Premium Assets Win. Everything Else Fights To Survive
After 35 years across commercial, industrial, retail and residential property, here’s what I know.We’ve worked on over 14,000 investor properties, I’ve spoken to renters, investors and property managers.
And the cycle?It hasn’t changed.
Let’s be clear — I’m not a Buyers Advocate or Investment Advisor.I sit where value is actually realised… presentation and maintenance.
And right now, the market is shifting.Not gradually. Decisively.
This is a season of unprecedented change in the investment landscape.And what I’m seeing, most are not ready for it.
Rising interest rates and tightening legislation, particularly in Victoria haven’t just applied pressure.
They’ve forced a decision.Stay or exit.Compete or comply.
And that decision is now visible in the product hitting the market.
17A Mitchell Street Maribyrnong
This Property was originally a primary residence that had been an investor home for around 8 years, a decision to complete a full non structural renovation before sale added many hundreds of thousands to the eventual sales price at auction.
The exit strategy is no longer passive — it’s engineered.
Investors leaving the market aren’t discounting, they are doubling down.
They’re repainting, re-flooring, redesigning — not as maintenance, but as strategy.The goal isn’t to sell. The goal is to maximiseproperty value andsales price.
And the outcome is telling:These properties aren’t being bought by other investors.
They’re being absorbed by emotional, end-user buyers —the ones willing to stretch for something that feels right.
Meanwhile, those who remain are dividing into two distinct camps.
The first is in survival mode.
Spend is minimal. Upgrades are reactive. Compliance-driven.
A door handle gets replaced — but it doesn’t need to match.
It’s not strategy. It’s maintenance.The second group is playing a very different game.
Presenting Homes Design Studios
They’re not landlords, they are asset designers. These investors are leaning in, not pulling back.
Full internal repaints.Heating and cooling throughout.
New flooring. Cohesive lighting. Designed spaces.
They’re not preparing a rental.They’re building a premium product.
Because they understand something the rest are missing:
Rental yield is no longer just a function of location —it’s a function of presentation.
The first question I get when meeting with potential home sellers is this.
“So what do you think it’s worth?”
Now this is the most natural question in the world, and for two reasons
1: They genuinly are curious and don’t know it’s current value.
2: They have a pre conceived idea and wan’t you to confirm it.
As I’m not a qualified valuer I will never answer that question with a dollar figure, but I do ask them this question.
“What do you think it’s worth and why?”. I then just listen to the owners reasoning.
Mostly and reasonably it’s based on comprable sales in and around the area, I then follow up with.
“What makes your home truly valuable and worth the price you want?”.
If you thought that most home owners have an overblown idea of the selling price of their home, my experience is the exact opposite. Most don’t realise the potential value of their home, they equate selling price as the measure of success, and that is based on these reasons.
WHAT IS STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALISM?
Structural Functionalism describes in part a paradigm where people become used to their surroundings and assume that other people share the same paradigm. In a practical sense when people are selling their home they imagine buyers will feel and relate to the property the way they do. But they don’t!
3 CATERGORIES OF VENDORS
I’m sharing from my experience as a Property Presensentation Strategist that has allowed me to understand how homesellers think.
60%Catergory: Contented Vendors, they are relaxed in terms of their lifestyle and how they live. Will most often present their home to market with minimal asthetic or presentation work. The paradigm is based on family and friends living an equally relaxed life and style.
The value in their home is assumed on what already exists, and sales price expectations are usually based along this paradigm.
30% Catergory:Aspirational Vendors, they are relaxed in their lifestyle but enjoy aspirational features in their homes and lifestyle. Often the homes have beautiful elements like designer furniture, lights, flooring and even meaningfully manicured gardens.
The aspirational vendor will add value and make effort to enhance the key features of their home by deep cleaning, touch ups and preliminary presentation. An intersting observation is that beautiful elements in the home take on an enhanced significance, as these homeowners really stretched to aquire and install these items in their home.
10% Catergory:Dominator Vendors, these people are the minority and place more emphasis on the future value and appeal of the home, they always ALWAYS see the property as an investment that requires the greatest possible returns. They are buyer focused only, with the history of the home seen as irrelevant.
Interestingly these vendors are not in any particular socio economic class, their paradigm is to dominate the market place they are selling in and maximise personal profit. Adding maximum value requires reimagining how the home looks and functions, lighting, colour, painting, flooring and gardens have a full presentation renovation.
To dominate the market they are selling in requires knocking out the competition and presenting a home that stands out to aspirational buyers not low bidders.
Larpent Ave Glen Waverley
Mr & Mrs P were Dominator Vendors, although cautious to begin with they quickly realised it was their responsibilty to add maximum value to their property before even appointing a sales agent.
As their Presentation Strategist we collectivily reeimagined how this home should function and look, there was no structural work it was all cosmetic, everything from lighting, colour coordination, painting, flooring, landscaping was worked on over an intense 3 week period.
This home dominated the crowded real estate market by standing out visually and emotionally, prospective buyers came from as far as The Peninsula looking to buy a dream home.
The demand was so strong a mid week auction was called 2 weeks before christmas and sold under intense competition to a buyer who lived 25kms away, they had only seen it online.
This scenario is repeated in all suburbs and areas.
High Value comes first – Price follows.
Here’s why:
1: Price is what you ask.
2: Value is what buyers see.
If buyers don’t see the value, they won’t pay the higher price.
So before engaging a real estate agent and setting a sales price, you need to create, enhance, and value – through presentation, condition, and emotional appeal. that’s how you dominate the competition and get the price you want.
Remember: “You are selling in competition not isolation”
Free Pre-Sale Property Audit: If you’re considering selling your home we offer a preliminary audit that looks at your homes presentation credentials. We help you take the guess work out of what it takes to maximise the value and sales price of your home.
