Holiday Caloundra is currently launching its new online guest compendiums for each of our holiday properties. Each compendium is easily accessed by guests via a QR code and/or link available to them as part of their online check-in process, as well as at the property itself. All compendiums feature detailed information about the property theyRead more

Ten to fifteen years ago, complaints and negative reviews from guests were quite rare, and claims from guests for compensation were virtually unheard of.  Unfortunately, both have skyrocketed in the last couple of years, and it is important for property owners to understand why. The massive increase globally in guest complaints, negative reviews and claimsRead more

Historically, when a tenant broke their lease agreement early, they were responsible for continuing to pay the remainder of the lease until a suitable replacement tenant moved into the property, and they were also responsible for any reasonable advertising or marketing costs to the owner resulting from the need to readvertise the property. Recent legislationRead more

In June 2024, the Queensland government pushed through new rental law changes with very little community consultation.  The key changes of these new laws are as follows: RENT PRICES It is now illegal for agents or owners to accept offers from tenants applying for rental properties to pay more than the advertised amount.  There isRead more

New laws have recently been passed by the Queensland government relating to the payment of water bills by tenants. The main change has been a strict timeframe imposed on landlords in which they can expect a tenant to pay a water bill. In a nutshell, from 30th September 2024, a landlord has only 4 weeksRead more

Holiday bookings are generally cancelled by either the guest or the property owner. Bookings cancelled by guests are dealt with according to the cancellation policies contained within the booking Terms and Conditions.   Cancellations by guests are therefore pretty straight forward. However, cancellations of future bookings by owners are a very different matter. In a nutshell,Read more

Modern Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) offers a level of security to homes never before seen.  Owners can stream high-definition videos of the properties, receive activation alerts, listen to conversations, speak to people knocking at their front door, save and store images and video, and enjoy a host of other handy security features – all from anRead more

The Sunshine Coast is one of the hottest property markets in Australia, as Queensland enjoys the highest interstate migration rates in the country. The ‘Coast’ is also forecast to be the fourth-fastest growing region in Queensland over the next 20 years as it adds 125,000 new residents to reach a population of 525,000 by 2043. TheRead more

People from all walks of life own holiday letting properties, and they do so for a myriad of different reasons. Some are accidental holiday owners because they inherited the property from a family relative, or still have a previous home but for sentimental or financial reasons, they don’t want to part with it just yet.Read more

Property owners could be forgiven for losing track of the wave of rental reforms that have either been legislated, or have been proposed, by the Queensland Government in recent times.  The purpose of this article is to recap what has happened so far, and to inform landlords of future proposals. STAGE ONE REFORMS: These reformsRead more

The last 12 months has seen a huge rise in properties being managed by Local Agent. A surge in holiday letting properties and permanent rental stock has defied the trends being experienced elsewhere, with both departments experiencing very strong growth. While there are always a number of factors that cause one agency to attract largeRead more

It is a proven fact that when it comes to selling property, a premium marketing strategy will out-perform a budget campaign every time.  Premium marketing will mean your property will be seen by more active buyers, will attract more offers, and stands a much greater chance of selling for a higher price.  As the oldRead more

Significant changes in holiday guest behaviour have occurred in recent times – including their expectations about linen.  Gone are the days when all guests expected to supply their own linen, or make their own arrangements to hire linen.  Younger guests, families, interstate and overseas travellers, and the vast majority of guests booking through platforms suchRead more

It doesn’t matter which way you look at it, since introducing our Premium Holiday Letting strategy in 2019, our holiday rental department has boomed and our owners have reaped the rewards. In 2018, prior to offering our Premium Letting opportunity to landlords, Holiday Caloundra was experiencing around 1670 paid bookings per year, and property ownersRead more

Local Agent has sold thousands of properties worth more than a billion dollars for many happy local, interstate and overseas owners, while at the same time, we manage hundreds of rental and holiday properties stretching from Maroochydore, Marcoola, Peregian Beach, Buderim and Woombye across to the Glasshouse Mountains, along the coast and everything in between.Read more

Minimum Housing standards for Queensland rental properties commenced 1st September 2023. The prescribed minimum housing standards are a legal requirement (just like smoke alarms) and apply to premises if a residential tenancy agreement, or rooming accommodation agreement, for the premises starts on or after that date. However, from 1 September 2024, the prescribed minimum housingRead more

Consistent with many other legislative changes the Queensland government has been making in relation to rental reforms, the rules about ending leases are also changing. The Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 (the Act) is the law that governs renting a residential property in Queensland. Tenancy agreements can only be ended in accordance with the Act.Read more

Three Common Real Estate Scams to Avoid. The focus of many real estate agents is to convince owners to list their properties with them to sell.  Unfortunately, some agents and agencies resort to some pretty unprofessional and dishonest methods to do so, leaving the sellers out of pocket.  Below are three of the most commonRead more

‘Forward Bookings’ is the term the accommodation industry uses to describe future bookings that a property has secured, but the guests haven’t arrived yet.  Every property owner likes to have lots of forward bookings because they provide a guarantee of future income, but there are lots of factors that influence how many forward bookings aRead more

Cleaning is without doubt the most commonly debated and least understood element of property management.  Whether it is bond cleaning of rental properties, departure cleaning of holiday properties or cleaning properties for sale, there are some basics that everyone simply needs to understand. This article is dedicated to the vexed topic of cleaning, in theRead more

Interested on holiday letting? Need a new holiday letting agent to maximise returns on your investment? Capably led by our award winning owners and holiday accommodation experts, the highly professional Holiday Caloundra team is at the cutting edge of the holiday rental market, and a long way ahead of the competition.  Constantly looking for waysRead more

Thinking about selling your home or your investment property is a big decision.  You have worked hard to own it, it has been a big part of your life, and you have invested a lot of money and energy into maintaining or improving it. You deserve to get the maximum amount for it when itRead more