Emergency Call out Fee as Real Estate Agent Couldn't Arrange for a Sparky on Time

CAPTCHHHA on 16/10/2018 - 14:31
Last edited 16/10/2018 - 15:21 by 1 other user

Real estate agent called me around 9 AM about an electrical issue with my investment property. Looks like there was a problem with the kitchen which had effectively knocked down the power of entire house.

I had a RACV home assist so I told them I will send someone there. The RACV guy reached the premises an hour later and safely switched off the mains but didn't repair anything and left the property. Called up real estate agents around 12:30 PM asking them to send their own electrician, they said it won't be an issue. Later around 5:30 PM they call me up saying there are no electricians around the suburb and they can only send someone around 8:30 PM, obviously with a massive call out fee. The tenants have a small kid and it was really cold so I asked them to waste no time and get the guy there as soon as possible.

Obviously, if they would have called me and let me know a lot sooner I would have gone on Hi Pages and arranged for my own electrician. The electrician went there around 8:30 PM as promised and rewired three power points in kitchen with new cabling which made most of the power points to work but it didn't completely fix the issue. He promised going back later and fixing the other stuff.

Sent an invoice of $700 for the job he did that night and another invoice of $7000 if I ask him to go there again and fix rest of the stuff. He says the house needs to be rewired (looks like previous owner assumed he was a sparky and was fixing everything himself).

There are a few things here -
Can I hold the real estate agents for the emergency call out charges?
Can a house rewiring be covered under house and content insurance?

Home & Garden

Comments

  • Hybroid on 16/10/2018 - 14:34
    +10

    Can I hold the real estate agents for the emergency call out charges?

    No, you gave the go-ahead.

    Can a house rewiring be covered under house and content insurance?

    Ask your insurer? Seems could be a very unsafe house and you're liable for that as landlord if anything goes wrong.

      • Hybroid on 16/10/2018 - 14:39
        +16

        Technically, you had a choice of not giving the go-ahead and waiting for an electrician to be free even if it's next day. You certainly made the morally correct decision to expedite this for the comfort of the tenant but unfortunately there's a cost to that.

        • Gumster on 19/10/2018 - 11:17

          Yeah you gotta pay to put the tenants in a hotel for lack of power it is a major outage. You would also need to refund food that spoilt from lack of power. So whilst you can wait it would still cost you

          Sounds like a shitty real estate unfortunately OP has to foot the bill

          • [Deactivated] on 19/10/2018 - 21:28

            @Gumster: who was the agent?

      • HighAndDry on 16/10/2018 - 14:43
        +5

        Well I did give the go-ahead but not like they gave me any choice.

        I feel like you're conceptualising this wrongly. You're the landlord. This is all your responsibility as the starting point, the managing agent, as the name implies, helps you to manage it.

        E.g. here: Instead of you arranging a sparky, they arrange one on your behalf. You're still the one technically getting the services, they're just helping you.

        • CAPTCHHHA on 16/10/2018 - 14:49
          -3

          I completely understand your point here but my question here is obvious. When I called them around 12:30 PM they said arranging for a sparky will not be an issue at all. Should it take them 5 hours to know that the electricians are not available in the suburb?

          • Hybroid on 16/10/2018 - 14:54
            +2

            @CAPTCHHHA: Unless you have a contract with them that specifies they guarantee to find someone in 1 hour/2 hours/7 mins/whatever, then the length of time is irrelevant. They found someone eventually so fulfilled their duty. 5 hour wait for an electrician could subjectively be pretty good turn-around for some people/places. Dreadful for others I'm sure. What if it was only 4 hours? Where do you draw the line? What's your contract say?

          • HighAndDry on 16/10/2018 - 15:06

            @CAPTCHHHA:

            Should it take them 5 hours to know that the electricians are not available in the suburb?

            That's a perfectly reasonable timeframe imo. Even if it takes less than that amount of time though, the sparkies aren't going to be magically available if they've got jobs booked already. You'd still have to call one out to attend after-hours after they've gotten through all their bookings, and you're still looking at that call out fee.

            Unfortunately that's how it goes if you need stuff done urgently.