Divorce is a human story, it’s not just about assets and property, it is about the ongoing journey of broken people.
This is my personal journey with those navigating this path.
I hope this article helps you understand you’re not alone and we offer non judgmental help, like many I’ve walked the journey with, there are sunlit meadows ahead of you.
Regards
Peter Karaoglanis
Forever Love and Forever Homes are the natural outcomes of marriage.
The term Family House has no resonance but Family Home does, love is the single ingredient that changes the definition.
So what do we do when the forever plan comes to a premature end?
What makes divorce so incredibly painful is the broken hearts, relationships and the place where we all belong, the family home.
The no judgment principle
When I have a spouse or real estate agent reach out to me I am acutely aware of the vulnerability of either spouse and children.
Beyond the pain, tumult and anxiety is fear, the fear of the unknown.
Understanding the fear and loss
I can’t fix broken hearts but i can help reduce anxiety and fear.
Almost without exception every client worries about a lifetime of living in rentals and losing a sense of belonging.
Whether you’re a mum or dad, pet parents or a senior member of society each category of person worries about the their sense of belonging and dislocation.
Message from an ecstatic vendor after selling far over reserve: Miss L
What’s at stake?
Mortgage, Legal Fees, No Savings.
Financial vulnerability is the greatest impediment to buying a new home.
Often people are so preoccupied with the journey of divorce that the reality of getting a new home becomes more remote.
The 3 agreements
My role isn’t to side with either spouse or increase the tension, rather in an understanding manner put together a home presentation plan that accomplishes 3 key objectives that both parties can agree on.
1: Maximise Sales Price
2: Maximum Buyer Appeal
3: Minimise Time on Market
I understand the market place, I know how to present a home that will appeal most to cashed up buyers.
This process isn’t about taking sides in a relationship, my plan is purely making the house an investment that pays dividends for the sellers.
It’s as simple as that.
Property transformation and text from a grateful client: Mr P
The Game Plan
Selling a home during a divorce is rarely easy, but with the right plan, you can minimise stress and maximise your outcome. Remember, this is a step toward starting a new chapter, a new life and a new forever home for both of you.
If you’d like more personalised advice or a Pre Sale Property Audit , feel free to reach out!
Divorce is a human story, it’s not just about assets and property, it is about the ongoing journey of broken people.
This is my personal journey with those navigating this path.
I hope this article helps you understand you’re not alone and we offer non judgmental help, like many I’ve walked the journey with, there are sunlit meadows ahead of you.
Regards
Peter Karaoglanis
Forever Love and Forever Homes are the natural outcomes of marriage.
The term Family House has no resonance but Family Home does, love is the single ingredient that changes the definition.
So what do we do when the forever plan comes to a premature end?
What makes divorce so incredibly painful is the broken hearts, relationships and the place where we all belong, the family home.
The no judgment principle
When I have a spouse or real estate agent reach out to me I am acutely aware of the vulnerability of either spouse and children.
Beyond the pain, tumult and anxiety is fear, the fear of the unknown.
Understanding the fear and loss
I can’t fix broken hearts but i can help reduce anxiety and fear.
Almost without exception every client worries about a lifetime of living in rentals and losing a sense of belonging.
Whether you’re a mum or dad, pet parents or a senior member of society each category of person worries about the their sense of belonging and dislocation.
Message from an ecstatic vendor after selling far over reserve: Miss L
What’s at stake?
Mortgage, Legal Fees, No Savings.
Financial vulnerability is the greatest impediment to buying a new home.
Often people are so preoccupied with the journey of divorce that the reality of getting a new home becomes more remote.
The 3 agreements
My role isn’t to side with either spouse or increase the tension, rather in an understanding manner put together a home presentation plan that accomplishes 3 key objectives that both parties can agree on.
1: Maximise Sales Price
2: Maximum Buyer Appeal
3: Minimise Time on Market
I understand the market place, I know how to present a home that will appeal most to cashed up buyers.
This process isn’t about taking sides in a relationship, my plan is purely making the house an investment that pays dividends for the sellers.
It’s as simple as that.
Property transformation and text from a grateful client: Mr P
The Game Plan
Selling a home during a divorce is rarely easy, but with the right plan, you can minimise stress and maximise your outcome. Remember, this is a step toward starting a new chapter, a new life and a new forever home for both of you.
If you’d like more personalised advice or a Pre Sale Property Audit , feel free to reach out!
In my 30+ years in the property selling and presentation business I’ve noticed a repeating pattern that occurs when couples look at homes, interestingly this is true for homebuyers and in a diminished capacity when people select a property to rent.
The key decision making processes occur, seemingly at odds with each other but suprisingly insync.
9 Key Decisions for Homebuyers
1: THE DECISION TO BUY BEGINS LOGICALLY BUT THE TRANSACTION IS EMOTIONAL
Typically those seeking to purchase a home wether their first or multiple times begins with securing finances, in essence their maximum borrowing capacity is discovered and comfort level with weekly payments is settled.
The house hunt begins with a list of features the home must have and the area it’s in.
However the first inspection of a prospective home has an indelibble emotional impact, it either has a lasting positive or negative emotion. Well presented homes draw buyers in with a flood of positive emotions, the decision to buy is often cemented in this phase.
2:LOGIC HAS A FORMULA
Logic is most important, it sets out the key requirments for the home, i.e. the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, living areas, kitchen, land size etc.
It also researches socioeconomic areas, including amenties such as schools, medical facilities, shopping centres, places of worship, transport and sporting facilities.
3: THE DECISION TO BUY A PARTICULAR HOME IS EMOTION JUSTIFIED BY LOGIC
Over the many years of selling homes or preparing vendors homes for sale I can guarantee that success is predicated on winning the hearts and imagination of homebuyers.
The key word in dialogue is FEEL, when you feel excited, you feel at peace, you feel you belong, you then feel you’re making the right financial decison to buy this home.
