Turning a bad situation around

Discussion in 'Property Management' started by D.T., 22nd Aug, 2016.

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  1. D.T.

    D.T. Specialist Property Manager Business Member

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    This particular landlord (who is not on these forums) is an interstater and owns a rental property in one of Adelaide's worst suburbs. I won't name who it was managed by, but it might start with R.

    They were concerned that rent might be in arrears because the monthly statements they were getting were showing less and less each month but the agency never advised her of that or took any action about fixing it.

    One of the top posters on these forums (he knew I was good at fixing situations) suggested she talk to me for advice on her situation and I helped her out. After a few back and forth's, she asked if I could take over the management at the end of the lease which I agreed with. End of the lease would make the process smoother for everyone involved and everyone agreed.

    Turns out, her current agency took that to mean change over straight away and put the file on their front desk (with a month or so to go on the lease) awaiting collection and hadn't looked at it again since. So when i called to arrange collection once the lease date had passed, they didn't know they were still managing it. No rent collected, no lease finalised, no exit inspection, no bond processing. Tenant had moved out voluntarily on the lease end date and left the keys inside.

    Once I had access to it and management of it, tenant had long gone. I did an exit inspection since the other agency hadn't. The house was atrocious. To give you an idea - paid for a whole tip truck load of stuff to be removed, then 20 hours worth of labour for a cleaner inside, plus a couple of hours for a gardener outside. I processed the bond refund and was awarded 100% of it, even though the tenant was not my own and I'd never met them. It came down to having all the correct paperwork which I was able to produce.

    I organised photos and advertised the property online for $5 per week higher than it was previous and after a few opens secured tenants. When checking tenants I think its important to not only assess the application they put in, but also get an idea of their attitude toward maintenance work to avoid ongoing disputes and unnecessary expenditure.

    There was still things wrong with the property when it was let but I explained this to the new tenants so that they were under no illusion that it was perfect and that repairs were in progress. Oven hinges had been broken, a couple of holes in walls, towel rail and toilet roll holder broken, carpet and lino floors damaged, lock on one of the doors damaged, etc.

    The insurance company that the owner is with requires an assessor to go out so I arranged to meet him onsite. They're sorting out lost rent under the previous agency using my help plus the damage that the previous tenants did. This also gave me a sneak peek at the property and to my delight the new tenants are keeping it quite neat and had actually repaired most of the above issues themselves, the husband being a qualified handyman. They've also been paying on time so far.

    Win win all round.
     
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  2. Hodge

    Hodge Well-Known Member

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    Job well done. If only more PM's had your can do attitude.
     
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  3. ellejay

    ellejay Well-Known Member

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    Wow, that's fantastic. Would be great if we could clone you, seems so hard to get interested pms sometimes.
     
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  4. Colin Rice

    Colin Rice Mortgage Broker Business Member

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    Super Dave to the rescue.

    Im starting to understand why everyone likes you.

    On a serious note, great work mate!
     
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  5. 733

    733 Well-Known Member

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    Love these stories! Owner really appreciate and value the turn around experiences...I could relate to this story as it reflects the work required when PMs work to turn things around - lucky your gardener turned up as last time Martin ended up doing 5 hours gardening to get a place ready for market on behalf of an owner- thanks for sharing such a great story
     
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  6. jim1964

    jim1964 1941

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    Good Work!!
     
  7. Agent99

    Agent99 Well-Known Member

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    And most people thought you were just a pretty face :D
     
  8. blue behaviour

    blue behaviour Member

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    Good job DT
     
  9. JacM

    JacM VIC Buyer's Agent - Melbourne, Geelong, Ballarat Business Member

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    Good work @D.T.

    I wonder if the insurance company will go after the old PM's insurance policy on the grounds of negligence...
     
  10. D.T.

    D.T. Specialist Property Manager Business Member

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    That as well :)
    I hope so. I'll provide whatever the insurance company asks for and it'll be up to them where they go with it though, yea?
     
  11. JacM

    JacM VIC Buyer's Agent - Melbourne, Geelong, Ballarat Business Member

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    @D.T.

    Yes I would imagine the insurer will go after them to minimise the loss to the insurer. The only other avenue I suppose would be for your landlord to take the old PM to tribunal, but I would think the insurer would have more clout.
     
  12. D.T.

    D.T. Specialist Property Manager Business Member

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    Yup, I already went through the avenues the owner could take and they weren't really interested, just wanted to move on. What i meant was, I'm happy to answer factually any questions the insurer asks of me and if they take that route, so be it ;)
     
  13. JacM

    JacM VIC Buyer's Agent - Melbourne, Geelong, Ballarat Business Member

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    Yep I think that is the best route to take. Taking the old PM to tribunal would be a lot of angst for the landlord that may not get rewarded in the end.
     
  14. dabbler

    dabbler Well-Known Member

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    well I bet she is happy.....
     
  15. Pumpkin

    Pumpkin Well-Known Member

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    Sorry getting in late...
    Nice story! Happy to see I am not so lonely in this job. There are many PMs who are hardworking and just want to do the right thing.
    Apart from Unresponsive Owners, my problem is whether we should charge "set-up" fees in future. The properties we get recently has varying degree of "rentability", so we have to do heaps to get it ready for the New Tenants, to our standards. The one-week Let Fee is just a joke.....
     
  16. Momentum

    Momentum Well-Known Member

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    Great work Dave and I'll also employ you once I buy in Adelaide. Can I ask how much is this property now rented for; and is it really possible to be a "qualified handyman" in Adelaide?
     
  17. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

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    What sort of work have you had to do to get a house ready for new tenants, and are you saying that you (or your company) absorbs these costs? Surely the owner pays for whatever needs doing to make their house rentable?
     
  18. Pumpkin

    Pumpkin Well-Known Member

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    Yes works that needs to be done by tradies are paid by Owners. Our "cost" is mostly time and doing little things.
    E.g. Owners have no idea which key for which door, where the missing keys are.... So we have to go thru the whole bunch that was given to us, half are no use, and get keys duplicated.
    Eg had to walk over a property to provide a list of works need done, half went ahead whilst another half still pending.
    These have been owner-occupied, first time rent. Entry Condition Report...
    More details when I remember them. Suffice to say we now have phobia with this type of properties. And don't get me started with friends and relatives...
     
  19. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

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    Entry condition report I see as part of the price I'm paying if an agent takes on the letting of my place, but the other things I think are poor form on the part of the owner.

    That would be hard because standing your ground as a property manager and insisting the owner sort out the key situation, and get the house ready in other ways might mean losing the business.
     
  20. Angel

    Angel Well-Known Member

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    Keys.... I recently took on a new agent. I simply handed them the bunch of seven keys that the previous agent gave me. I recognised and marked the ones for the front door and garage, and it never occurred to me to check which window or patio locks the others were for. Sorry!