            • CAPTCHHHA on 16/10/2018 - 15:09

              @HighAndDry: Interesting stuff, I guess I have been lucky arranging plumbers and electricians myself through a magic website within hours, btw, I am not in regional Victoria.

              • HighAndDry on 16/10/2018 - 15:15

                @CAPTCHHHA: Hahahahaha I don't know - I've never had any luck getting tradesmenpeople on even a same day basis without paying a pretty hefty callout fee. Even not after hours.

                • CAPTCHHHA on 16/10/2018 - 15:22
                  +1

                  @HighAndDry: Well I guess some people are just lucky. I have had some luck even on facebook market getting registered tradesmen come in at a short notice. It's mainly the partners who respond.

      • abb on 18/10/2018 - 10:23
        +4

        what would be the most ideal way to deal with a problem like this?

        Find an agent that doesn't suck? (Good luck)

        • CAPTCHHHA on 18/10/2018 - 10:25
          +4

          very hard to find one that doesn't suck! would need all the luck I can. thnx

          • Kangal on 18/10/2018 - 15:28
            +3

            @CAPTCHHHA: Don't worry, we've done all the work and have determined there are 0 Good Agents within Australia.

            Unless you are buying/selling a property, Real Estate Agents don't really care much about anything else.

            It all boils down to commission.

          • josho9 on 19/10/2018 - 01:59

            @CAPTCHHHA: Consider managing it yourself. You'll save a lot on repair charges on top of the commission.

  • HighAndDry on 16/10/2018 - 14:41
    +1

    Can I hold the real estate agents for the emergency call out charges?

    Lol no. Why do you think they're responsible at all? They help you manage the property, that's it.

    Can a house rewiring be covered under house and content insurance?

    Not as you've described it, no.

    • CAPTCHHHA on 16/10/2018 - 14:42
      +1

      Thats what I thought but anyways no harm in checking

      • Flanders on 18/10/2018 - 11:28
        +3

        There is the potential harm, in that… once you have mentioned faulty/dangerous wiring to insurer, they could then use that against you if you ever need to claim, and you didn't get it fixed.
        If it is a safety Hazzard, you need to get it fixed regardless, and sounds like you want to do the right and fair thing by the tenan, which I admire you for.
        I guess mention it to insurer, see if they cover it, then of they don't, I would definitely get at least 3 quotes from qualified electricians.
        Get an itemised quote and/or a somewhat detailed description of what exactly he would be doing for that $7,000 . He has already inspected it all from the sounds of it(and you paid him for this already), and he knows whats needed exactly.
        Take that list, and ask around with a few electicians what their best quote would be.
        Also try airtasker, and even gumtree , FB etc .. make sure they are a qualified electrician and ask nicely to see their trade ID, before giving them this job
        First quote being $7,000 , I would not be surprised at all if you can get it done just as good a job, for half that or less. Maybe just somebody who works for a company, that wants some extra work after hours or on weekends. If his boss gets paid $7,000 employee probably would only get $2,000-$3,000 of that anyway, rest would be business' cut.
        Unless your in a position where there is absolutely no competition ie. 100km away from the nearest electrician, you will probably at the bery least save $2,000 buy shopping round for best quote can be offered.
        Often tradespeople take advantage of knowing that you 1) haven't got a second opinion and 2nd quote yet.. 2)You are not fully aware of what the cheapest price the job can be done for, if ask around for best quote offers.
        Note: of going on airtasker, I have been told they have a badge next to their profile saying "qualified electrician" and that means that airtasker have gotten a copy of proof of trade qualifications (they would have made the user upload a photo to verify and prove qualified electrician).

        • CAPTCHHHA on 18/10/2018 - 13:14
          +3

          Thanks a lot Mate , this is exactly what I experienced. The electrician that gave me a quote of 7000 gave me an itemized list of things to do as well. I have managed to get in touch with 3 more sparky's their quote for the same work( leaving outside cabling) comes around 2500-3000. All three are qualified electricians and they will supply the certificate of safety. One of them offered a 1 year warranty too. I am deciding which one to go with, would depend on who can get the job faster too.
          One very important thing you mentioned was checking the trade ID. Last year I had an issue with my hot water heater and called up some random guy from internet. He confirmed he has trade id, turns out it was only for aircon and not for hot water heaters. When I asked for his ID he said he was driving a different truck today and was making stories up, had to ask him to leave my premises immediately. A lot of dodgy people out there.

