cheap one shows up in your returns within a year.

What management fees are normal (2026)

Fees are a percentage of rent collected, plus GST, and they vary a lot by city:

Perth and Adelaide being dearer than Sydney isn't a rip-off, it's just how those markets price. Judge the fee against the local norm, not against your mate's Sydney property.

The other fees to expect

• Letting fee when a new tenant is found: 1 to 2 weeks' rent is standard nationally (WA often 2 to 3 weeks).
• Advertising and photography at cost when re-letting.
• Lease renewal fee: commonly $30 - $80 or up to a week's rent (estimate only - varies widely, check the agreement).
• Routine inspection and admin fees: some agencies charge per inspection or a monthly admin fee, some build it into the percentage. In WA especially, per-item charges can add close to $1,000 a year - always compare the all-in cost, not the headline percentage.

All PM fees are tax-deductible. And note the incentive built into the model: the fee is a percentage of rent collected, so a vacant property earns them nothing - which is mostly good for you.

How to choose

Ask these before signing:

1. How many properties per property manager? (Over ~150 per person and yours gets less attention.)
2. What's the all-in annual cost on, say, $500/week rent - every fee included?
3. What's your current vacancy rate and average days to lease?
4. How do you handle maintenance - do you get owner approval above a set amount? (Set this limit in the agreement, commonly $300 - $500.)
5. Routine inspections - how often, and do I get the report with photos?

The cheapest quote is usually cheap because the person managing it has 250 properties. A point of difference in fee on $500/week is about $260 a year - one badly handled vacancy costs you multiples of that.

The fine print. This library is general information from our experience as Buyer's Agents. We're not property managers and this isn't a recommendation of any agency. Fees vary by market and agreement - the figures above are ballparks for cross-checking, not quotes. Rental appraisals and tenancy specifics belong with your property manager.

Getting your first tenant

If we bought you a tenanted property, skip this one - you already have a tenant and the lease carried over at settlement. This is for vacant purchases.

The realistic timeline

Appoint the property manager before settlement so marketing can start the day you own it (in some cases, with the vendor's consent, advertising can start even earlier). From listing to a tenant moving in:

• Tight rental market: 1 - 2 weeks
• Normal conditions: 2 - 4 weeks
• Slow market or overpriced rent: 4 - 8+ weeks

Budget for 2 - 4 weeks of vacancy in your first-year numbers so it doesn't surprise you. Every week vacant on a $500/week property is $500 gone - which is why pricing the rent right matters more than squeezing the last $10 out of it. A property advertised $20 above market that sits vacant three extra weeks has already lost more than the higher rent would earn back in a year.

What the process looks like

1. Rental appraisal. The PM gives you a recommended range based on comparable rentals. Ask what comparables they used.
2. Marketing. Photos and listings on the major portals - at your cost, usually a few hundred dollars.
3. Opens and applications. The PM runs inspections and screens applicants: identity, income (rule of thumb: rent under ~30% of their income), rental history and tenancy database checks.
4. You approve the tenant. The PM recommends, you decide. Ask why they've recommended this applicant over the others.
5. Lease signed, bond lodged. Bond is typically 4 weeks' rent, lodged with the state bond authority - never held by you or the PM directly. First lease is usually 12 months; in some markets 6 months to land a good tenant fast is a fair trade.
6. Entry condition report with photos - this is your protection at the end of the tenancy, make sure it's thorough.

Costs to expect at this stage

Letting fee (1 - 2 weeks' rent), advertising (at cost), and the vacancy period itself. See the property manager article for the ongoing fees.

The fine print. This library is general information from our experience as Buyer's Agents. We're not property managers - rental appraisals, tenant selection and tenancy law questions belong with your PM. Tenancy rules differ by state.

Land tax, explained

Land tax is the ongoing state tax investors most often forget to budget for. The rules that matter:

• It's charged on the unimproved land value (what the land alone is worth), not the property's market value. A $700k house might sit on $350k of land value.
• Your own home is generally exempt. Investment properties aren't.
• It aggregates per state: all your investment land in one state is added together against that state's threshold. This is a real reason to spread a portfolio across states - three properties in three states can mean zero land tax, while the same three in one state might cost thousands a year.
• The Northern Territory has no land tax at all.