Money is logical but investing your life’s work ahead begins with emotion.
4: WHAT YOU SEE AND FEEL IS 9/10ths OF THE BUYING PROCESS
Fashion retailers are at the forefront of property, fashion presentation and sales. My wife was looking at dresses for an upcoming wedding. I noticed that the higher the fashion retailer the better presented the shops were, including colours, lighting and ambience.
After going in and out of many retailers our confidence to invest in clothing was heightened by the quality fashion houses, we wern’t just buying clothes, we were investing in relationships and trust factor with staff. This was enhanced because the little things were done right.
Both my wife and I were emotionally engaged but calm, the quality of the garments and service was on point, I was prepared to invest more because my confidence was high.
Buying an exceptionally presented and finished home illicites the same sensibilities, what we see and feel is 9/10ths of the buying process.
5: A WELL PRESENTED HOME TRIGGERS THE IMAGINATION
A homebuyer who is engaged with the home imagines living there. They imagine their family and friends coming over and significant life events.
6: BUYING FUTURE MEMORIES
The ability to imagine is the gift humanity inherits.
So what is Buying Future Memories anyway?
As we strategise how and design how a home looks, we think about colours, lighting, texture, cleanliness and feel. Our goal is for homebuyers being able to visualise their furniture, pictures, paintings and lifestyle fitting into this home.
When you can imagine your belongings here you then imagine your life, in essence your future memories are being created in front of you. The mind is now imprinted with an emotion and memory that hasn’t happened yet.
This is your forever home.
7: CREATE AN ENVIROMENT YOU CAN IMAGINE LIVING IN
It is estimated that only 10% of homebuyers can visualise the potential home. That means 90% are not going to be able to look past the dirt, clutter and imperfections. homesgain.com
With those startling facts we help vendors create a truly beautiful enviroment that homebuyers can imagine their life in. When comparing similiar homes you’ll become aware of the contrast, it’s easier to buy a turn key property than one you have to organise all the trades and services yourself.
8: A POSITIVE EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCE
Buying homes is highly emotional, it is heightened when you’re flooded with postive feelings.
FOMOFear Of Missing Out is a term most are familiar with, you’ll know you’ve found the right home when the thought of not living there causes fear in your heart and mind.
My experience is that homebuyers know almost instantly wether the home is right for them.
9: A BUYING EXPERIENCE
So what is a buying experience?
10 Larpent Ave Glen Waverley
A buying experience is where logic and emotion combine, you are ready to commit to investing your hard earned money, work and energy over the decades to own this home, I call it Scary-Good.
The 9 Key Buying Decisions I’ve shared are in essence a summary of my 30+ years experience with homebuyers and vendors, rememember you aren’t alone on this journey and know it’s normal to feel the intencity of emotions and thoughts that you do.
Always seek advice from proffesionals it is the best way forward.
PETER KARAOGLANIS
Principal Presentation Strategist at Presenting Homes Australia
With 30+ years in property including Sales and Marketing managment at Landmark Homes and National Builders.
Peter has appeared as a guest on various TV shows, national and international podcasts and contibuted to numerous articles and blogs.
Peter’s expertise is planning presentation renovations for homeowners, vendors and builders alike. He works hand in hand with real estate agents to design, transform properties for a sales campaign.
If you’re a homeowner, homebuyer, investor or sales agent looking to transform a property then ask for..
How to identify wether I’m in an area that attracts these buyers
Is my home suited to create a multi generational home?
How to make a multi generational home without major renovations
How can I attract a higher sales price?
WHAT IS A MULTI-GENERATIONAL HOME?
A multi-generational home is where 3 generation or more lives, typically Grand Parents live with their children and grand children.
This is very common amongst traditional european, asian, indian and pacifica island communities, having Greek and Irish ancestry myself I experienced grandparents living with their children and grand children.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) provided new data on households containing three generations. It showed an increase in three generational living arrangements over recent years, from 275,000 in 2016 to 335,000 in 2021
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
HOW DO I IDENTIFY IF I’M IN AN AREA THAT ATTRACTS THESE BUYERS?
Location is an all important factor when creating a multi generational home, within the cultural groups mentioned most often these factors are important.
Good public and private schools
Universities
Public transport
Shopping centres
Cultural hubs
Sporting facilities
After school care
Now these points may seem like it’s valid for all buyers, and true it can be, but the reasoning is different.
Immigration most often is for greater oppurtunity and reward, select entry public schooling and private schools are a must for many cultures, education is held in high esteem and the next generation attaining proffesional careers where high status is important.
Grand parents living with the family, public transport, shops and cultural hubs place highly on the priority list of buyers.
As cultural groups are attracted to new areas, shopping precincts adapt quickly thus enticing more community members, in Melbournes East, Village Cinemas now has a Bollywood film festival every saturday night, such is the relevance of this community.
IS MY HOME SUITED TO CREATE A MULTI GENERATIONAL HOME?
So what are some of the key considerations when creating a multi generational home?
Usually we use a 4 bedroom home where the master bedroom has a full ensuite or a toilet as a minimum, a master bedroom usually has extra features like 4 downlights, pendant lighting and 2 sets of double wallplugs on the wall where the bed will sit. Luxe appointments usually define the room, we replecate those features in the second master bedroom.
We can make provision for wall mounted TV and often airconditioning.
Heres an example of a floor plan where we created the second master bedroom.
LARPENT AVE GLEN WAVERLY
This was a family home of over 20 years in Larpent Ave Glen Waverly, we completed a full interior and exterior presentation renovation. At the begining of our strategy session with our vendors we shared some statistics and cultural demographics of residence and buyers in their suburb.
My advice was that we create a home that would appeal highly to those that wanted a home for parents to live in, fortunatly the vendors along with the encouragment of their selling agent they decided to accept.