    • Roman Sandstorm on 18/10/2018 - 13:50
      -3

      What's going on here? I'm agreeing with High??? (Something about lion and lamb lying down together? LOL)

      Anyhow… how I see the situation:

      Original party, property owner, owns said property solely for the purpose of profit; not for any philanthropical purpose, not for the betterment of society, just to make more money for themselves. And to make this acquisition of extra wealth easier on themselves, they then hire an agent to administer various of the wealth-increasing functions for them.

      But this third party agent is slightly-less than optimal in their actions in carrying out this extra wealth acquisition, and causes a slightly-larger-than-expected cost to the original property owner.

      Property owner then considers restitution against their own agent. Hmmmmm….

      And then…. property owner, who it seems has been deriving benefit (ie, extra $$$) from their property, while it has been in a state of danger for the unfortunate residents, seeks possible remedy through house and contents insurance?

      …. Seriously ???

      I admit, I feel dirty sometimes when I agree with HighAndDry's 'individual responsibility' views, but in this case I think I need a shower.

      We seem to get lots of complaints/whinges/rants/appeals/whatevers here on OB from landlords going on about their 'investments', and the multifarious troubles they have with them, which restrict the amount of profit they are attempting to make.

      There appears to be a whole generation of property owners who believe that investing is a guarantee of making profit (oh, and to be fair, governments and banks have both encouraged and assisted in this), rather than a potential risk. Further example of an 'entitled' attitude, eh, High?

      In recent decades the path to making huge profits from property investment has been largely a smooth one, but sometimes there will be potholes, occasionally roadblocks, or maybe even other egregious metaphors.

      • HighAndDry on 18/10/2018 - 13:54
        +1

        Haha hey! I'm not that bad. And in this case - I think OP is being truthful when they say they're just dotting their i's and crossing their t's in asking these questions, and that they honestly don't feel entitled to making a claim with insurance (or a claim against their RE). They can feel the RE did a sub-optimal job and change REs though.

        After all, OP actually paid to solve the problem for their tenants on the same day, when they could have waited a day or two, paying less without facing any real repercussions. They're "one of the good (better?) ones" as it goes I'd say.

        • Roman Sandstorm on 18/10/2018 - 14:08
          -1

          Geez, when you're the reasonable and compassionate (and generous) one, and I'm the hard-ass, what's going on in the world?

          Next thing you know there'll be an orange-haired clown man-child elected president of the US.

          • HighAndDry on 18/10/2018 - 15:31
            +1

            @Roman Sandstorm: I'm not completely unreasonable (hey!) or uncompassionate. I don't like entitlement mentality or refusal to take responsibility. If OP doesn't act entitled and do take responsibility for whatever they did and want help with, I usually try to help (and without any snark either). This thread for example - OP acknowledges they stuffed up and it's their fault, but wants to know if there's any way to minimise their losses. I can't fault that and so I try to help.

        • macrocephalic on 18/10/2018 - 16:11

          Not sure about other states, but in Queensland I believe having no power falls under an emergency, and the landlord is expected to rectify the situation within 24 hours. So the OP either had the option to pay the after hours for the night call, or find a sparky who would come in before 8:30am and not charge an after hours fee.

          • HighAndDry on 18/10/2018 - 16:14
            +3

            @macrocephalic:

            within 24 hours.

            Yeah - I'm pretty sure a 8:30am callout if booked the day before wouldn't be counted as after hours. Most tradies I've dealt with love early morning calls because it's easier for them to fit in, and they can go get other jobs the rest of the day.

            Not to mention - somewhat cynically - the 24hrs thing is really a guide. If OP had it fixed the next day, that'd be well within the practical legal requirements of being a landlord and the tenant would have absolutely no recourse.

            Being totally honest, being a good landlord isn't a particularly high bar, but OP is still a pretty good one imo.

  • CLoSeR on 16/10/2018 - 15:14
    +5

    Pay it but perhaps shop around for another quote to rewire the house.

