I think this is ridiculous - literally showing no respect for people's time - whats the point of telling me to wait from 9am to 5pm?
Is this common practice?
One of the services XXXXX Property Management provides to our clients is regular routine inspections of their properties. Our Investment Management Concierge Team will be inspecting the property on 23/08/2023 between 9:00am to 5:00pm.
We have provided a Routine Inspection Guide to assist you with your preparation prior to the inspection:
Added more context - apologies
I feel its moot to say 9am to 5pm, which pretty much tells me I need to be on standby all day
Why cant they have a little more respect and provide a narrower window
Maybe the point I'm missing is, I don't actually need to be present and they can let themselves in
You don't need to be home in most cases, they do have keys.
I wouldn't trust a stranger to walk around my house when I'm not home.
@Protractor: The building and all the fixed contents are the owners, they have entrusted the PM and the tenants to look after it. I can understand why both parties would like to protect their assets.
The property managers do ten of these a day and aren’t interested in the tenants belongings.
They are just doing their job. Let them let themselves in.
@Stewardo: You asked why a tenant might be concerned. I just gave the core and usual reason. Some ppl may not have an issue. Many do.
Good to hear all property managers are so straight down the line. They don't sound very organised though if they can't narrow the inspection window.
As below> In the current and insecure rental climate I think cameras (if tenants can afford them) are a wise investment.
@Protractor: How would a camera help the tenants situation?
Most property managers I’ve met are high school dropouts who are struggling financially themselves, they normally get paid poorly have a massive workload and get told off by tenants and owners daily. They are normally tenants themselves as they can’t afford to buy on such a small salary.
Implying that they are hopeless or thieves is a much.
I know my opinion will be unpopular but most of the anger towards Property managers landlords etc is misdirected.
@Stewardo: Can't believe after 4 posts you still need an explanation.
It would give the tenant the peace of mind they need if the inspecting person is dodgy.
And or dissuade visitors from sniffing the tenants undies.
Seems fairly standard.
It’s not like a home open, only the RE will go into your home, take a few pics and leave.
It’s not as if you would follow them around the house for the couple minutes they are there, so not a lot to gain by being home.
I wouldn’t stress about it.
If your worried grab a few cheap amazon home cameras.
It’s not as if you would follow them around the house for the couple minutes they are there
This is the best strategy to get them to leave quickly.
this is exactly what I do, while we discuss any concerns
Each to their own, but it’s not necessary.
All well and good if you have time and want to meet them. But you could call/email/leave a note addressing concerns.
@El cheepo: As you say, each to their own.
Without accusing anyone of anything, I prefer to be at home when people enter it.
And re. your comment below - again each person is different, but I don't find it uncomfortable at all to have a chat with the agent as they go about their process. In my case I now have better rapport with the agent than when we only had email discussions. This may or may not be valuable shoudl there be any issues down the line.
RE agents are people too :)
I doubt any season REA is going to be phased by someone following them around.
Regardless if your there or not, they are going to check the same things and take the same photos.
Thats just more uncomfortable for you then them.
You should respond professionally inline with your legal and contractual obligations.
"Thank you for the heads up. Would you be able to kindly narrow down a time, or at least either AM or PM, because I am working abnormally timed shifts and will plan my rest around the inspection visit. Thank you very much."
Thats pretty could - my writing is hopeless so I will just take your response and send over…
thanks!
9-5 is a pretty poor effort on behalf of the agent. I've seen 2 hour blocks previously, but a full day is a joke.
Do you want a stranger snooping around your home alone?
At least they come, if its Australia Post, you probably need to take a another day off to pick it from the post office.
They don’t care whats in your house.
But as I mentioned above a few cheap cameras is always an option.
I have used them (cheap ones that are motion activated and send a message to you when triggered) and have used them to watch inspections/home opens.
Its actually pretty entertaining to watch and hear people’s comments when they think they aren’t heard.