Current thresholds and rates (individuals, general rates)

Correct at July 2026. Victoria's threshold dropped to $50,000 in 2024 under the COVID debt levy (legislated to 2033), so almost every Victorian investment property now pays at least something - typically $500 - $1,350 a year at normal land values.

Worked example

One investment property in QLD with land value $450,000: under the $600k threshold, land tax is $0. Buy a second QLD property with $350k land value and your aggregate is $800,000: roughly $2,500 a year. Same second property bought in another state instead: still $0 in both.

Practicalities

• Register with the state revenue office when you buy - in most states the onus is on you, and they will eventually find you and backdate. Your solicitor or accountant can point you to the portal.
• Assessment dates differ (QLD assesses at 30 June; NSW and VIC at 31 December) - owning at midnight on that date means you pay for the year.
• Foreign owner and absentee surcharges exist in several states and are much higher - if that could apply to you, talk to your accountant before buying.
• Land tax on an investment property is tax-deductible.

The fine print. This library is general information from our experience as Buyer's Agents. We're not accountants or lawyers and this isn't tax advice. Thresholds and rates change with state budgets - check the current figures with your accountant or the state revenue office before relying on them.

Depreciation schedules (the deduction most investors leave on the table)

A depreciation schedule is a one-off report from a quantity surveyor that itemises everything in your property that loses value over time - the building itself and the fittings - so your accountant can claim it against your rental income every year. No receipts needed, no ongoing work: one report covers up to 40 years.

Why bother

On newer properties the first-year deduction alone is often thousands of dollars - a paper loss that reduces your taxable income without costing you cash. The report itself costs roughly $500 - $770 (Washington Brown publishes $495 - $770; BMT typically runs a little higher). Both major providers guarantee at least double the fee in first-year deductions or the report is free, and the fee itself is tax-deductible. It's about as close to a free kick as tax gets.

The 2017 rule you need to know

For contracts after 9 May 2017, investors can't claim depreciation on second-hand plant and equipment - the carpets, appliances and blinds that came with an established property. You can still claim:

• The building structure (capital works, 2.5% a year) - if construction started after 15 September 1987, and renovations by previous owners count even on older houses.
• Anything new you buy - new carpet, new hot water system, new appliances all depreciate from your purchase date.

So: brand new or recently built property, big deductions. Established 1990s house, still usually worth it. 1970s original-condition house that's never been renovated - ask the provider for a free estimate first; the good ones will tell you if it's not worth doing.

When to order it

Any time after settlement, ideally before your first tax return as an owner. If you forget, your accountant can generally amend the last two years' returns to catch up.

The fine print. This library is general information from our experience as Buyer's Agents. We're not accountants or quantity surveyors and this isn't tax advice. Whether and how depreciation applies to your property and structure is a conversation for your accountant.

Who pays what: rates, water, utilities and strata

A quick reference for the bills that start arriving after settlement - which ones are yours, which are the tenant's, and roughly what to budget.

You (the owner) pay

• Council rates. Always the owner's. Ballpark $1,400 - $2,500 a year for a capital-city house, higher in some regional NSW councils; units often sit near the council minimum. (Estimate only - it varies council by council; your first notice will tell you exactly.)
• Water service charges. The fixed supply and sewerage charges are always the owner's - ballpark $800 - $1,400 a year for a house (estimate only, varies by utility).
• Strata levies (units and townhouses). Set by the body corporate, paid quarterly. Covers building insurance, common area maintenance and the sinking fund. Anywhere from ~$500 to $2,000+ per quarter depending on the building - lifts, pools and gyms are what push it up.
• Land tax if you're over your state's threshold - see the land tax article.
• Landlord insurance - see the insurance article.

The tenant pays

• Electricity, gas, internet - their accounts entirely.
• Water usage (not the service charges) - but only if the property is separately metered, and in NSW and QLD only if it also meets water-efficiency requirements. Your property manager confirms whether your property qualifies and bills the tenant.

Handled at settlement

Rates and water were adjusted between you and the vendor at settlement - you compensated each other for the portion of the current billing period each of you owned. So your first notices may look odd; the adjustment already happened. Your settlement statement shows the detail.

Worth doing in month one

Set the property manager as the mailing contact for water and council notices where the utility allows it, or set up e-notices to your email. Chasing paper bills sent to a tenanted address is a classic first-year annoyance.

