January 8, 2010

photo credit: foxypar4

We hope all of our Furnished Property tenants had an amazing New Year celebration. Cheers!

September 9, 2009

Would you consider yourself a Twitter-lover or a Twitter-hater? For most, its either one side or the other in this vicious battle between being productive and being worthless. Twitter is constantly being bad-mouthed on the news, TV and in the paper, but those people, I feel, just don’t understand all the great advantages there are to putting out your daily Tweets. So, to help them understand this little misunderstood tool a bit better, I have put together a list of ways you can use Twitter!

photo credit: respres

Communicate with Friends: Think of Twitter as a big chatroom, where you can only see the updates (Tweets) on your home screen of the people you follow. And, the people that follow you will see your updates on their home screen. You can choose to single people out by using the @ symbol before their name in order to create conversations. It’s easy to see what people are up to, where they’re heading tonight, etc. without having to wade through all the other junk that might be on Facebook.

Communicate with Businesses: If you have a business, or work for a business, that needs to find other companies to work with on a project or other dealing, Twitter can be an easy place to turn to. Search for companies and put out Tweets to see what happens!

Get Jobs: You would be surprised how many people are using Twitter to find jobs! Companies will often put vacancies up through a Tweet, so if there is a company you would like to work for – start following them now! Also, many individuals are showcasing their skills and networking capabilities on Twitter to attract work. For example, a freelance journalist might put out a Tweet that they are travelling to Mongolia and looking for a writing assignment. If a company is looking for writers, they might do a search on Twitter and find this journalist!

Get Apartments: Just today I ran a search for “Sydney apartment” to find a number of individuals looking for places in the city. I quickly sent them a message to let them know of our services, which could really help them out! Think about how handy this could be when returning home after your stay in Sydney. You could use Twitter to help find shared accommodation, guest houses, apartments and flatmates!

Get News: Many Twitter-ers use Twitter to relay interesting information and news stories on various subjects. If you like to keep up with great travel bloggers or travel companies, you can follow them to see what stories they are tweeting about. Since Tweets are so short (140 characters or less), it is extremely easy to skim through loads of content before having to click on a single item. It’s a very easy way to get targeted search results.

Get Discounts: Some shops and other businesses put discount codes and sale notices up on Twitter. Get to the deals before everyone else does!

Get Your Funny Tweets: You might find yourself cracking up at the funny little things that Twitter-ers Tweet about. Here’s a list of actual Tweets:

• Everytime I get a nice check for something my mom hits me up for money. I think she got my phone tapped and crib wired.
• Free advice: Never wear flip-flops around a busy urinal.
• Good morning sunshine! Please don’t give me skin cancer!
• Got a pizza in the oven. NOT a euphemism for being a pregnant Italian.
• Looking to purchase a gun, nothing too fancy or complicated, just a simple point and shoot gun.
• What nobody tells you is that, with a little chlorine, your bath water can last all summer.
• No level-headed person ever wore a flattop.
• I forgot how Brokeback Mountain ended, the gay guy turned out to be a cowboy right?

There are plenty of other reasons to use Twitter, but I think I’ll let you figure them out on your own. So, if you’re not on Twitter already, go on and make an account. It’s free and fun, and you can always follow us – @FurnishedPrprty. Be sure to send us a Tweet to let us know you are a Furnished Property tenant!

May 29, 2009

As a traveller or student (or anyone), money is a big deal, right? So, getting your bond back after leaving a place could make or break your next travel (or study) adventure. However, it shouldn’t be a worry if you take care of your flat and keep in mind all the rules during your stay. Here is how you can make sure getting your bond back is even easier.

Start from the beginning.

After first arriving in a new flat or room, fill out a condition report and return immediately. Usually, you will get a form from your landlord (or in our case, The Furnished Property Group) where you can mark all the issues present when you first get in. This will then show your landlord that you did in fact have no part in the hole near the door, or the crack in the wall (just examples!).

Better yet, it is best to play it safe and go beyond the form alone. Your landlords or property owners might be busy people and overlook a small detail before you move in, which they could then see later on. Why not take advantage of your camera and also photograph your new place so they have a working copy to compare the before and after states? Basically, if anything is worth writing down in the condition report, it is also worth a quick photo. It will only take a few minutes and help ensure that you get hundreds of dollars back in the future!