Planning a second master bedroom
The main Master Bedroom is upstairs
Creating a second master required a room closest to the main bathroom and toilet.
Second master bedrooms must always be on a ground level if its double story.
As people age ease of access is paramount.
We can alter the door width to bedroom and bathroom allowing for whellchair access or zimmer frame.
A cavity sliding door can be installed for ease of access.
All minor Inclusions that add significant appeal and value to your home.
When this house went to auction all the representitives of the cultural groups were present, the knock out bid came in from a family living in Keysborough who had been watching our renovations on social media. They were succesful and the imperitive was bringing their parents from overseas to live with their family.
HOW CAN I MAKE A MULTI GENERATIONAL HOME WITHOUT MAJOR RENOVATIONS?
First and foremost we are preparing a home for sale, so major expensive renovations are out of our purvue. What we are doing is taking advantage of existing rooms and maximising potential and market appeal.
SECOND MASTER BEDROOM UPDATES
Updated shelving and drawers in wardrobes
Extra lighting, down lights, pendants
Smart appliances like blue tooth light switches and lights
Power points with usb/usc ports for charging appliances and safety.
Wider door ways for wheelchair access
HOW CAN I ATTRACT A HIGHER SALES PRICE?
A higher sales price always begins in the planning and presentation process, by delivering a property that has the feature benefits buyers need, you increase appeal, desire and competition.
The role of a real estate agent is to highlite the the features and advantages each home has, then develop a marketing strategy that attracts commited buyers.
THE 3 M’s OF HOME PRESENTATION
Maximise Sales Price
The only consideration of any works completed on your home is to maximise every dollar you can get when selling your home.
Maximum Buyer Appeal
Houses are sold in competition not isolation, so we are competing to win the hearts and wallets of every single buyer that walks through the door. We must present a home that ticks every list that is important to them and eliminate the competition.
Minimise Time on Market
The worst thing that can happen to a home is that it gets stranded on the market with no interrest and no buyers, in the industry thats called a “Stale Listing”. This typically happens with homes that have low buyer appeal and being overpriced.
IN CONCLUSION
The best time to begin the planning and upgrade process is right now, home selling is an unforgiving and brutal experience for homes and vendors that have no planning and that aren’t prepared.
Home owners have sacrificed everything to buy and maintain a home, now is the time to change hats from a home owner to that of a property investor where maximising sales price and profit is the ultimate reward.
Creating a multi generational home is a simple strategy that takes advantage of social, cultural and market driven trends.
PETER KARAOGLANIS
Principal Presentation Strategist at Presenting Homes Australia
With over 30 years in property, including Sales and Marketing management at Landmark Homes and National Builders.
Peter has appeared as a guest on various TV shows, national podcasts and contributed in articles.
Peter’s expertise is planning presentation renovations for vendors, builders and homeowners alike. Working hand in hand with sales agents to effect a succesful presentation and sales campaign.
This is a tale of how a vendor cost himself $250.000, a house settlement, a 10% deposit and financial ruin by letting his house insurance lapse by a couple of weeks.
In 2013 my company was engaged to prepare a McMansion for sale in a NorthWestern Melbourne suburb, the home was huge and well presented, even though the house was huge the brief was rather straight forward, update the colour scheme, dress the gardens and property itself.The owners were a beautiful hardworking immigrant family, they were polite and open to presenting the home to capture the imagination of mainstream fashion.
We completed the work 6 weeks before the auction and it sold for more than what they expected, and that was the last I thought I’d hear from them, the selling agent and the home.
The Frenzied Call
About 90 days later I received a anxiety driven phone call, it was the selling agent in a state of panic asking could I get to the house ASAP, I asked what’s up? his response didn’t make sense, “Peter the house has fallen over”, I asked him what the hell does that mean, he just repeated himself and asked could I get there quickly.
, “Peter the house has fallen over”
Steve sales agent
Ceiling collapse
Disaster
I arrived within the hour and there was Steve “not his real name” ashen faced, he said come inside quickly, as I walked inside it looked like a bomb had gone off, in fact the house was completely flooded with water coming through the first story ceiling, down the stairs and the ground floor ceiling had collapsed.
Flooding through the property
I went outside switched of the mains and carefully walked upstairs to see if I could find the source of the water, I first went to the ensuite, then the main bathroom with toilet and I couldnt see the source of the leak, there was a third water closet and it was there is discovered the problem.
Cheap parts expensive problem
I noticed the problem straight away, there was a missing Bidet, where it was in the wall it had been removed and the pipe hadn”t been capped to prevent leakage. It turns out the Vendor had removed it after the sale to take to their new home.
Bidet on the left
He dutifully switched the mains off before removing it and didnt think another thing about it, amongst other issues the bidet is a chattel of the property and when it was sold it didn’t belong to him.
The 1 in 1 million chance
So how did the mains get switched on? Just as luck would have it pavement grinding was being done by the council and either them or their contractor needed water supply, so they connected their hose into the front tap, realising there was no water they switched on the mains and went about their work.
Once the work was completed the tap was switched off but not the mains, and as best estimates we beleive the water ran in the home for 7-10 days, unfortuanately it wasn’t obvious from the street.
Settlement
We had big issues as the house was supposed to settle within days and the new owners were coming over this particular day for final inspection, I told Steve what the problem was and he was frantic, he kept saying “what are we gonna do”?
He had been trying to ring the buyers and vendor to no availe, at 11am this morning the new owners arrived with the sight of our vehicles up the driveway, Steve ran out to great them and it didn’t sound good, they made their way inside and the buyer angrily exclaimed “I want my F-ing deposit back i’m not settling”, they then left the home.