All of these costs (except your own home's share of anything) are tax-deductible against the rental income. Keep everything for your accountant - or better, let the PM pay rates and water from rent so it all lands on one annual statement.

The fine print. This library is general information from our experience as Buyer's Agents. Figures marked estimate-only aren't verified quotes - your actual notices are the source of truth. Tenancy billing rules differ by state; your property manager is the right contact.

Tax time and your accountant

We're not accountants, and property tax is one area where a good accountant pays for themselves several times over. This is just orientation so nothing surprises you.

What it costs

A simple individual return through a tax agent runs $150 - $250. Investment property schedules are charged on top - expect roughly $100 - $250 per property (estimate only), so a return with one or two properties commonly lands around $300 - $700 all-in. The fee is itself tax-deductible. If your accountant charges much more than this, you're either getting genuine structuring advice or you should ask what you're paying for.

What to hand over in year one

• Settlement statement from your solicitor (this is the big one in year one - it contains stamp duty, legal fees and adjustments, most of which matter for your cost base later).
• Depreciation schedule - see the depreciation article.
• Property manager's annual statement - rent received and every fee they charged, in one document.
• Loan statements showing interest charged.
• Insurance, land tax, rates and water payments not already in the PM statement.
• Any repair invoices you paid directly.

One distinction worth understanding

Repairs (fixing something broken - deductible this year) versus capital improvements (making something better than it was - depreciated over years). Replacing a broken hot water system like-for-like is generally a repair. Replacing a tired kitchen is an improvement. There's real grey in between, and initial repairs right after purchase have their own rules - flag anything sizeable with your accountant before the work if the tax treatment would change your decision.

When to talk to them (not just at tax time)

Before you sign anything on the next purchase - ownership structure (whose name, trust or not) is close to unchangeable later and drives land tax, negative gearing and capital gains outcomes for decades. The $300 conversation beforehand is worth more than any deduction they find afterwards.

The fine print. This library is general information from our experience as Buyer's Agents. We're not accountants or tax agents and nothing here is tax advice. Tax law changes with every budget - your accountant is the source of truth for anything above.

The maintenance cost guide: what repairs should cost

Something breaks, your property manager sends you a quote, and you have no idea if it's fair. This guide gives you the national ballpark so you can cross-check. It is not a quote - prices vary by state, access, season and how urgent the job is (after-hours can double it). If a quote lands inside these ranges, it's probably fine. If it's well above, ask questions or request a second quote - see the next article for how.

Ranges are national, drawn from published trade cost guides and verified where possible at July 2026. Items marked * are estimates we couldn't verify against a current source. The Mok file column is different: those are real quotes and invoices from our own client deals, with the year and region. When a Mok file figure exists, weight it over the national range - it's what these jobs actually cost in practice.

Doors, locks and security

Plumbing and hot water

Electrical

Heating and cooling

Outside

Inside

Compliance and pests

| Job | Ballpark | Notes | Mok file | |---|--

How to sanity-check a repair quote

The cost guide gives you the ranges. This is the process for when a quote doesn't feel right.

First, the mindset

Most PM-sourced quotes are fine. Property managers use trades they trust to turn up, and a slightly dearer reliable trade beats a cheap one who no-shows on your tenant twice. The goal isn't to win every quote by $50 - it's to catch the occasional genuine outlier and to signal, politely, that you're an owner who checks. That signal alone improves the quotes you get.

The 5-minute check

1. Compare against the cost guide range. Inside it? Approve. Your involvement is costing you more than it's saving.
2. Check what's actually included. A "$450 tap replacement" that includes a new quality mixer, parts and labour is a different job to a $150 washer change. Read the line items before judging the total.
3. Legitimate reasons to be above range: two-storey access, after-hours or emergency work, regional call-out distance, extent discovered on site (a "blocked drain" that's actually tree roots in the sewer), compliance work triggered by the repair.
4. Ask one good question. "Can you break down parts vs labour?" or "what's driving it above the usual range for this job?" A fair trade answers easily. Waffle is information too.

When to get a second quote

• The job is over ~$1,000 - two quotes should be standard practice, and any decent PM will do this without friction.
• The quote is well above the guide range with no obvious reason.
• The scope keeps growing after work starts. Pause, get the revised scope in writing.

Repair or replace?

