Anyone had a property abandoned?

One of our rentals appears to have been abandoned. Tenants stopped paying rent from the 11th of November, PM has tried to contact them multiple times via phone, text, email, letters. Notice to evict was sent on the 23rd of Dec. Still no contact. I have a friend who lives in the area who says he hasn't seen anyone there (and he walks the dogs past at all times of the day) since early November.

PM is dealing well with it all, VCAT hearing set for tomorrow. Just wondering if anyone has any experience with this and how long it took to actually get possession? PM is talking police warrant to access the property and then someone from consumer affairs (?) to value whatever is left in the property. Feels like it might be a while

 

@Xenia posted about this recently

 

Lots of experience with exactly this situation

It sounds daunting but just a process in the business of property investment.
If you have good landlords insurance through a specialist company there should be zero (or close to it) losses on this as everything is recoverable.
If tenant has absconded they would not turn up to hearing and you should get vacant possession within a week.
Start advertising immediately and get quotes done for insurance claim asap.

 

Yes - You have to go through all of the requisite motions including getting a judgement to claim bond, evict the tenant etc.

 

Hi Jessica,

This is one of the chapters of the forum's official tenancy guide - Tenancy Tip Thursday - Tenant has done a runner

Happy to lend you a hand if needed.

 

Yep; had a tenant do a runner; left loads of rubbish inside, broke another Unit's guttering on the way out (had a truck to take their gear away). Owed rent of course...bond covered some of it.

When I lived in my first PPoR; the house behind me was rented;

Dogs started barking day and night all of a sudden; I got fed up and went around to the front door; was greeted by the LL who had just arrived before me to find house vacated and trashed, full of dog poo and urine, food scraps - 2 dogs left behind with the back door open so thewy could roam in and out freely, but had run out of food and water days before I suspect (hence their barking).

it was disgusting; all carpets had to be replaced and dogs almost didn't survive.

 

Thanks Xenia, we already have several people lining up for the property so won't have to advertise etc. The PM is dealing with the insurance company etc which seems to be going smoothly - we have insurance with Commbank. The fact that they have skipped out on a fixed term lease goes in our favour.
The PM just rang and told me they used their key to get in - definitely abandoned, minimal damage but there is food up the walls and dirty nappies all over the floor. The fridge is still there full of food and has been turned off
Dirt we can deal with though.....does anyone know if the insurance company will cover a cleaner...

 

Oh @Bayview! That is so awful, those poor dogs
This place has been left in a pretty ordinary state considering the food and our 40+ temps recently. Not looking forward to cleaning it. I'm just happy there doesn't seem to be any major damage, we are a bit pushed for time with the other reno.

 

This is all common stuff Jessica - no one cleans properties before they abandon them.

We get ready for cleaning and insurance claims and minor repairs when tenants fall into arrears repeatedly and can't catch up. The behaviour is predictable.

We have a tenant right now who advised that they just divorced - been in property for 18 months - all good so far but I know that he alone cannot afford the $590 per week so it's a matter of time. They start off borrowing money, which only increases their debt later. It's predictable when you have been seeing it for over 11 years.

what is not common is - tenants trashing properties and wrecking walls etc and tenants leaving expensive furniture that needs to be stored for a fee. There is theory and then there is real life which is handled differently.

Yes - dumping of rubbish and cleaning is claimable.
great that you have new tenant lined up.
All this is just a processed that can be finalised in a week.

 

I've had it happen. If you own property it is bound to happen at some stage. No big deal. couple weeks with no rent.

 

which is recouped through a claim anyway.

It used to shock me at the beginning and I would be devastated each time. After 11 years though, it just gets handled quickly and everyone moves on. No big deal I agree.

 

i had something similar - in the western suburbs of victoria actually. went to vcat, got the eviction order and then took possession, the tenant abandoned the place before i could get a sheriff in to evict.
When you go to VCAT make sure to claim for the bond as well.
Once you got the order, just make a claim with insurance they should cover the rent after X number of weeks. Any damage can be claimable subject to policy. It's just part of life. Consumer affairs in VIC is basically useful unless it is a faulty product that can cause fires or something within those lines of a faulty car etc.

 

Fortunately, I can count on one hand the amount of times I have abandoned a property. I need two hands to count how often I have abandoned employment lol.

Sorry, i know this serious but I just couldn't help myself.. It's a Friday on a four day long weekend!

 

Yeap been there. Just follow the process and get the cleaning and repairs done asap.
My x-tenants are still paying me $10 a week through a debt recovery agency to cover the costs they left me.

 

I had my tenant break lease,and we went to SACAT to recover outstanding rent,water and break lease fee,around the $460 area,not a biggie,but its a principle thing with me.It also cost me a $69 fee for the privilege to ask for my own money back.
In the middle of the hearing the tenant pulls out a "paid invoice" of $250 for mould treatment in the bedroom.This was the 1st anyone had heard of it.The member awarded this payment to her based on her truth full nature, and i am a capitalist pig, the break lease fee was also not allowed as we should of known about the mould,apparently.Make up your own mind with the invoice Mobile disconnected,no ABN, icloud email,Invoice no 001,the invoice date was 2 weeks after the tenantgave notice.This is what we are up against, a 1 sided view through a government agency which has no intention of being fair.

 

Dodgy Word Invoice.

 

Has anyone had the tenant abandoned their property on your freehold and if so did you
1 onsell the property
2 negotiate with the bank that held the mortgage
3 merge the leasehold title with the freehold (i am uncertain if this is possible )

 

Huh? You mean someone put a house on your land?

 

I've had one. Fortuantely not quite the same.

PM got a text message that read, "Can't afford the rent, have moved out, keep the bond for the last month's rent".

By the looks of it the couple had split up and she'd moved on. He stayed a few months but couldn't keep up the rent on his income. Left a bit of a mess behind.

The biggest hassle was we had to go to VCAT to claim the bond (he didn't contest). I actually wasn't too worried about cleaning because the house needed a makeover anyway.

 

Yes that is correct
They (the leaseholder/tenant) own the house.
I own the land but like any tenant they can walk
This is common in ACT (all of HK ,China UK etc)