“I want my F-ing deposit back i’m not settling”
Purchaser
Flood & Disaster Works
Before we can begin works we need authority from the owners and insurance assesors, finally Steve got through to the owner and he came with his wife early afternoon, they looked shellshocked. I took over from Steve and said Alec “not his real name” I need your insurers details, certificate of currency and authority to begin preliminary works.
He asked why can’t I just start? I require payment for the preliminary works and the assesor is required before and structural works begin, I need to know I’ve got authority and will get paid.
He then angrily quipped I don’t want you to do it, I’ll find a big company, and so my time ended there.
Steve called me that evening and told me another well known company arrived and they asked the same things, Alec wanted the work started and sort things out later, this company declined the offer.
Lapsed Insurance
Alec after moving into his new home and paying 2 lots of house and contents insurance had decided with only a few weeks left to settlement would cancel the policy and save the money, after all what could go wrong.
That decision cost him and his family dearly, not only did the house not settle, he had to return the 10% deposit on the sale of his home. The agents commission and marketing fees still required payment, not to mention his house required extensive rebuilding.
With 2 weeks left he cancelled his insurance what could go wrong
Worst of all in the long run because of his dire financial situation it cost him new family home.
Penny wise Pound foolish
My mums Irish and she had almost to contradictory words of wisdom, “Look after the pennies and the pounds will take care of themself”, meaning spend money wisely, “Penny wise Pound Foolish” means don’t scrimp in the areas that save cents that in the end cost you dollars.
The cost of 2 weeks more insurance might’ve been $200 and the cost of a new Bidet is $52 at Bunnings, so saving $252.00 had at last count cost him $250.000 not including the loss of sale and his new home.
Over the years we have seen many home owners either under insure, let their insurance lapse through neglect or cancel.
Flood work, structural repair or damage by fire are all expensive items that can go from $10’s of thousands to $100’s of thousands quickly.
You can avoid embarrassment and financial ruin by simply having a competent insurance broker manage your affairs.
Peter Karaoglanis
Peter Karaoglanis is the Principal Presentation Strategist at Rent Sell Buy Move and has 30 years experience in management of commercial properties and sales and marketing management of Landmark Homes.
Every Property Manager has a reason to contemplate carpet cleaning, for some the reasons may be just part of a normal vacate checklist and for others there’s often a pressing reasons such as flooding, stains or damage. Either way we all begin with the same sorta questions, it’s usually “How much” and most often you’ll get a quote and compare it to others and make a decision, often on price.
Why do we ask for a quotes anyway?
The answer is simple, we often don’t know what else to ask for or you just want something rectified or claim the tenants bond money back. You see we are accustomed to asking price and that happens because we are vague on the process or we lack information and understanding.
The truth is most cleaners aren’t professionally trained and don’t know how to educate or report on the science of cleaning, think about that for a moment.
“most cleaners don’t know how to help educate or report on the science of cleaning“
V.C.A.T & ScienceReports
The science is all important, anytime you need to go before VCAT or apply for the Bond having science based reports and quotes means you are properly prepared to advocate on behalf of your Landlords.
Understanding your why?
Theres no point getting a quote if you don’t know what the process is. So lets begin with your cleaning needs and see what resonates.
● Vacate clean ●Bad Smells ●Stained ●Greasy ●Oily ●Cooking Odours ●Urine Smells ●Flooding ●Damaged ● Heavy Vacuuming● Pet Odours● Repair or replacement
These are the most common reasons property managers want the carpets cleaned, and if you resonate with one or a bunch of reasons then it makes understanding the process so much easier.
So lets begin with…
What is carpet?
Carpet is something we literally come in contact with everyday, it’s the fibre and padding that covers your floors including- broadloom, carpet tiles, stick on, area rugs, offices, restaurants, hotels and anything that’s covered in fibre.
How is carpet cleaned?
There are 3 methods to clean carpet
1: Dry Vacuuming
Power Head Extraction
Power head extraction tool, removes loose contaminants and pet hair
Dry vacuuming using a domestic or commercial grade vacuum, preferably with a power head designed to beat the fibres removing human or pet hair, dead skin cells, dust mites and eggs, dust, pollen and loose debris. Ideally this should be done bi-weekly and can be achieved by owner or best by a professional.
This was in one lounge room, tenant had a cat and dog
2: (VLM) Very Low Moisture
Encapsulation very low moisture cleaning
Encapsulation Process
(VLM) commonly known as dry cleaning either uses a shampoo or as we recommend Encapsulation Solution by applying a liquid solution that has a crystallising polymer with mechanical agitation. Simply this method attracts and encapsulates dirt in a crystal bead that makes dirt easy to remove.
The process of encapsulation cleaning
Advantages: It dries really quickly allowing use often within 60-90 minutes, perfect quick turn around time allowing new tenants in quickly.
Suitability: For light to medium soiled fibres. Perfect for wool, nylon, silk, sisal and polypropylene fabrics. With our premium product it also contains antibacterial agents and a mild fabric protector.
3: (HWE) Hot Water Extraction
Hot water extraction using an carpet extraction wand
Hot Water Extraction Wand
(HWE) commonly known as steam cleaning is the process of using warm to hot water to extract pre-spray cleaning solution along with dislodged and dissolved dirt and contaminants.
Advantages: It is the deepest most restorative clean, fibres have that fresh and clean feeling just like bed sheets after they have come off the clothes line.
Suitability: Deepest clean removing odours, body oils, spilled liquids, surface contaminants and topical stains. Perfect for wool, nylon, carpet tiles and polypropylene fibres.
The Process of Hot Water Extraction
The cleanliness scale
So how do I know which service to pick? Well we’ve provided a simple scale from 1 to 10 that’ll help you evaluate where the carpets sit.
Simply select the cleanliness levels the carpets are currently at.
Levels 1 to 4
If you feel the carpet sits between 1 to 4 then you can choose between VLM Encapsulation Cleaning or HWE Espresso Steam Cleaning.
