Dodgy tenants? Dodgy real estate?

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  miss arrow on 01/06/2014 - 17:23

  1) Not in my experience :)

  2) Did you make the request verbally or in some sort of written communication that was acknowledged by them?

  3) Do you have insurance? You'll get their bond first if it's an open and shut case; not sure what the laws are in Vic though; maybe small claims court or tribunal? Honestly though, there could probably a bunch of stuff your RA hasn't been telling you (tenant has not had hot water, tenant still has mould, tenant send letter advising cease of rental payments until issues fixed etc etc).

  Try looking around for a better RE - a trip to Vic will be a tax deduction ;)

  I hope your next experience isn't this harrowing :)

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    kriddy on 01/06/2014 - 17:41

    I've been sending everything via email. I've even got acknowledgement from them saying they'll sort it out. I do have insurance, I might get some advice from them too. Thanks

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  MITM on 01/06/2014 - 17:28

  +5

  1 strike policy - Sack the REA, evict the tenants, start again.
  There are plenty of both and it's just business.

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    Aceboy884 on 02/06/2014 - 00:55

    My biggest regret is not keeping to the rule

    We've changed around a few times, it's not a bad reputation, because at least the new agent know you will sack them if they fork up

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  cypher67 on 01/06/2014 - 17:32

  +3

  My advice is to all have a local investment property. Been burnt too many times by trusting other people, much prefer to see the investment and I personally maintain a relationship with all my tenants. I just pay the RE to do all the paperwork and legwork. If there is ever any issues, the tenants contact the RE and CC me in, then I personally follow it up. Tenants are happy and I'm happy, RE has no where to hide. If they mess up they know I'll move all my investment else where and they lose money. Key is Local and build a relationship with tenants.

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  iseenya on 01/06/2014 - 17:58

  A good property manager is worth their weight in gold, in my investment property experience. Even more so when you are located thousands of kilometres away and dependent on them keeping you in the loop so that the sort of nasty surprises you are having don't occur.

  Unfortunately, good ones aren't all that easy to find - you need to interview some to find one who is keen, smart and really on the ball with selecting and handling tenants and looking after property issues. As reenkabeen suggests, go over there and get all the problems sorted, including inspection of your property and selection of a new property manager.

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  YTW on 01/06/2014 - 19:59

  As tenants we found that real estate agents were either great or shockingly bad. If they're not doing the little stuff, they tend to not be doing the big stuff either. Find yourself an agent that you can trust - otherwise you are just going to be constantly stressed out and worrying about your investment.

  It's probably not the case, but thought I'd mention it as a possibility, but the tenants may be withholding rent because of something the agents have done. Like promise to get the hot water system fixed 8 months ago and get the mould sorted out in the house etc. The tenants could also have other issues that are not being addressed that you don't even know about.

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  Mon Gol on 02/06/2014 - 08:53

  is it ok if i do not create a new thread and ask here? hope it is…

  we are renting a house, and no mould appear in bathroom, bedroom and lounge room. I was able to clean the bathroom ceiling using chair, sink to stay on…
  Ceiling is more than 2.5 metres high and I can’t reach it in the bedroom and lounge room..
  Question arose after reading this topic – who is responsible for mould? Is it my responsibility to clean the ceilings if there is no exhaust fan in the bathroom? If the ceiling is too high to be reached?
  thanks everyone for advice.
  btw, this is my first comment/question/topic))

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    MITM on 06/06/2014 - 18:37

    Just have a chat with your friendly property agent. I'm sure no one would expect you to live in a mouldy house.
    You could say you've had asthma in the past and you're concerned for your health.
    How do you get mould in the lounge ? Where's the source of moisture ?
    Do you use vapourisers ?

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      EBC on 27/06/2017 - 15:21

      Hi MITM, not the one you responded to but in a very similar situation. Mould in the bathroom, bedroom, and lounge on the walls and ceilings. All leather goods have moulded and other clothes as well. Furniture has begun moulding.

      There is no source of moisture in the lounge beyond it being along an exterior wall which is part of the reason we believe that there is an issue with the roof. Also, the bathroom clearly has water damage from above. We have notified the landlord and they offered us a $5 per week rent reduction. We have spent probably around $600 dollars trying to prevent mould plus time spent and the need to remove things from the apartment and store them elsewhere.

      We are going back to them with a much higher figure for reduction, but essentially we just want to live somewhere free if mould. Any thoughts?

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        MITM on 27/06/2017 - 20:57

        Mould is a very serious risk to your health. Google it.
        Are you dealing directly with the owner or a property manager. If the later, get them to find your alternative accommodation.
        If it's the landlord, get him to call in a mould professional before accepting any rent reduction. Once you accept, you agree to live with the mould. No thanks.

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    Geewhizz on 07/06/2014 - 05:45

    Question arose after reading this topic – who is responsible for mould?

    If it was clean when you got there, you are, assuming there's no problems with the building that are causing it.

    Get yourself a sponge mop. Unless you're living in a particularly humid climate it shouldn't need doing all that often.

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  Mon Gol on 10/06/2014 - 12:02

  Get yourself a sponge mop. Unless you're living in a particularly humid climate it shouldn't need doing all that often.

  well, it is first time mould appeared in the lounge room & bedroom..
  have to clean bathroom ceiling every 3-4 weeks.

  nevermind, will send email to agency, thanks everyone)

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  [Deactivated] on 08/12/2016 - 22:42

  On a related note I recently heard about someone losing 8k when a tenant wanted compo for mould in the building. Tenant originally wanted 10k but they went to arbitration and settled for less. Ended up being free rent for the guy. According to the person's agent the tenant doesn't stay long at any place.