    • CAPTCHHHA on 16/10/2018 - 15:17

      I am thinking on similar lines. Waiting for the detailed quote to understand what stuff needs to be done.

  • try2bhelpful on 16/10/2018 - 15:24

    It is always useful to have a tame sparky and a plumber you can call on. When our hot water system went belly up we called on the guy who replaced our guttering - he came out and did it that night.

    • CAPTCHHHA on 16/10/2018 - 15:27

      Well I guess you are right. I have a plumber friend that I can lean on. Got to get social with sparky mates

      • try2bhelpful on 16/10/2018 - 15:34

        Your plumber might be able to provide a couple of names. Worth an ask, anyway. Best of luck with the house.

        I don't think your insurance would cover the rewire - when our hot water system burst the insurer wouldn't cover the replacement, just the damage it did when it burst (wasn't bad enough to cover the excess so we left it and the wall just dried out).

        My concern would be how bad the wiring is, does the sparky think this is a current danger or just a tad dodgy. If the place burns down and the wiring is dodgy (and you know it) I'm not sure where you stand legally or insurance wise. Also if the tenants have a kid then you don't want to fry it.

        • Seraphin7 on 16/10/2018 - 16:29
          +1

          This is where you end up over a barrel. Once someone has determined that "the wiring is dodgy", unless you can get someone else to say in writing that it's not, you're in a sticky sport to say the least.

          • CAPTCHHHA on 16/10/2018 - 17:32

            @Seraphin7: I have owned the house for 2 years , recently tenants changed and this electrical mess started. Before the new tenant everything was working without any issues. I will get another sparky to assess the situation.

            • HighAndDry on 16/10/2018 - 19:01

              @CAPTCHHHA: Young kid (or just as time goes on), more appliances and stuff to plug into the electrical system. The bigger the load, the more the overall wiring is stressed, and the more any defects or issues become apparent/noticeable.

              • CAPTCHHHA on 17/10/2018 - 12:22

                @HighAndDry: Yea I guess I will have to keep calm and accept Murphys law.

            • Seraphin7 on 17/10/2018 - 11:24

              @CAPTCHHHA: Yeah, I hear you. It's a pain in the @rse. The problem here is that the probabilities are that everything is fine. But, once you are made aware of "dodgy wiring" you've entered difficult ground.

              It's the curious part of the property system in Australia. It's illegal to do electrical work yourself, but if you do and then sell the house and sometime later an issue such as yours is uncovered, there is no recourse to the person who's done the illegal work.

              • CAPTCHHHA on 17/10/2018 - 12:20

                @Seraphin7: Yup I am understanding this the hard way. My initial plan was to subdivide so I didn't really care for the actual building on the lot. I should have been more careful .

                • try2bhelpful on 17/10/2018 - 12:27

                  @CAPTCHHHA: There has been some talk of getting "condition" reports done on houses for sale in the same way you need a "road worthy" for a car before it goes on the road. I think this would be a great idea. Add a few bucks to the stamp duty costs and the report is available to all potential buyers. If you are bidding on a number of properties it is very expensive to get your own report on all of them.

                  • Seraphin7 on 18/10/2018 - 12:10
                    +2

                    @try2bhelpful: The problem is that the way building inspections are done presently, these condition reports likely won't show up these sorts of issues. I'm going through the process of property buying presently and the reports will basically only report on "what's visible". So unless the wiring is so hideously bad that it stands out like the proverbial, the condition reports may well not pick up on it.

                    • CAPTCHHHA on 18/10/2018 - 13:16

                      @Seraphin7: Yes I agree with you , they only report visible damage.

                    • try2bhelpful on 18/10/2018 - 13:49

                      @Seraphin7: sounds like the inspections need to be ramped up.

                      • Seraphin7 on 18/10/2018 - 21:05

                        @try2bhelpful: Agreed, unfortunately it is not in anyone's interest who has the ability to influence it. Sellers don't want it for obvious reasons. Inspectors are quite happy with the current arrangements as there's no real recourse to them.

                        Buyers are then left to effectively make their own decisions.