Probably a bit creepy, but hey… your in my house I’ve paid to rent with my stuff 🤷🏽♂️
Just buy your own house then you don't need to worry about this.
If you're homeless just buy a house
This is the answer (source: not owning a house)
/thread
I think you forgot to add the following bit of advice about not having smashed avo every day so that they can actually afford to save up for a house.
Me, I would just tidy up the house, hide the valuables, and go out for the day. If you do have a pet then warn them to make sure it doesn’t get out or get someone to babysit it for a day.
It is an inconvenience but I can also see they want to know the house is being looked after.
It does appear there is an opportunity here for a zoom meeting to be arranged where the inspection could be done via someone wandering around their house, with a camera, streaming the inspection. It could be a mutually agreeable time and it saves the inspectors travel and walking into an unknown situation.
whats the point of telling me to wait from 9am to 5pm?
I don't see them asking you to wait, they are just saying they will be dropping in between those hours.
Have you been asked to be there?
It has been common practice at my place.
In Queensland, it has to be a 2 hour window.
Just go to work and let them let themselves in. I hated seeing them look through my house the one time I was present during the inspections. Out of sight, out of mind.
Also, don't cause trouble or you may get kicked out or have your rent increased.
As a landlord if my tenant requested a 3 hour window, I'd be upset if the agent could accommodate, so ask for a smaller window.
In the worst case, at least they could agree to inspect before 12pm or after 1pm.
having said that, the agent has to go to many properties to manage, unless you have a sex swing and a dildo collection on the mantelpiece, I'm sure they aren't going to be too nosey.
LOL! I will be sure to hide all the kinky stuff!
But as you said, they have many places to go so there should be some certainty that they wouldnt be visiting during certain window
At least they are not Strata Managers. I can't stand strata managers.
I was told a roof tradie would come at 7am this morning and no one turned up.
So I left and went to work.
Meaning, it will have to be organised again!
I get what you mean. Far out.
another spot the landlord thread
Maybe OP should forego the smashed avo this week and they’ll be able to afford to take a day off
As if th REA can't narrow the inspection window. I;m amazed we have someone not WFH, to be honest.
In case you hadn't noticed it's a very skewed power balance, and renters are feeling very insecure for good reasons.
I think a bit of flexibility isn't that much of a stretch.
Personally I'd go down the camera route anyway. In case the owner is looking for a trigger to evict based on a faux issue.At least some form of alt evidence, and peace of mind re any unnecessary poking around the Ops stuff.
OP just be sure to turn the cams on/off at the right time!
OP I'm guessing you live in a large apartment building? Maybe they plan on doing multiple inspections in the same building that day.
If you want to be present, let them know this and specify your preferred time window via email.
Respond and give them a 2 hour window.
Eat less avo on toast and buy a home. Problem solved.
Ask for a more specific time window. If they can't accommodate that, leave a 1 star Google review.
A 1 star review would assure an expanding client base. RE Investors probs prefer hard arse inspectors in a time of blank cheque rent prices
Ypu can contact them and request a rough time. They don't have to give it to you, but often they will.
You got your answer already, but here's my 2c
I agree, this is poor form from the REA, I never had this happened to me and I find it unprofessional to get a 9-5 answer. It shows that they can't manage time properly.
Maybe I am lucky that my last 2 REAs gave me a short timeframe, eg. "Inspection will be between 11am to 12pm"
Also, I rather be home when they are there, cause I think you being there mitigates them from really looking at the place. I heard petty stories that REAs, if you're not home, will be nit picking and be so anal and write you up for petty things like "dust on window frame", "dishes in sink"…. etc
lol DISHES IN SINK??
Animals!
XD
No context provided so I'm assuming you're renting and received this from the managing agent.
You likely don't need to be there. You don't need to reply. They will let themselves in, have a quick walk through to make sure you're not ripping up floorboards or keeping 3 dogs in the spare bedroom, and you'll never even know they came by. It's one of the unpleasant realities of renting. You signed off on it in your rental agreement.