Levels 5 to 7
You require medium spasteam cleaning, this is best suited to medium soiling and some topical marks, it’ll also refresh the fibres.
Levels 8 to 10
You require heavy spa deep cleaning, fibres are heavily soiled and require deep penetrating cleaning, often requires anti bacterial treatments and neutralising solution.
Level 10+
You require a full restoration clean, typically this includes urine decontamination, vomit, faecal matter, removal of blood, penetrating odours and stain treatment where possible. It would require often the use of biocides to sanitise the fibre.
UnderstandingStain Treatment:
Topical Stains: These marks will come out with a heavy duty carpet clean, in other words these are marks that sit on top of the fibre but haven’t damaged the yarn or colour pigmentation.
Penetrating Stains: These are stains that have penetrated the carpet yarn or fibre, typically these are caused by wine, coffee, bleach, certain food groups and coloured drinks.
Steam cleaning will not remove these marks, they require Stain Treatment, this is in fact a restoration service that requires specialised chemicals and a forensic methodology to reduce the impact of staining.
We do not guarantee all marks will 100% be removed often a 50% reduction makes it virtually impossible to see, this service is charged in 15 minute increments.
Urine Decontamination
Urine contamination typically happens from young children, frail citizens, cats and dogs, it usually penetrates the carpet, underlay and impregnates the flooring and it never disappears. At it’s worst the smell of urine permeates the home attaching itself to soft furnishings, walls and heating and air conditioning units.
How urine impregnates flooring
Can steam cleaning or deodorising remove urine?
NO, in fact steam cleaning on it’s own energises the uric salts and makes it worse, and deodoriser is a masking agent and wears off quickly. The only way to remove urine is a decontamination service, we are happy to supply a detailed quote after inspection.
Urine and it’s effects
What’s the nextstep?
Now that you understand what carpet cleaning is and what level of service may be required and how important it is to VCAT hearings and getting the Bond released.
Simply call or email for a free carpet condition audit and cleaning quote, we will determine your leasing dates and confirm a service appointment.
Electronic Reports, Quotes & Invoicing
We will supply you with a full electronic condition report, quotes and invoice that you can keep for your own records and email to your Land Lord and Tenant.
What other services do we provide?
● Vacate Cleans ●Window Cleaning ●Tile and grout cleaning ●Upholstery cleaning ●Pressure washing house and driveways ● Curtain cleaning ●Wall washing ● Also handyman and painting services ●Removalists
Peter is the Principal Presentation Technician and Strategist with 30 years of training, he’s an educationalist to the real estate and property management industries. His many clients are international companies, health institutions, vendors and tenants.
So you’ve decided to enquire about vacate carpet cleaning, why?
Every tenant has a reason to contemplate carpet cleaning, for some the reasons may be vague and for others there’s often a pressing reason or maybe they know exactly why. Either way we all begin with the same sorta questions, it’s usually “How much” and most often you’ll get a quote and compare it to others and make a decision often on price.
Why did I ask for a quote anyway?
The answer is simple, you didn’t know what else to ask for or you just want your bond money back. You see we are accustom to asking price and that happens because we are vague on our reasons or we lack information and understanding.
The truth is most cleaners aren’t professionally trained and don’t know how to help educate clients on the science of cleaning, think about that for a moment.
“don’t know how to help educate clients on the science of cleaning“
Understanding your why?
Theres no point getting a quote if you don’t know what the process is. So lets begin with your cleaning needs and see what resonates.
🔺 Vacating a rental home 🔺 Smelly 🔺 Stained 🔺 Kids messes 🔺 Pet messes 🔺 Baby vomit or milk 🔺 Urine from cat or dog 🔺 Cooking or pet odours 🔺 House proud 🔺 Need bond back
These are the most common reasons people want their carpets cleaned and if you resonate with one or a bunch of reasons then it makes understanding the reasons and process so much easier.
So lets begin with…
What is carpet?
Carpet is something we literally come in contact with everyday, it’s the fibre and padding that covers your floors including- broadloom, carpet tiles, stick on, area rugs, offices, restaurants, hotels and anything that’s covered in fibre.
How is carpet cleaned?
There are 3 methods to clean carpet
1: Dry Vacuuming
Power Head Extraction
Power head extraction tool, removes loose contaminants and pet hair
Dry vacuuming using a domestic or commercial grade vacuum, preferably with a power head designed to beat the fibres removing human or pet hair, dead skin cells, dust mites and eggs, dust, pollen and loose debris. Ideally this should be done bi-weekly and can be achieved by owner or best by a professional.
This was in one lounge room, client has a cat and dog
2: (VLM) Very Low Moisture
Encapsulation very low moisture cleaning
Encapsulation Process
(VLM) commonly known as dry cleaning either uses a shampoo or as we recommend Encapsulation Solution by applying a liquid solution that has a crystallising polymer with mechanical agitation. Simply this method attracts and encapsulates dirt in a crystal bead that makes dirt easy to remove.
The process of encapsulation cleaning
Advantages: It dries really quickly allowing use often within 60-90 minutes, perfect drying before children come home from school or last minute guests arrive.
Suitability: For light to medium soiled fibres. Perfect for wool, nylon, silk, sisal and polypropylene fabrics. With our premium product it also contains antibacterial agents and a mild fabric protector.
3: (HWE) Hot Water Extraction
Hot water extraction using an carpet extraction wand
Hot Water Extraction Wand
(HWE) commonly known as steam cleaning is the process of using warm to hot water to extract pre-spray cleaning solution along with dislodged and dissolved dirt and contaminants.
Advantages: It is the deepest most restorative clean, fibres have that fresh and clean feeling just like bed sheets after they have come off the clothes line.
Suitability: Deepest clean removing odours, body oils, spilled liquids, surface contaminants and topical stains. Perfect for wool, nylon, carpet tiles and polypropylene fibres.
