I hate renting, grr... - Page 2

Smoked · 11-01-2005, 12:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The MaDDeSTMaN

Like the title says, I hate renting...

The landlord has decided he wants to sell this house, so he can "invest" in a subway franchise.

:

LOL, well, your former landlord is in for a shock. Having been a manager at what was a sucessful subway when it opened 2 years ago, too many franchises now, he'll lose his money quickly.

SVOPete · 11-01-2005, 12:23 AM

It is interesting that people seem to think that landlords are evil and out to squeeze what they can from tenants. They are people too and not necessarily rich. A lot of mum and dad investers are landlords with one or two properties and struggle to make ends meet but have them for the kids inheritance or retirement.

There are horror tenants and horror landlords, but I think most people come somewhere in between.

LuvinmyEB · 11-01-2005, 12:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SVOPete

It is interesting that people seem to think that landlords are evil and out to squeeze what they can from tenants. They are people too and not necessarily rich. A lot of mum and dad investers are landlords with one or two properties and struggle to make ends meet but have them for the kids inheritance or retirement.

There are horror tenants and horror landlords, but I think most people come somewhere in between.

I know that not all landlords are bad, I've had a couple of really good ones and I've also seen the crap my dad had to put up with.

My landlord called 5 times today, all of them went unanswered. hehe :P
They can turn up tomorrow with a real estate agent, but they'll be turned away very damn quickly. I haven't had any notice in writing nor have I agreed to it verbally.

BTTB · 11-01-2005, 12:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by '67

Renting and a dodgey land lord inspired me to buy our current home...

Ditto that.. and after a lot of Saving and Scrimping and Overtime
we are moving into out 2nd home (this one becomes the rental)
We rented for many years... and I hope I never become like any of my landlords !

Good to see you found the VCAT stuff ( i was gonna suggest that )

Make sure... when you do move...

that if you need help to do so, you place a request on the Forum here...

I'm sure there will be plenty of willing helpers !

loxxr6 · 11-01-2005, 11:20 AM

It is interesting that people seem to think that landlords are evil and out to squeeze what they can from tenants. They are people too and not necessarily rich. A lot of mum and dad investers are landlords with one or two properties and struggle to make ends meet but have them for the kids inheritance or retirement.

As a tenant and a landlord I can see both sides of the story. For the place I have tenanted out I make it pretty easy. My real estate approves most minor repairs and has all of these things taken out from my rental payments and only calls me for major things that go wrong. That way theres no hassle with unhappy tenants. I can't see why people would want to be stingy with arranging repairs on their homes coz its all tax deductible.....idiots.......

SVOPete · 11-01-2005, 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by loxxr6

It is interesting that people seem to think that landlords are evil and out to squeeze what they can from tenants. They are people too and not necessarily rich. A lot of mum and dad investers are landlords with one or two properties and struggle to make ends meet but have them for the kids inheritance or retirement.

As a tenant and a landlord I can see both sides of the story. For the place I have tenanted out I make it pretty easy. My real estate approves most minor repairs and has all of these things taken out from my rental payments and only calls me for major things that go wrong. That way theres no hassle with unhappy tenants. I can't see why people would want to be stingy with arranging repairs on their homes coz its all tax deductible.....idiots.......

Indeed. Very true. A good property manager is very important. As are keeping tenants happy and landlords insurance.

As far as the glass issue goes, if it was mine I would replace it. I think being made aware of the problem could bring duty of care into it as well (depends if the RE passes it on though).

Angry Beaver · 11-01-2005, 11:37 AM

i dont think they have passes it on. And yes there are good landlords out there we have not had a problem fixing things in the past that is why i think this time its the realestate not the landlord. plus a bonus i may actually talk to the neighbours as they still have contact with the landlord. just to see if it was passed on.

perkz · 11-01-2005, 12:12 PM

Hey guys

I have some experience here, cause my parents own 2 units nearby that we are renting out and due to my dad's less than perfect understanding of english i've had the oppertunity to read/translate a lot of the laws of being a landlord.

There are a lot of tenancy laws that are just stupid. For example - the contract that you have signed isn't worth very much. You could sign a 3 year contract which is easily broken - both by landord and the tenant. A landlord only needs to give 2 months notice if he decides, for whatever reason, to break the contract. A tenant can just run off and leave and the landlord is entitled to claim a max of 2 months rent from them (i think it's 2 months) regardless of the length of the contract.

LuvinmyEB - the fine for not having smoke alarms varies depending on the local council. In Wyndham (my local council), I think it's $500. The rental authority won't issue that fine though.

If something in the house is unsafe, it's up to the landlord to have it fixed. If they're reluctant to do so - the best thing to do is to send a letter of demand that it be fixed (include quotes and proof if possible of how things are unsafe). Make it look legal and formal and put a date you want a response by from it. If (most likely when) you don't get a response, send another letter saying you are paying for it and expect to be reimbursed for the full amount. Then send them the bill. Oh, and send these letters via registered post - that way you have proof that it was recieved. If they don't pay up - take it to the tribunal. With all the proof you now have showing you gave them time to cough up - you'll win easily.
If the letters aren't getting passed on by the agent - eventually you'll find out - and then you can have a nice chat to the landlord about getting a new real estate agent (and probably get the agent into a shitload of trouble)

Be nice and try to be polite - getting angry just makes people stubborn.

Remember, like said before, most landlords these days are mums and dads out to get a little extra money for retiremen - a lot of the time is the real estate agents they get to manage the place that try to be shifty (and hence why my parents no longer use an Agent).

That said - I don't expect ANYONE to put up with something that would be unsafe for the kids (and I wouldn't either).

EDIT: Goddamn! that's my longest post ever I think, back to work :(

FRDGAL · 26-01-2005, 02:10 AM

This has just happened to friends of ours. They moved into a beautiful 2 story home about 9 weeks ago (you can imagine how hard they worked to arrange all the furniture etc on 2 levels) and now a couple of days ago, a For Sale sign has been put up. It seems the couple that own the house have seperated and want to sell the property. I feel sorry for our friends because they have 7 kids and moved from a small house into this huge place - the kids are all settled in and adore having the extra room and now they gotta move again. It was hard enough finding someone that would rent them a place with so many kids. Now they have to go through it all again.

Dark Horse · 26-01-2005, 11:35 AM

One of the things I simply refuse to do is to rent a place out. My parents have rented for a fair while, so we've had our bit of up and moving every now and again. I won't do it, it's against my principles in paying someone else's mortgage off with the associated tax benefits.

I'm on the other side of the fence as a landlord. After reading a lot of these issues that have been brought up by tenants, I'm just shaking my head. All the minor issues are sorted with my real estate manager - she just passes on the repair receipts. I've had a few calls about things going wrong, which have been sorted out ASAP. Things that fall due re painting and upgrading works I make sure I pay in advance.

I think "some" landlords have trouble associated with managing an investment property like a business, which effectively it is. As loxxr6 has pointed it out, it's not exactly rocket science either.