Rule of thumb the appliance trades themselves use: if the item is 10+ years old and the repair is more than half the replacement cost, replace it. A $300 repair on a 12-year-old dishwasher buys you a year; $700 buys a new one with a warranty. Same logic scales up to hot water systems and air conditioners. Bonus: a replacement is a new depreciable asset - mention it to your accountant.

Set the system up so this rarely reaches you

In your management agreement, set a maintenance approval limit (commonly $300 - $500). Below it, the PM just fixes things - you don't want a phone call about a $90 washer. Above it, they come to you with a quote, and you have this guide.

The fine print. This library is general information from our experience as Buyer's Agents. We're not tradespeople or property managers. Quotes should be assessed by licensed trades and your PM - this is a cross-checking aid, used at your own risk.

Urgent vs non-urgent repairs: what the law expects of you

Not all repairs are equal in the eyes of tenancy law. Knowing the difference protects you from the two expensive mistakes landlords make: dragging their feet on something urgent, and being stampeded into premium prices for something that could wait a week.

Urgent repairs

Every state's tenancy law has a defined list. The details vary, but it's essentially: burst water service, blocked or broken toilet (if it's the only one), serious roof leak, gas leak, dangerous electrical fault, flooding or serious storm damage, failure of the hot water service, failure of cooking facilities, failure of heating (and in some states cooling), and anything making the property unsafe or insecure.

What it means for you: these must be fixed as soon as practicable - think hours to a couple of days, not weeks. If you or the PM can't be reached, tenants in most states can authorise urgent repairs themselves up to a capped amount (varies by state, commonly around $1,000 or a set multiple of rent) and you must reimburse them. So an unreachable landlord doesn't avoid the cost - they just lose control of who does the work and what it costs.

Yes, urgent usually means after-hours rates. A $150 job becoming $350 at 9pm is annoying; a tenant at the tribunal because the only toilet was broken for a week costs more, in every sense.

Non-urgent repairs

Everything else - the dripping tap, cracked tile, sticking door, cosmetic wear. These should still be dealt with in a reasonable time (tenants can formally request repairs with a 14-day notice in most states), but you have room to schedule sensibly, bundle jobs for one call-out, and get a second quote on bigger items.

A useful habit: when a small non-urgent job comes in, ask the PM if anything else is on the list for that property. Two jobs on one plumber visit saves a full call-out fee.

The one thing not to do

Don't sit on a repair to "wait for the lease to end." Deferred maintenance compounds - the $180 drip becomes the $2,000 water-damaged cabinet - and good tenants leave properties that aren't looked after. Vacancy costs more than maintenance.

The fine print. This library is general information from our experience as Buyer's Agents, not legal advice. Urgent repair definitions, tenant self-authorisation caps and notice periods differ by state - your property manager knows your state's rules, and disputed cases belong with them and, if needed, your state's tribunal.

Landlord insurance: what it covers and how claims work

You're paying roughly $2,000 - $2,600 a year for a house policy (see the insurance article). Here's what it's actually for, and what it isn't.

Typically covered

• Building damage: fire, storm, water damage from burst pipes, impact. (For units, the strata insurance covers the building - your landlord contents policy covers inside your lot.)
• Loss of rent while the property is uninhabitable after an insured event.
• Tenant-related loss: malicious or intentional damage, theft by tenants, and - if you chose the option - rent default when a tenant stops paying and absconds.
• Legal liability if someone's injured at the property.

Typically NOT covered

• Wear and tear and maintenance - the ageing hot water system, the tired carpet, the fence at end-of-life. Insurance is for events, not upkeep. That's what the maintenance budget is for.
• Termite and pest damage - almost universally excluded. Annual termite inspections are your only real protection.
• Flood - sometimes an optional extra rather than standard; check your PDS, especially in QLD.
• Rent default without the add-on, or where the tenancy paperwork wasn't in order (no bond lodged, no proper lease, no condition report - insurers check).
• Damage while the property was vacant beyond the policy's vacancy limit (often 60-90 days) - tell your insurer if the property will sit empty.

That last group is the pattern worth noticing: claims fail on paperwork more than on the event itself. A professionally managed property with a proper lease, lodged bond, entry condition report and routine inspection records is a claimable property.