                        Yes, the inspections save you from having a poke around in the roof cavity and under the house and getting yourself a bit grubby, but don't really tell you anything you couldn't work out for yourself. The thing I find totally hilarious is that they literally only cover visible issues. If something is in the way … a piece of furniture, a bit of clutter, a picture, a rug, etc. the inspectors will simply say it wasn't visible and therefore was not inspected.

  • Baysew on 16/10/2018 - 15:41
    +16

    I can't help thinking that if an electrician was arranged at 9.00 AM when the Real Estate Agent first called, it seems likely the matter would have been sorted that day. Calling the RACV, seems to have only delayed the matter and didn't really resolve anything.

    • elgrande on 16/10/2018 - 16:49
      +2

      Yep.. this was the bottleneck.

    • Almost Banned on 16/10/2018 - 17:20
      +4

      Yeah - what a great service the RACV seems to offer. We will go out and switch off the fuse box mains… Fan-bloody-tastic.

      • CAPTCHHHA on 16/10/2018 - 17:38
        +4

        RACV home assist are useless. They have never solved anything for me. They come within an hour , look at things and send a quote the next day. The quote always seem to be a lot higher than others

        • [Deactivated] on 18/10/2018 - 18:09

          They helped us relatively quickly after we had the safety switch tripping repetitively with us being unable to find the cause. This was in the early evening too.

          • CAPTCHHHA on 18/10/2018 - 19:23

            @[Deactivated]: I am talking about the RACV home assist, the one they sell for around 230 dollars for a year and includes 10-12 call outs. They are useless.

            • [Deactivated] on 18/10/2018 - 20:40

              @CAPTCHHHA: As was I. They sent an electrician out within an hour for us (afterhours).

  • elgrande on 16/10/2018 - 16:51
    +4

    I cant help wondering why your concerned about the callout fee. If it was me, I would be freaking out about the $7k for re-wiring!!

    Btw. Good on you for organising an electrician before the day ended. I once lost power at was told by the agent to get some candles.

    • try2bhelpful on 16/10/2018 - 17:21
      +1

      I hope you charged him for the spoiled food from your freezer.

    • CAPTCHHHA on 16/10/2018 - 17:41
      +2

      Not overly concerned about the call out fees and yes the 7k freaked me out. I guess that is something I will have to anyways do being the owner. I will shop around but I have set aside that money already. Not happy with the agents not being transparent with me. I pay them to do a job and I expect them to keep me informed

    • abb on 18/10/2018 - 10:26

      I once lost power at was told by the agent to get some candles.

      A tenant can arrange for emergency repairs up to $1000 which the landlord has to repay. (At least in NSW)
      I'm sure you could find an electrician to patch things up for, oh, I dunno, $999 ?

      • CAPTCHHHA on 18/10/2018 - 13:17

        so a tenant can arrange for repairs but whats the notice he needs to give before he does something that drastic?

  • Randxyz123 on 16/10/2018 - 17:25
    +2

    • 5 hours sounds ok to find a sparky who could sort things out on the day sounds alright to me. Nothing stopping you from calling them at 3pm to ask if they had found someone.

    • He says the house needs to be rewired (looks like previous owner assumed he was a sparky and was fixing everything himself).

    This part is really concerning. If the entire place were to burn down tomorrow, I don’t know that your insurance would cover it.

    How old is the house ? When you bought it did you have an inspection done ?

    You need to find out if the place is safe , what power points are not safe to use and get the sparky to identify them to yourself and the tenant and block them off. I agree with the above about getting some more quotes but don’t wait for ages.

    Before you know it your tenants will be asking for a rent reduction.

    • CAPTCHHHA on 16/10/2018 - 17:45

      I am waiting for the sparky to give me a detailed quote for the things he plans to do. Atleast that way I know whats wrong with the house. I asked the agents to get another electrician to give me a wuore. They said they only work with two electricians. The other will charge me 250 dollars to just have a look before he even gives a quote

      • CAPTCHHHA on 16/10/2018 - 17:48

        I was in touch with the agents every hour to see if an electrician has been sorted out. They said they have work orders ready and an electrician will be going out soon. I started the drive back home which is an hour and a half and when I reached I got to know about the delay in arranging an electrician.

        • Randxyz123 on 16/10/2018 - 18:13

          Fair enough.

