When an estate agency franchisee has a couple of hundred rental properties under his control (as in the case with Andre Geldart of Rawson Properties City Bowl branch which has offices in Kloof Street) his views on the rental market are likely to be well informed.
So '“ what can Geldart tell us about trends in this market?
'The difficulties many people experience in saving the necessary deposit and in obtaining bond finance and the need so many now have to live close to the CBD,' says Geldart, 'have made renting the only route open to an increasing number of people. This, in turn, has pushed rents, especially those in the City Bowl, up to levels that buy-to-rent investors tend to see as very satisfactory'
Geldart has the right to arrange a rental agreement wherever he likes in the greater Cape Town area, even if a Rawson franchise is active in that area and he has units under his control as far afield as Constantia, Tokai and Blaauwbergstrand. However, the focus of his operation is still the City Bowl, the Atlantic Seaboard and the Southern Suburbs close to the City and here, he says, it is very rare indeed for a rental unit to remain empty for more than a month or two.
Some 80% of his City Bowl rentals, he says, are sectional title units, the call for these coming from young professionals, city office workers and university students (or more commonly their parents).
In parts of the City Bowl he has been able to get rents as low as R3 500 per month but in general the going rates now are between R4 000 and R8 500 per month on apartments while homes are renting from R8 000 to R22 000.
Asked what he sees as the prime requirements of a good rental agent, Geldart said that the administration must be ultra-efficient and the agent willing to work on a 24/7 basis taking calls from landlords and tenants around the clock.
The service should include a thorough investigation of the tenants credit, employment and previous rental track record ('a task often neglected by agents) and immediate action must be taken when a tenant defaults on his rent payments. Ongoing inspections of the property are vitally important and all information should be immediately relayed back to the client.
A service of this kind, says Geldart, results in almost nil rent payment defaults: in his portfolio less than 2% of the units are seriously behind in rental payments.
In the months to come Rawson Properties plans to launch a number of rental franchises, running independently, although possibly associated with the sales operations in their area.
'Our investigations countrywide confirm what Andre Geldart has said about the current rental market being a good place now for landlords,' Tony Clarke, MD of Rawson Properties. 'Any investment in a rental unit (but preferably one with a rental below R8 000 per month) is now a very good choice'
For further information contact Andre Geldart on 021 424 1080 or email citybowl@rawsonproperties.com.
