Please help, I have an IP in the campbelltown area in Sydney. The PM and I got along quite well at the beginning and she has been managing it since I bought the home 3 years ago. Paid higher than average PM fees but felt I could trust her so worth the extra cost. After 2 years she slacked off. Didn't even bother to do routine inspection until the tenants moved out after 6months to find alot of damage had been done to the home. Carpet had to be replaced and beautiful laminated floorboard damaged as the tenant had kept animals in the home and they urinated on them. The lease stated 2 pets outdoor only but tenants have violated it which could have been found out earlier if routine inspection was carried out. The neighbour told me they saw 4 large dogs kept inside the home when the tenant was there. The PM advised she couldn't do routine inspection because access was denied as the tenant had a son with autism and wouldn't allow people through. The neighbour told me his condition was very mild and can interact with the neighbours just fine. The bond was enough to cover the carpet only. The damaged floorboard the PM advised me was just an eyesore but still usable and people can walk on them so we didn't need to replace. The next tenant moved in and the same pattern repeated. No routine inspection done at all after the first 6 months or even scheduled and the tenant was actually expecting one in order for them to notice and notify me of the moving floorboard. Tenants looked after the home well and paid rent on time but was difficult to deal with as they had a bad start with the agency from the beginning. Tenant was so angry of their poor service and lack of communication. The damaged floorboard as it had water trapped underneath have since started moving and left gaps hence need to be repaired in case women's high heels get caught in them as demanded by the recent tenant. It is beyond repairable and had to be replaced. About $3k min. The tenant vacated but still paying rent in their final week. The PM was very slow in responding and although the rental ad achieved over 200hits in the first 4hours it got listed on realestate.com very few people turned up at the opening and I wondered why ? I myself struggled to reach the PM and had to constantly call her up to remind her of things that need to be done yet constantly forgotten. She advised will hold a few more openings this week and will send notice to the tenant but later on forgot. The tenant has vacated so the house is empty however keys have not been returned as they are still paying rent so sufficient notice has to be issued per the act. The tenant is very unresponsive and cannot be contacted but the PM advised me she's waiting for them to get back to her regarding an inspection time. I felt this was such a terrible waste of time and things were not progressing well despite the rental market is awesome in the area and my home is very marketable. I was so upset so sent her an email politely stating that I am very unhappy and felt she didn't care for the property much. I am a renter myself and my agency sends me notice (with sufficient time) of inspection time and date, no responses means acceptance of the request. They did not ask for permission and await my reply. If the time doesn't suit I can object and request another slot. I think this is fair to both parties and works to minimize time loss for the owner in finding a new tenant. Note, I did not tell her but merely asked why we couldn't do the same as they should be working to minimize losses and damage to the owner ! My recent tenant has after all vacated the premises and it is now empty. She wrote back saying they do things by the book and followed the act and terminated my management agreement effective immediately. This was such a shock and so rude. I replied saying of course we have to do things by the book but I was disappointed at how she keep on forgetting the things she advised and promised me then got no further reply from them. I am now frantically looking for a new agent but feel very bitter at the mess I have been left in due to their carelessness and neglect with the routine inspections leaving me with the costly damage. The floorboard was in perfect condition before the former tenant moved in. Is there anything I could do to claim compensation from them via the tribunal ?
Yes you can claim for damage to floor boards but needs to be done with tenant who did the damage. You are correct in that: The property manager needs to provide notice for inspection not wait for approval. If access is denied continuously, it is a breach and correct legal notices need to be served. Proactive property managers do not buy into any excuses or tenant demands, they just push on and do what needs to be done. The good news for you is that another property manager can easily take over and sort out all that mess for you fairly quickly. I would suggest ringing a few in the area and asking how they can turn this situation around for you? It's all reversible, I've seen worse.
Thank you so much Xenia. The tenant has not yet denied access for inspection. In fact they requested that we only do showing after they moved out in order for the home to be better presented and we accepted. I was told by the agency the home was clean after they moved out. The tenants are not responsive nor contactable so I asked what if they don't reply to the inspection request (due to what ever reason)? The agent's reply was we bring them to court !
When I read that, it seems like you refused to leave, no inspections was the cue to find a new PM, you may be able to get insurer to look at it, but they have done you a favour canceling the agreement it would seem.
Honeydew, I am sorry to hear about what happened, I agree with this! Could I also suggest ( I know its even more paperwork), If the agency is a franchise or a member of the REI, send them a complaint, in point form, together with copies of your requests to inspect etc. Agents like this should be 'weeded out' and their professional organisations notified. I hope this helps
Hi dabbler, No it was the opposite! I have been planning to leave for quite some time now but need to go through all my statements first and wait for the new tenant to move in, dust settles then switch. Also due to other priories I have not got around to switching early enough which I should have earlier. My friend who also have an IP managed by them have been very disappointed with their service, emails, phones went unresponded ....so we have been wanting to leave, just have not got round to it.....
Understand things can get busy, but if they allowed all that to go on from a while back, then it may be worth making it a priority to change, so that is my suggestion to your call for help. The inspections are a core of the function IMO, if the place is local, I would also attend some of the inspections as well.
