Desperate landlords who are struggling to find a tenant should be vigilant that they are not targeted by drug dealers who will use their rental properties to manufacture methamphetamines.
Desperate landlords who are struggling to find a tenant should be vigilant that they are not targeted by drug dealers who will use their rental properties to manufacture methamphetamines.
The growing use of these home drug labs is underlined by the fact that WA Police are now busting more than 130 a year, compared to 25 in 2008.
Many of these drug labs are located in rental properties where the landlord is totally unaware of what is happening until the police swoop or there is an explosion.
Private landlords are being cynically being targeted by drug dealers as they were not in a position to undertake the same level of personal checks as a real estate company specialising in property management.
Methamphetamine, or ‘ice’, is a growing scourge to the extent that Prime Minister Tony Abbot recently set up a special national task force to tackle the issue.
A vast majority of tenants are generally very good people and bad tenants are in the minority. However, if you manage a property privately, you tend to be targeted by bad tenants and the risk of associated problems is much higher.
That is why private landlords need to seriously consider using the services of property management company who can undertake aggressive background checks on tenants.
Hardly a week goes by without us hearing about homes in the suburbs which have been raided by police for drug dealing or an explosion on a property with a clandestine drug laboratory.
Property owners have to understand that drug dealers are highly organised and will seek out private landlords because they do not have access to background checking systems such as the national database for prospective tenants.
Drug dealers are now a major danger for private residential landlords and this threat unfortunately is increasing.
If a home is destroyed by an illegal drug laboratory, it could financially ruin a mum and dad investor who owns the property.
At the same time, if the home is being used by drug dealer tenants, it will only result in devaluing the property and attract drug users who will continue to visit the property even when the drug dealers are evicted.
Property is a well proven way to create wealth and providing landlords select the correct tenant, property investors are on the path to generating long-term financial income.
To protect their interests, landlords should use the services of a professional property management company which will give them peace of mind that they have leased their property to a reliable tenant.
Daniel McQuillan
Daniel McQuillan has held senior positions in the property and financial services sector for over a decade. During that time he has gained professional qualifications and a wealth of experience that has enabled him to personally build a very successful property portfolio based on a targeted plan. In 2011, he established Investwise so he could utilise these skills to help other people create wealth through similarly devising a personal investment model that best suited their personal circumstances. As a result of this targeted and personal approach to property investment, Investwise is now one of the fastest growing property investment advisory services in Western Australia.
Further information can be found at www.investwise.net.au.