How a claim actually runs

1. Make it safe, stop the damage - the PM arranges emergency make-safe work (insurers expect this and cover reasonable costs).
2. Document everything before cleanup - photos, videos, the tenant's report. More is more.
3. Lodge promptly with your event date, documents and quotes. Your PM's records (inspection reports, rent ledger) do the heavy lifting here.
4. Don't authorise full repairs before the insurer's go-ahead (make-safe excepted) - unapproved work is the classic self-inflicted claim problem.
5. Excess vs claim size: with a typical $1,000 excess, a $1,400 claim is rarely worth the premium consequences. Save claims for real events.

The fine print. This library is general information from our experience as Buyer's Agents. We're not insurers, brokers or financial advisers - what your policy covers is defined by your PDS and nothing else. Read it, and direct claim questions to your insurer or broker.

The annual cost of ownership: a budget template

New owners consistently underestimate holding costs by a few thousand a year, because the mortgage is the only number they watch. Here's the full list, with national ballparks for a typical capital-city investment house. Run your own numbers down the right-hand column.

*Estimate only - your actual notices are the source of truth.

The maintenance line

Two common rules of thumb: 1% of the property's value per year, or one month's rent per year, as a long-run average. A $650k house renting at $550/week budgets roughly $2,400 - $6,500 a year depending which rule you like. Reality is lumpy - $400 this year, $6,000 next year when the hot water system and the fence both retire in the same winter. The average is what matters; hold the unspent years in reserve rather than spending them.

Age matters more than any rule: a 5-year-old house might average a few hundred a year, a 1970s original can average triple the rule of thumb. If we bought it with you, the building and pest report already told you what's coming - the roof with 10 years left, the aging hot water system. That report doubles as your capital expenditure forecast.

Putting it together

A typical established capital-city investment house, no land tax, self-explanatory sums: roughly $7,000 - $12,000 a year in holding costs before loan interest. Against $28,000 of rent on a $550/week property, that's the realistic picture - and almost all of it is tax-deductible, which softens the net cost considerably depending on your bracket.

None of this is a reason not to own the asset. It's the reason we model cash flow conservatively before you buy - so year one matches the spreadsheet and nothing here is a surprise.

The fine print. This library is general information from our experience as Buyer's Agents. Figures are national ballparks, not advice or a forecast for your property. Items marked * are unverified estimates. Your accountant is the right person for deductibility and your own cash flow position.

Rent reviews and lease renewals

About 60-90 days before a lease ends, your property manager will contact you with a recommendation: renew at the same rent, renew with an increase, or let it roll to periodic. Here's how to think about it.

The maths that matters

A week of vacancy on a $550/week property costs $550. A $20/week increase earns $1,040 a year. So pushing an increase that motivates a good tenant to leave - triggering 2 weeks' vacancy, a letting fee of 1-2 weeks' rent, and advertising - can eat the entire first year's gain. This isn't an argument against increases; it's an argument for increases that track the market rather than lead it.

Good tenants are an asset with a real dollar value. Pays on time, keeps the place well, reports problems early - that tenant is worth keeping at $10/week under peak market. A rotating door of tenants at top dollar usually nets less.

When an increase is right

• The market has genuinely moved - ask the PM for 3 comparable current listings, not just their opinion.
• You're well under market after a couple of static years. Close the gap in steps; a $70 jump in one hit invites a vacate notice even from a happy tenant.
• Your costs have moved (rates, insurance, strata all rising - see the annual cost article).

State rules apply: most states now limit increases to once per 12 months with 60 days' written notice, and the tenant can challenge an excessive increase at the tribunal. Your PM handles the mechanics.

Fixed term or periodic?

Fixed term (6-12 months) gives certainty of income and locks in the letting-fee clock - our default preference, and timing matters: try to have leases end in the warmer months when rental demand is strongest, not the week before Christmas.

Periodic (month to month) gives flexibility - useful if a sale or a renovation is on your horizon - at the cost of the tenant being able to leave on short notice, and in some states the notice you can give is now quite restricted.

Renewal fees

PMs commonly charge a lease renewal fee ($30 - $80 or up to a week's rent - check your agreement). Worth paying against the alternative of a letting fee plus vacancy.

The fine print. This library is general information from our experience as Buyer's Agents. We're not property managers - rental appraisals, increase notices and tenancy law mechanics belong with your PM, and rules differ by state.