          Tell the new electrician you've gotten a quote $7000.

          If they can't do it for less they shouldn't bother going.

          • CAPTCHHHA on 17/10/2018 - 11:38

            @Randxyz123: yup.. I will but I need to atleast give them a description of what needs to be done.. Waiting on the quote of 7000 from the previous sparky

          • macrocephalic on 18/10/2018 - 16:13
            +2

            @Randxyz123: They'll quote for $6900. No point in price anchoring.

            • colaman on 18/10/2018 - 16:35

              @macrocephalic: Yes this, never give a price that someone else has quoted until you see their quote first. Could be well under (or well over).

  • [Deactivated] on 16/10/2018 - 23:01

    I'm curious was there an actual problem or did something just take out a breaker? I had a similar issue at my investment property, I was nearby and went round and reset the breaker, no problem.

    • CAPTCHHHA on 17/10/2018 - 11:36

      They haven't yet established the cause. The guy who was there blamed it on a faulty powerpoint and when he started looking under the wiring he could see a lot of non standard work.

  • Waffles on 17/10/2018 - 07:32

    Say you're disappointed with the RE and would like them to pay some of the bill at least. Or better yet imply/downright insist that you'll find a more organised agent

    • CAPTCHHHA on 17/10/2018 - 11:35
      +1

      I am actually disappointed with my RE and would reconsider moving my business elsewhere.

      • mgsydney on 18/10/2018 - 09:37

        Definitely worth looking around. RE are getting desperate for business these days.

        • CAPTCHHHA on 18/10/2018 - 09:40
          +1

          Not the best time to be in housing industry be it land developers, real estate agents or investment home owners. First home buyers should be happy though.

          • mgsydney on 18/10/2018 - 11:58
            -1

            @CAPTCHHHA: Very true. Not sure why I was downvoted, but meh.

            • kolorijo on 18/10/2018 - 13:11
              -1

              @mgsydney: Restored. Must be an unhappy RE lurking here.

  • Whisper Quiet on 17/10/2018 - 09:20
    +2

    Real Estate would never pay for the fee. Its only the tenants or landlord. Because power went out for such a long time the tenant would be within their rights to have power put back on at whatever time without incurring the emergency call out fee. Should have just gone with the electrician to begin with in the morning. I guess next time don't use RACV. Also most real estate agents only use one preferred company for each designated repairs. So if that company is busy they'll wait until they're free. If something like this happens again with the house, maybe call up some companies and put them on standby just in case. Couple of phone calls could save you a couple hundred bucks.

    • CAPTCHHHA on 17/10/2018 - 11:35

      Yup lesson learnt the hard way. I generally arrange for my own tradees for jobs in the investment house but this time I decided I will let the RE do their job, after all I am paying them for this. Didn't really turn our the way I expected , should trust myself with jobs like these. With the RACV guys, they have some 8-10 call outs per year and they say it is for emergency. Perhaps no power in the house did sound like an emergency to me. The call out says the tradee will be available for work for 1 hour. Looks like he did disconnected mains and left within 5 min.

  • jhmtaylor on 17/10/2018 - 09:40

    Your insurance company definitely will not pay for rewiring the house. For it to be covered by your insurance it would need to be damaged by a sudden external event. In your case it is just old and worn out.

    • CAPTCHHHA on 17/10/2018 - 11:31

      Yup I agree.. was trying to see if there was any possibility at all. But thanks for reaffirming this.

  • lovepub on 17/10/2018 - 13:14

    7000 to rewire what part of house ?

    That is a lot of money… That is like the cost of wiring a complete house newly built…(close to at least ).

    He prob doesn't want your job

    • try2bhelpful on 17/10/2018 - 13:26
      +5

      Actually if all the wiring is shot it would cost more than wiring a new house because you have to remove all the shoddy stuff before you even start. There may well be costs associated with removing plaster board, rewiring and repainting as well.

      • CAPTCHHHA on 17/10/2018 - 14:12

        never really thought about this..

      • macrocephalic on 18/10/2018 - 16:16
        -1

        But that makes it easier, you can use the shoddy wiring to pull through the new wiring (assuming it's routed correctly).

