Do parents struggle to find rental properties?

Article from Realestate.com.au : How hard is it to rent if you have kids? - realestate.com.au

Does anyone here who is / has rented ever had trouble with this? Either from the angle of feeling discriminated against for having children or simply from not being able to find something suitable?

I don't imagine it happens that often, I like renting to families. Do any of you prefer not to have families with children in your investment properties?

 

I like renting to families.

They generally stay on for longer - especially if the kids go to a local school.

My best tenants are usually families.

Cheers

Jamie

 

I've got friends who are parents that have really struggled to get into rentals & I've seen parents at open homes frantically applying for every single place, so I think there has to be some sort issue.

I tend to assume that kids will do more damage but for my new IP I picked a family with kids over a dual income young couple, because (& I could be entirely wrong here, still early days) I think the family with kids are going to be more likely to stick around long term.

 

We recently moved after nearly 9 years in the same apartment as we outgrew the place with an 15 month old and found this to be the case on our first application. The PM called us and stated they'd taken another application and when I asked who they said it was a young couple without kids. I pushed the PM a little bit and she basically admitted the owner preferred having a couple without kids than a couple with an 15 month old. I can't say I blame them in this case as obviously there is more chance of damage with a small child than without.

For my own properties it really depends on the type of property. For my apartments I prefer young couples or singles as I know they'll probably stick around a little while whereas if I accept a couple in their late 20s/early 30s with a baby, they'll outgrow it fairly quickly (as we did) and probably move on. The reverse is obviously true in my houses as has been stated earlier as families with kids will generally stick around longer. I also have two townhouses which are kind of half-way as I've accepted both before and both stuck around about 4 years each.

It does highlight an important part of the buying process in that you should already have your target demographic in mind and buy a property in a given area that the majority of the population are looking to rent. Not only will vacancy be lower but you'll also already have an idea of the type and number of tenants you're looking for from the outset (depending on property size also) and be comfortable with it.

- Andrew

 

My next project is to convert a 2x1 to a 4x2. It is located within one block of a primary school and high school, so will be marketed specifically at families with children. Another IP in the same area already has a family with a school age child.

I have not found they do more wear and tear on the house than single renters or couples. But they make good, long term tenants in my experience. I am happy to rent to families with children.

 

I don't mind either for houses. For a 1 bed apartment, professional couples would be preferable

 

We have applied for 3 rental properties with kids and were the successful applicants twice so no real problems. We now have a dog & 3 kids so the next rental application in a few years may be a challenge!

We rented out our own 2 bed unit to a family 2A2K kids are 5 and almost 1. It was a close decision between a professional couple - bank mortgage broker and a nurse. We picked the family as they offered us $25/wk more but we probably would have still chosen them regardless as they had a very strong income and family ties to the area (possibly keeping them there a bit longer) the $25 extra was a nice bonus

 

Offering extra money sounds like they were desperate, so maybe they had found it difficult to get a place with kids.

 

I struggle to attend wedding invitations with kids

 

I have one child that's suitable the other is already on tica!

 

Wouldn't eat broccoli?

 

There were 8 couples for our open with 4 putting in applications so I guess they just really wanted the place.

 

I went from owner to renter with 2 kids and a dog. I always assumed the dog would make it very hard. I applied to two places at the same time. Got one, never managed to even get a return call from the other one.

In my IPs I'm building ATM I'm expecting families as 4 beds near schools.

 

Ha, ha! We have one of those. We bribe him before attending open houses. We have had 2 x agents compliment us on how beautiful (aka how well behaved) our kids are. The girls know the drill, butter wouldn't melt in their mouths. The boy needs some additional motivation!

 

Should go well with 4 bedders close to school for families.

 

Yes I remember my wife wasn't able to make the inspection due to work. The boys and I dressed all nice and were on our best behaviour. I'm sure it helps. Everyone judges a book by its cover wether they like to admit it or not. Best to be well judged for an open home.

 

Yes, I once watched some little girls try out the furniture and toys at an open home. Harmless but I don't think it went down well with the agent. In contrast my kids wipe their feet on the mat before walking in, didn't touch a thing and were heard to say "I really love that house Mummy, I hope we get it!" I only told them not to touch anything. The rest was their own genius!