During your stay.

photo credit:
givepeasachance

Be sure to maintain the state of your flat during your stay by normal cleaning and care techniques. Clean up spills as soon as they happen and always treat your flat like it were your parents’ home. If, for some reason, something does break, be sure to notify the property owners as soon as possible to get fixed. Even if something occurs that seems fairly minor, it is best to get it addressed immediately before it becomes a huge issue in the future.

When leaving.

Make it CLEAN! This is a huge, huge, huge, huge, huge (did I mention HUGE?) factor in getting your bond back. If you don’t clean your flat, then the landlord or company you rent from will, and most of the time that will cost you some dough. The money covers the cost of having someone else clean because who wants to move into a dirty place?! Not you, and not the next tenant. Clean the floors, clean the shelves, and definitely clean the tub. The best way to make this process easy is to just keep your place as clean as possible when living there. An exceptionally clean place when moving out from TFPG will actually result in a $20 credit to your account!

Beyond this, here is a list of some other factors to keep an eye on to ensure getting the full bond back:

• Unpaid Bills and Rent: Keep up-to-date on all bills and rent because this is an easy way to have some bond deducted. Either way you will have to spend this money, but the surprise factor of not receiving the full bond can be a bit confusing and disappointing at first.
• Excess Rubbish: Just getting your rubbish out of the flat is not enough. If there is more than your normal share of rubbish collection, it costs extra money to take, which will of course be paid for by bits of your bond. Again, keeping on top of your cleaning will help to lessen the impact of your final rubbish deposits.
• Breaking the Contract: Landlords and rental companies have contracts for a reason – to protect their business. It takes time and energy to find new tenants, so if they have to unexpectedly find a new person because you decided to leave sooner than agreed on, a contract break fee may occur. This money covers the cost of finding new tenants and ensures they have some sort of income from a time they otherwise thought were secure.
• Failure to Leave On-time: If your contract has a move-out date and time, it is probably for a reason. For instance, at The Furnished Property Group, there is a high rate of change since some of the contracts are very short-term. Therefore, needing the keys back and flat vacated in a timely manner is very necessary to ensure it is clean and ready for the new tenant(s). So, keep in mind your vacate date and time that was agreed upon with your landlord in the beginning.
• Damages Not in Condition Report: If you didn’t mark it down in the beginning, and the issue is present when leaving, you will get charged for it. That’s why it is so important to mark everything when first arriving, and notify of issues as they occur.

If you have any questions or concerns about getting your bond back, be sure to ask your landlord or property owner immediately. By doing so, and keeping in mind the above points, there should be no reason to worry if you will get your bond back when leaving.

May 18, 2009

photo credit: alancleaver_2000

Could you use a little extra spending money? How about $300 to be exact?! The Furnished Property Group is giving you the chance to win just that with The Video Contest for Cash!

All you have to do is create a video – 90 seconds or less – showcasing your favorite part of living in your furnished property. You can talk about anything – the view, the location, the beds, the privacy, etc. It doesn’t have to be professional. We just want creativity! So, for example, if your favorite part of your property is the closeness to the city, you could create a video of you starting your day at home and then walking to the city, but in 90 seconds or less of course!

Submission Deadline: Sunday, June 7th 2009

Who can participate? All tenants currently in TFPG, or those who will be signed up and with submissions sent before the closing date. Basically, you must be a tenant within the dates of May 18 – June 7, 2009.

For complete rules and some FAQs, refer to the Video Contest Rules page on this website. If there is anything not covered, please leave a comment and I’ll answer it ASAP. Chances are if you have a question, someone else does, too.

What are you waiting for? Just think of what fun you could be having with $300!

May 13, 2009

If you love Sydney and are looking to stick around for a while, then perhaps our latest vacancy for a house manager at The Furnished Property Group would be of interest!

An apartment and small salary are offered to capable and organised building manager/s for our 40 Bedroom guesthouse in Elizabeth Bay.

Duties include daily cleaning of property common areas to ensure that property is well maintained and presented, filing a weekly report to landlords, ensuring there are no behaviour problems and ensuring the apartments/rooms are in good order.

The house manager position is perfect for responsible students or professionals (couples, too!) looking to save money.

Applicants must have view to take a 12 month contract. If interested in applying for the position, please email a cover letter and CV to shared@furnishedproperty.com.au. We look forward to working with you!