The Process of Hot Water Extraction
The cleanliness scale
So how do I know which service to pick? Well we’ve provided a simple scale from 1 to 10 that’ll help you evaluate where you sit.
Simply select the cleanliness levels your carpets are currently at.
Levels 1 to 4
If you feel your carpet sits between 1 to 4 then you can choose between VLM Encapsulation Cleaning or HWE Espresso Steam Cleaning.
Levels 5 to 7
You require medium spasteam cleaning, this is best suited to medium soiling and some topical marks, it’ll also refresh the fibres.
Levels 8 to 10
You require heavy spa deep cleaning, fibres are heavily soiled and require deep penetrating cleaning, often requires anti bacterial treatments and neutralising solution.
Level 10+
You require a full restoration clean, typically this includes urine decontamination, vomit, faecal matter, removal of blood, penetrating odours and stain treatment where possible. It would require often the use of biocides to sanitise the fibre.
How do we charge for our work?
Square meterage: We use what the industry calls square meterage to begin with, in essence 1 meter wide X 1 meter wide is the equivalent of square meter, we measure the carpeted length and width of each room then calculate the total area measurements.
Example: You may have a lounge that measures 21.6 meters square. We then use a dollar amount say $5.50 X 21.6 m2 the grand total is $118.80
Room Dimensions Guide
EXAMPLE ONLY We use the M2 x Dollar amount to calculate the price
Will carpet cleaning remove stains or urine from carpet?
Stain Treatment:
Topical Stains: These marks will come out with a heavy duty carpet clean, in other words these are marks that sit on top of the fibre but haven’t damaged the yarn or colour pigmentation.
Penetrating Stains: These are stains that have penetrated the carpet yarn or fibre, typically these are caused by wine, coffee, bleach, certain food groups and coloured drinks.
Steam cleaning will not remove these marks, they require Stain Treatment, this is in fact a restoration service that requires specialised chemicals and a forensic methodology to reduce the impact of staining.
We do not guarantee all marks will 100% be removed often a 50% reduction makes it virtually impossible to see, this service is charged in 15 minute increments.
Urine Decontamination
Urine contamination typically happens from young children, frail citizens, cats and dogs, it usually penetrates the carpet, underlay and impregnates the flooring and it never disappears. At it’s worst the smell of urine permeates the home attaching itself to soft furnishings, walls and heating and air conditioning units.
How urine impregnates flooring
Can steam cleaning or deodorising remove urine?
NO, in fact steam cleaning on it’s own energises the uric salts and makes it worse, and deodoriser is a masking agent and wears off quickly. The only way to remove urine is a decontamination service, we are happy to supply a detailed quote after inspection.
Urine and it’s effects
What’s the nextstep?
Now that you understand what carpet cleaning is and what level of service may be required and how important it is to getting your Bond Back.
Simply call or email for a free carpet condition audit and cleaning quote, we will determine your final vacate date and confirm a service appointment.
We will supply you with a full condition report and electronic invoice that you can keep for your own records and email to your Property Manager.
What other services do we provide?
● Vacate Cleans ●Window Cleaning ●Tile and grout cleaning ●Upholstery cleaning ●Pressure washing house and driveways ● Curtain cleaning ●Wall washing ● Also handyman and painting services ●Removalists
Peter is the Principal Presentation Technician and Strategist with 30 years of training, he’s an educationalist to the real estate and property management industries. His many clients are international companies, health institutions, vendors and tenants.
The age old dilemma for a Landlord is balancing the books between incoming and outgoings, in essence money in money out, it seems so often that you run out of money before you run out of month.
Between the mortgage, property management fees, body corporate fees, insurance, emergency repairs, wilful damage and every landlords favourite property taxes.
We can now add to the nightmare scenario that Covid 19 has foisted onto the market with ubiquitous rental holidays and negotiating with Lenders to try and get a mortgage holiday yourself.
DATA ON RENTALS
There are now 88,668 vacant rental properties in Australia, which is more than 11,000 properties higher than in April 2019.
Recent rental bond data from the Tenants’ Union of NSW, which showed the state’s median weekly rent for new tenancies fell more than $30 in April, hint that rental prices are already on a downward slope.
SQM Research founder Louis Christopher said a significant chunk of the vacancy blowout could be attributed to the conversion of short-term accommodation, including homes listed on Airbnb, to long-term rentals.
What does this all mean for the price of rent?
Anna Duong property development executive at the Locandro Group had this to say.
Anna Duong – Locandro Group
Covid 19 have created a “renters market” that gives an advantage to tenants actively hustling for cheaper property. It places pressure on landlords agreeing to increased rental reductions.
Anna suggested anywhere from 15-20% in many situations, she attributes the downward pressure to these key factors.
● No international migration
● No interstate migration
● No metropolitan migration (due to 5km lockdown)
So lets deal with a paradigm not often contemplated and that is how you see yourself.
Are you primarily a Landlord or Investor?
How you see yourself is predicated most often on the advice and education you received on the way to purchasing your property. Was it a purchase so you could own property and receive rental return or did you seek advice from a Buyers Advocate or Investment Strategist?
In my opinion a Landlord is the job title of managing properties and Investor is the process of creating wealth over time.
“Landlord is the job title of managing properties and Investor is the process of creating wealth over time.”
If you consider yourself a longterm investor here is some good news about managing and increasing value and longterm yield in your asset.
“There are basically three reasons people buy or rent a home: location, price and condition. I can’t do anything about location and price is determined by market, but you can work with a presentation specialist on the condition.
“Three reasons people buy or rent a home: location, price and condition.”
If the condition is good, you can lease or sell at the higher end of the price bracket and faster.”
Buyers or Tenants tend to judge homes by cost and “move-in” quality – the less they have to do to move-in, the better and the more they are willing to pay.
