QLD New Tenant

Hey all!

I'm here seeking some opinions on my predicament from the all might PC community and my partner and I can't decide what's right or wrong.

Our current tenant is set to leave shortly in around 18 days, so the PM listed the property as per usual.

I noticed the property was listed as rented on domain and removed from realestate.com. domain stores the date the agent sets the property to rented which was 5 days from listing.

The PM sent nothing to us, I had to email then SMS to follow up asking if it was rented. Obviously he came back and said, yes Single person good job etc.

Now, my partner thinks we should have been consulted to who we put into our property. And have more control than just paying bills etc and should ditch the PM.

I think it's fine, avoids vacancy, I trust the PMs judgement (probably going to be a mistake). What I don't agree with is the lack of communication, no documents well .. no nothing..

I've read so many ... Horror stories on PC and other sources where the PM lists is as rented and lies, or picks rubbish tenants. And I may be working myself up here, but the property was rented and contract assumingly signed on the first open day (Saturday) which is .. pretty damn fast for a 2 bedroom unit with a fair amount of competition around it...

What's your thoughts? Do you expect to be consulted each tenancy? Or do you trust your PM?

Cheers!

 

Trust is one thing, but knowing that the PM is working for you means that they really should have communicated with you before agreeing the to the new tenant. Yes, you should get a say in who moves in (the PM's job is to check out applicants, discard the 'no way' ones, and propose options to you, for your final decision).

Having said all that, I don't think it's going to be too long before landlords have no say on who can live in their places, what the tenants can do after they move in, and whether or not they ever have to move out........

 

Is this the first time you have had a new tenant?

Usually the agent screens and then provides some info about the best candidates and a recommendation.

My agent usually does the latter in a phone call.

Just ask your agent about what’s happened this time (they may have some reasons that they consider valid) and then let them know what you’d have preferred.

 

Yep, the property had an 8 month tenancy when purchased.

Well that's where our opinion is somewhat divided. I think they are working for us by minimising vacancy.

We both agreed they may be assuming they're ok to do this as we're interstate in NSW.

Will do thanks, I've checked the contract nothing in there stating they'll just do it without input.

 

You may need to followup with agent and seek further info. I always get their tenancy and entry report.

 

Entry report won't be due until the previous tenant moves out.

 

Agent should always send through vetted applications for the Lessor to consider and/or approve. Agent should not be approving an application unless that's the agreed arrangement between the Lessor and Agent.

 

Exactly what we thought.

Obviously I need to speak with them further to see what's happened and why that communication and process broke down.

The answer will determine the outcome of our contract.


I keep falling back to those horror stories where a PM puts in a family member or some random that destroys the place and exit/entry reports are forged so the LL is none the wiser. I'm probably being dramatic.

 

Our PM experience has always been them filtering and then discussing their recommendations. On one occasion they recommended patience rather than the applications received due to quality. We waited a further 2 weeks and secured a terrific long term tenant. I prefer this to them throwing the first applicant who can put pen to paper in.

Its your property not theirs.

Unusual for agency not to engage on this issue. The principal/s should have a policy that no tenancy can exist without owner approval. How could they not ? I would also be asking for the condition reports for the last tenant both entry and exit and then äudit"it for dates etc to see if they acted properly. If they havent done this either I would be transferring the agency and making sure the LL insurance is current.

 

I always did this, not only landlords decision but covers PM's backside as well ...

 

wait! so your PM approved a tenant without even consulting you?????

unless you have some prior arrangement to do that, thats really unusual,

even my bad prior PMs never did that!

 

Hahahaha, no no and definitely no!

Repairs $200 max on one item. No word randomly approving them.

Sound advice thanks! LL insurance expires May this year got multiple calendar reminders..

Bingo!

None that I'm aware of, I'll be having a deeper look at the Form 6 I signed at lunch, I saw no such wording to indicate that they can do this.

 

Sounds very strange.
Did the Agent discuss with you before listing the property for rent? - perhaps you had indicated at some point that this would be okay. I would discuss the market - ask for examples, the starting price and you could also check the ad and do your own online research to check if aligned with the market. Also you would want to be clear on what the costs will be when its released. Often agents don't want to put the rent up and their aim is for least amount of effort to lease the property.
We would then be informed of the number of people that attended the open day, what interest/comments and how we stand with the amount we are asking for.

For all applications we would receive a summary of their situation and confirmation that their rental history/financials were okay. We would take guidance from the agent if there was multiple applicants as they will have met in person and will have a good feel for good or bad tennants.

Does the Agent have authority to sign the lease for you? - this is usually an option you can opt-in for. Being interstate though does not prevent you from signing the lease as it can easily be done via email.

Listing and then renting it out and signing a lease without your involvement at all is putting a lot of trust into an agent and a bigger risk if you have not had a long term relationship with them.
Yes they maybe ultra efficient but worse case they have rented it below market. I doubt it would be a bad tenant as that is just going to create a lot of problems for them.
So if you know your area (what Suburb and what Rent?) then you should feel more comfortable at least if its rented at market rate.

I would suggest to set some clear guidelines with the property manager so you don't get further surprises that could be costly.

 

Nope.

We did discuss values.

Email excerpt

vacating on the 13th February.

I will now put the unit up for rent again.

Would you like me to try at $295 or $300 per week, and see how we go for a week or two?

Not that I'm aware of, it's not in the Form 6, @Michael Mitchell any idea where this clause would be? I don't want to miss anything here ...

 

In a nut shell, when you sign a Form 6, the Agent is 'you' in the sense that unless you've detailed specifics in Section 4 (Page 2) in the Form 6, they can do whatever (not that they do or will - without knowing what the Client wants of course), but just to give an idea of what you're authorizing them to do by appoint them as your Agent..



Similarly with incurring fees and charges etc on the Client's behalf - Section 8 is specifically for this:

 

Thank you!

Section 4 is empty same as yours.

Section 2 listing repairs is $200 Maximum on any one item.


There's nothing on this form regarding approval, my emails never indicated that I wanted to be a silent IP owner either.

I'm wanting to make sure I approach this correctly, I'm not unresponsive to emails or calls so there's not really any excuse to not involve me in the process..

 

At least you were involved at the start and had the opportunity to comment on the rent. So sounds to me more like a very efficient agent and you just need to make it clear how you expect to operate - you are the client here.

 

I think they've probably done the wrong thing here by not consulting you, even if the paperwork technically allows for it.

I think its more important to focus on what exactly you want to do about it from here though.

Would you really have made a different decision in any event? Shouldn't that be the focus? Apart from telling the agent you expect different in the future I guess.

 

Efficient yes

Possibly I may have waited for more applicants, what one person perceives as a good candidate isn't always inline with someone else.