        • twwyt on 18/10/2018 - 19:54
          +4

          Definitely doesn't make it easier.
          Old cables will be clipped in walls and need to be removed or terminated.
          Rewiring an existing house can take twice as long as a new build depending on if walls are gyprock or plaster.
          $7000 seems to be a reasonable quote and I know of a lot of bigger companies that would potentially quote higher.

  • CAPTCHHHA on 17/10/2018 - 14:13

    So finally I have the quote.. comes to 7800 if I want the whole house rewired or around 2500 if I am only interested in making the house safe and compliant.

    • Hybroid on 17/10/2018 - 14:15

      The rule of quotations is always have at least 3 to compare and choose from. Whether it’s your house or tendering billion dollar projects at work. At least 3 quotations. Worth enquiring to get some more (usually free) quotes.

      • CAPTCHHHA on 17/10/2018 - 14:19
        +1

        Yup both the quotes are from the same tradee. He says 7800 for a detailed job and 2500 to just make it safe.. Now I am in the market shopping for quotes. Already posted on hipages, waiting for someone to contact me

  • h4zey on 18/10/2018 - 09:25

    who get the sparky to wire the house in the first place? maybe you can report or make a claim?

    • CAPTCHHHA on 18/10/2018 - 09:34

      Must be the previous owner himself or his mates. I guess I can't really hold him liable for any of it as I bought it in Auction.

      • h4zey on 18/10/2018 - 10:27

        dont have experience in this, but didn't you inspect the house before buying it?

        • CAPTCHHHA on 18/10/2018 - 10:30

          just for water damage and moulds :(

          • [Deactivated] on 18/10/2018 - 10:52
            +2

            @CAPTCHHHA: Its impossible to inspect every electrical connection in the house before buying.

            Depending on size of house and type of roof/walls a rewire could take 1-5 days for sparky & his slave apprentice.

            • CAPTCHHHA on 18/10/2018 - 13:03

              @[Deactivated]: I agree. specially if you buy in auctions in a hot market where you have no clue how excited the buyer pool is about the house

            • macrocephalic on 18/10/2018 - 16:17
              +2

              @[Deactivated]: Given that, technically, you have to be a qualified electrician to take the GPO off the wall, it's pretty hard to inspect it yourself.

  • takezo on 18/10/2018 - 10:44
    +11

    Don't have an opinion on your questions, but just wanted to say well done on prioritising the comfort of your tenants!

    • h4zey on 18/10/2018 - 11:38

      yeah some landlord don't give a damn, so well done mate! although it's a shame that this happened to you!

  • ihbh on 18/10/2018 - 12:25

    Can a house rewiring be covered under house and content insurance?

    So someone with $7k of rewiring todo, takes out home and contents insurance and pays a couple of hundred dollars and the $7k cost is covered? Also, when the house gets old and bits fall off and it needs a new coat of paint, the insurer will cover it too?

    Sorry, insurance doesn't work that way, otherwise insurers would go broke or premiums will be in the many thousands of dollars.

    • CAPTCHHHA on 18/10/2018 - 13:05

      Yup I completely agree with you hence I never even tried to give them a call. Just want to check here if our community could come up with some ingenious way to maybe cover a fraction of the costs.

  • Windows98 on 18/10/2018 - 13:26
    +1

    Aren't you negative gearing these costs and putting the expenses onto the taxpayer?

    • CAPTCHHHA on 18/10/2018 - 13:28
      +1

      Ofcourse I am. In the process I am providing affordable housing to the needy. I am paying their council tax and water charges too.

  • Trying2SaveABuck on 18/10/2018 - 13:31

    As someone trying to get out of the investment property landlord game (in Victoria) i feel for you all the cost fall on you and from my experience with 'landlord insurance' you probably wont be covered for much

    The law hates landlords and real estate agents give 0 F***ks about anything so they usually get the most expensive people to come in for a lack of shopping around due to it not being there money

    • CAPTCHHHA on 18/10/2018 - 13:33

      not really a very lucrative game short term after the whole APRA crack down.

      • Trying2SaveABuck on 18/10/2018 - 13:34

        I'd say medium term it probably isnt a good time to be a property investor with capital gains starting to quickly turn into capital losses

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