SIMPLE TIPS FOR VALUE ADDING
Investors looking to get the best bang for buck in renovations, what would I recommend?
Actually before renovations there’s cleaning the windows and moving the blinds. It’s the cheapest and most transformative aspect of home presentation, It literally lets the light in and opens the exterior view.
After the windows an in depth forensic clean of every surface, cupboard, wall, bathroom, tiles and carpets within the premises.
I recommend pulling out every drawer and shelf cleaning thoroughly, the same with cooktops, extractors, ovens.
Best bang for buck is simply painting, a colour change and refreshing of the house can make small homes feel big and big homes feel stately.
It’s the equivalent of putting on a new suit, it changes everything.
“If you had to, could you sell your property in 6 weeks?” & why is that important?
My premise came from my days in the automotive industry, clients that serviced and washed their cars regularly found it was a cheap and quick task to get a Road Worthy Certificate (RWC).
In the car game it’s called keeping your car sales ready, it can be flipped quickly and for maximum return.
Those that didn’t service their vehicles had exactly the opposite experience.
Keeping your home in good and serviceable condition not only future proofs the value but allows for a quick short sharp marketing campaign to sell.
We have had many landlords and vendors through changes of circumstances good or bad require the sale of their homes.
I can’t begin to tell you the financial and emotional trauma that many go through when a home isn’t maintained.
It’s either prohibitively expensive to just get the property sales ready, alternatively it becomes a fire sale and they loose all financial benefits.
One in particular was a home in Melbourne’s outer east last year, amongst other issues the house had urine contamination from cats and dogs.
Urine soaked carpets and subfloor
It was a $8000 solution and the vendor gave the go ahead, her dad became involved and put a stop to it.
He felt spending $8k on urine decontamination was a rip off.
Apparently he owned a cleaning business years ago and knew everything.
When the house eventually sold the agent called me and suggested they got $50k less than could be expected simply because of the smell.
Why is it important to renovate between long term tenancies?
The rental game is geared towards back to back leases, occasionally the end of old lease and the commencement of a new one is the same day.
Property Managers are doing everything they can to serve their landlords.
The problem is homes fall into disrepair or lose lustre between rental agreements.
Painting is like new clothes on a property
Simply painting a home, replacing worn fixtures and updating light fittings raises the appeal and desirability of the home, and with that the rental return.
If you’ve had a long lease say 3 years then leaving a 1 or 2 week gap between tenancies allows for updates.
More than that the asset increases in value and desirability, essential if the asset requires quick sale.
The four importantinvestment property attributes
Cate one of Australia’s most respected Buyers Advocates and Property Investment Educationalists had this to say on 4 key factors when assessing investment properties.
Cate Bakos Buyers Advocate
Healthy capital growth,
Rental return in line with the expected gross rental yield for the area and dwelling type,
Continuous rental occupancy with quality tenants,
Reasonable maintenance expenditure demands.
As you’ll notice maintenance is a key factor in future proofing values of an investment property.
What is the Landlord-Tenant continuum?
Tenants have a natural tendency to follow cues of the Landlord.
The higher the standard the higher the expectations the tenants have of themselves.
Conversely if the landlord doesn’t care, the tenant literally say why should we, so this accelerates the demise and living standards of the home.
So in essence the tenants mirror the attributes of the Landlord.
My Big Fat Greek Landlord
Years ago I met a little Greek couple, Costa and his wife Eleni, they owned over a dozen rentals in Melbourne’s leafy east.
When I met him he was painting the house a tenant had just moved out of, he confided they painted every time someone moved out and spring cleaned every home.
He went on to say that in the rental agreement that the gardens are maintained by a gardener.
What he said next resonated with me because of my Greek/Irish background.
He reasoned that while this was his investment it was the tenants home, he had a family paradigm and understood that feeling proud and comfortable made for longer tenancies.
All his were long term tenancies in what are all now million dollar properties.
Costa and Eleni if still alive would have assets of over $20 million, with that value being realised over decades.
Why I advocate becoming Tenant Centric in order to maximise value.
By become Tenant Centric you actually begin with your customer in mind and think backwards, you move from being a mere Landlord to an Investor.
In essence real estate becomes your business.
Imagine you own a hotel and you’re competing with other hotels of similar size and design, you’ll either compete just on pricing or quality of accomodation.
You have a choice of being a Budget Chain operation or a destination 5 Star operation, one is price shoppers the other quality well healed clients.
If you’re not willing to stay in a substandard room after paying good money, why would you expect a tenant to accept that from your property?
Why you need a Presentation Plan
I implement presentation plan with Landlords I deal with, and it totally changed the quality of tenants and the length of time they are leasing for.
Heres what Anna Duong has to say on the importance of presentation strategies.
A properly maintained and presented property can achieve a 5-10% greater rental yield than similar properties, with the benefits of longer tenancies often 5+ years and much shorter vacancy days between tenancies.
Anna Duong – Locandro Group
In Summary
Increasing value throughout Covid 19 is no different than any other time, simply plan your presentation and maintenance schedules, realise that being an investor is an active well executed business.
Remember you are in competition with 1000’s of properties and 10000’s of potential tenants, your property regardless of configuration or suburb will either be highly sought after or be the bargain in the market.
Here’s our basic checklist to help you think of what and how you value add to your property.
Peter is a Principal Presentation Strategist at Rent Sell Buy Move
Peter Karaoglanis
With 30 years of training, he’s an educationalist to the multi national companies, real estate industry, international embassies, health institutions and domestic clients.
He can be contacted for a free audit or consultation on 0413656994 or peter@rentsellbuymove.com.au
●Stained ●Greasy ●Oily ●Cooking Odours ●Urine Smells ●Flooding ●Damaged ● Heavy Vacuuming● Pet Odours● Repair or replacement
peterkaraoglanis 