Handling tenants request

As humans, we have unlimited wants, but we have limited resources.

 

@Ricky Adelaide ... interestingly, I hear more whinging about fencing. Particularly to keep the dog in. To a lesser degree because people are often convinced that a thin timber paling fence guarantees their safety and security.

 

Good feedback JacM, always interesting hearing what other people are experiencing - prefect reason for us to be on here and not in our own bubbles 24/7

 

Yub, tenants have young kids and the neighbour's dogs are about 1 m high and were able to jump across the 1.5 m fence. We have asked the neighbour to remove any stepping stones to prevent the dogs from jumping over, but they didn't feel secure. We had a plan to replace the fence anyway but had to bring it forward.

Same with aircon, we are planning to install one anyway sometime in the future, but the tenants want it now. They have only stayed for less than 6 months and already 2 major requests. I am worried that aircon is not the end of it. I think though if the tenants have stayed long term without much fuss, I'll be inclined to give them what they want.

The rental market is really bad somehow it attracts these sorts of tenants. We would not normally sign them up in the first place, but it is not the time to be picky.

 

Well this seems to change the whole overall view of things to me. If these were things you were going to do anyway, it seems to me that the tenant's requests weren't all that unreasonable after all?

It seems to be a no-brainer to just get the done now and keep the tenants happy.

I wouldn't care about whether it was "the end of it" or not - you can just deal with requests on a case by case basis.

 

The requests aren't that unreasonable, their attitude is.

We have other properties needing tlc, they sit higher on the priority list, and we would like to spread the cost/spending a little bit, if that makes sense.

Yes, alright, that's an interesting view.

 

Perhaps the question may be to ask yourself
Do you want to have a longer term business relationship with these people?
I hope this helps

 

This has been interesting thread to follow,
I noticed a change in attitude from some posters as more facts become known.
I am a relative new IP owner and facing what I thought was a similar situation with a new demanding tennant while running other projects, work , life etc. This has been a reminder for me to consider the problem with a cool head taking as much into consideration as possible.
However we simply dont know other peoples emotional state, financial position, work life, health issues and other pressures or concerns - so I am going to attempt to tackle my IP issues like a mathematical equation, by that I mean reduce worrying about the unknown/emotion and look at these problems from the angle it is, a business.

Sounds like you are in a good position to be in and Im sure you will find a good solution : )

 

If you treat investing as a business you will likely be more successful and have less stress.

If you just set and forget you are not optimising your money.

However with business the successful ones are the ones you can work 'on' the business and not 'in' the business. Hence why most successful investors will outsource a lot of the work as it will give them less stress, more time and can work 'on' their future rather than in their future.

 

One of my tenants is demanding a ceiling fan now. It wasn't there off course when they signed up but they want to have it now.

PM told them she will "try" and it is upto the LL basically.

 

Where is the property?

 

Morton bay

 

I would have a fan/s installed, inexpensive and pretty much a necessity. Adds value and it makes a house more attractive to tenants.

 

What budget would you target to install a fan with a light ? There is a light installed there at the moment which makes it easier. But off course I would not lose the light either

 

@hash_investor This was one of the requests my tennants made prior to signing up. I agreed as I wasnt in a position to have the place vacant for a length of time.
I purchased 2 fans inc LED lights from CNW and the electrician installed them.Total was approx $500.
I can dig up the invoice if you would like more details.

 

Which area was that ?

 

Newcastle , CNW have stores along the east coast , not sure if elsewhere

 

Thanks to all who commented. I decided to approach it as if we have a PM. Told them we can't install the aircon now, but will try to install one in the near future when the budget allows. I thought having an aircon will help to attract tenants in the future, so might as well install one when I have the budget for it.

Their old lease has just expired and after all the complaints they had, I'm surprised that they actually decided to renew their lease.

It's a learning process for me. We've had happy tenants and also demanding tenants. Having a PM will definitely help, but with the falling rent and the situation we are in, this is the best arrangement for us at least for now.

A good point being made is to keep in mind that at the end of the day it is business. If you are in rental business, coming across demanding tenants is inevitable. The best thing to do is probably to reject all unreasonable requests and consider reasonable requests based on cost, budget, time, etc

A different tenant came up with 10 items she wanted fixed when she moved in. Luckily we rejected most of them (only did maintenance ones) as she's now falling behind in rent