My PM was less than impressive. The last straw however was when they told me my tenant (who was their cleaner's daughter) couldn't afford the rent and they would call me about it. They never called, which didn't surprise me, but when the lease came up for renewal a couple of months later, the recommended rent was magically reduced by $70/week justified with quotes of 'similar' properties' rents- properties which were anything but similar to mine. They obviously did that to help out their cleaner's daughter. I moved PMs and the tenant recently moved out. A new tenant moved in last Friday (at the original rental amount) but before they did, the new PM and I did an exit report. My kitchen bench has a significant mark on it like a scald mark from a hot 'something' and then a stain around that from a dodgy cleaning attempt. There are also scratches on another part of the bench, which I would consider more than fair wear and tear. Unfortunately this was on the entry report for the 'cleaner's daughter tenant' so I can't with-hold bond to fix it. It would have been done by the prior tenants and missed by my fantastic ex-PM on the exit report. Just to put things a bit more in perspective, my periodic house inspection reports from the ex-PM consisted of one sentence: 'Tenant care is excellent.' No photos, no room by room briefing, nothing but that sentence.' So, I want to know the best way forward from here. Should I ask for the entry and exit report from the tenants before the cleaner's daughter as they were the first tenants this PM had and I know the benches were fine before they came? If there isn't mention of the scald marks, where can I go with this then? Challenge them on it... and then what if they say 'get lost?' Do they have to even supply those reports? I really think the agent should be paying for the damaged bench as they didn't do their job but I guess that won't happen? Anyway, any insight into where I can go with this is greatly appreciated Thank you, Jen
Move on ! What do you hope to achieve ? You cant prove who did what ? Unfortunately this is lessons learned by most of us to scrutinise our PM's better. Seek out referrals from other investors or forums like this. Before selecting a PM interview them personally or via email with a long list of questions. I used to do that with brokers and its quite confronting for most of them to be interviewed rather than the reverse, some I didnt hear back from which was a good indication of what their service would have been like. Set "your rules" for a PM from the start not after, change or add in extra services you want them to be responsible for, generally they will be more than happy to help.
We had a house in regional Victoria that was totally trashed by our tenants. They were meth heads. I'm not sure what the PM was on when she interviewed them. She must've been afraid of going around to do her routine reports, we're not sure, but we ended up moving to another PM. Whatever the situation, that experience taught us not to trust too easily, sadly. Now, we manage the managers...vigorously. As Agent99 said, "move on" and prosper.
Assuming the marks were made by the cleaner's daughter, and can be shown by entry or exit reports, I'm guessing she has already been refunded her bond? If so, then I'd also move on. If not, put in a claim for the bond and let them take you to tribunal to get their bond back. You could claim the lot, and then negotiate down. However, your post confuses me. Who made the burn marks and other scratches? f you think the marks were left by the tenant before the cleaner's daughter, why would you want to hit her up for the damage? Or have it read that wrongly? You would need the exit condition report from the tenants prior to the "cleaner's daughter" to see what was on that exit report. I don't think exit reports have to be done so there might not even be one. Is the bench a bit shabby anyway? I think unless the bench is pretty newish, you will have a hard time getting anything. Others will say you can, but it will come down to the tribunal member on the day.
Sorry to be confusing - the bench was in excellent condition. The prior tenants (before the cleaner's daughter) must have done the damage and it hasn't been picked up by the PM. I realise that there is no come back at the those tenants as they have gone. To me, the responsibility therefore lies with the agents, who I have paid to properly manage the property yet failed to do so. My question basically is this - is my only avenue then, to complain to the agents at what a crap job they did or is there some actual avenue that I can follow to make them sit up and take notice that they need to do their job properly. Moving on is obviously an option and probably what I'll have to do but to be honest, I am really tired of 'moving on' when people just do the wrong thing because they don't give a stuff and know I'll 'move on,' leaving me with the problem. It is wrong and just happens so often in so many areas that I have started to demand accountability in certain situations and although it is tedious, I do actually have success on a number of occasions. I am not new at investing and do interview agents when I first take them on. These ones were fine for a while but just became dismal very quickly, hence the move.
You could always tell them that they missed the burn when the tenants left before the cleaner's daughter. You could see what they come back with? Maybe even spend $45 (or whatever it is) to lodge a claim against them in the small claims court. I think for me though, I'd move on and put it down to experience. I once got some small satisfaction when I wrote a scathing review on a review site. I'd been ignored by this company, had given away a dishwasher they said would cost $600 to repair and the repairman who bought it let me know it cost him a $35 part to fix it. The company didn't care, didn't reply to my request that at least my call out fee be refunded... until I put up my complaint where people could find it. Suddenly, they got in touch with me .
Not withstanding Wylie's shrewd post above, and you might follow the same course, it's worth considering calling it a cost of doing business and moving on. Irrespective of who is to blame.
Or you could simply paint the bench top with the brand that escapes my memory or replace the top using one of the kitchen manufacturers that offer either seconds or excess stock ? Get photos of everything for your files but do understand that some tenants will not look after it as their own and that accidents do happen. Things could be worse, much worse
I understand your frustration with this - If you are not OK to move forward from this just yet then you could always try and ask the Principal of the agency for compensation towards the cost of the bench top damage as obviously it does sound like an internal office error by a staff member. This is based on the comment that you feel it is quite a considerable burn mark and not fear wear and tear. Certainly you do not now have recourse to claim this from the previous tenants however yes it should 100 percent have been picked up in the vacating exit inspection.
