worzel

I was just reading Wayne's posts about a letting agent with a bad reputation in Brisbane and wondered if anyone has had good or bad experiences with agents in Perth.

We are probably heading for the area within the Duncraig-Joondalup-Ocean Reef-Sorrento square.

peppi

Yep Id be interested in this too as we are heading out there 6 weeks tomorrow...

So Bump

movetoperth

Generally speaking most don't have to work to rent a property, not a good one anyway, so you find that customer service isn't fantastic. There are some that i avoid dealing with just due to their poor service, attitude towards customers and the fact that i know people who have been fleeced by them come check out time, some times you have to deal with them as good rental properties are hard to find and you can't rule out a property because of the agent thats listing it, you may not find another suitable one in that area.

So in short, yes there are some who are poorer than others, but, the rental situation in some areas means that you can't really be choosy which agent you use, unfortunately

Lynn

Anne4Terry

Can you embellish on "the rental situation in some areas."

steve99

I rented through Mack Hall in Claremont (property was in Cottesloe) the agent was Kate Herbert, she was an absolute waste of space, I spent hours on the phone telling her what I thought of her
I remember one convesation about the hob which either didnt work at all or went off mid way through cooking and filled the room with GAS :scared:

Her classic comment was something like "...yes I know you need to eat but in the 6months you've been there the owner hasnt earnt anything from all the rent you've paid..."
My response was, "im not living here to make the guy a *&^&%() Millionaire..."
He was an overseas investor who hadnt seen the property and just stuck it straight on rental, the dishwasher was broken, the pool pump packed up, the hob was deadly, and to top it all some old boy over the road, got his foot stuck on the accelerator when reversing off his drive, he ploughed straight through the front fence, hot a tree and shot of through the side fence (luckily into a an empty block next door) I shouldnt laugh but it was funny when Kate came round to survey the damage she was not impressed.

She's no longer at Mackhall, I wonder why

renth

I don't like the way that, just because you are renting, people seem to look down their noses at you a bit, particularly agents. Like you are some sort of second class citizen because you don't own property.

When we moved out of our first rental property, we left it in better condition than when we moved in but still had decuctions for all sorts of random stuff. It didn't work out too bad in the end but my wife had to go back a couple of times with a can of Pledge and some rags.

We've been renting for 2 years in our current house and deal direct with the landlord who is great. I wouldn't want to get in an argument with him as he is a former WA boxing champ and is mates with a few well known "Northbridge identities" but has treated us with the utmost respect, lovely bloke.

We live in a very flashy house, front row, pool etc... and the thing is, for the same amount of money paid as a mortgage we'd only be able to afford a small shoebox house somewhere even further out than Ocean Reef.

bal56

We're relatively new to the game having only been renting for a couple of months, but are in your named area Worzel. We're currently using Roy Weston who, at face value, seem pretty good. Whilst looking for a place we had several dealings with LJ Hooker who were a complete waste of space. To be honest though, I think it's all down to the personalities of the individual agents rather than the organisations that they work for.

steve99

One thing I would say is that given there were a limited number of properties that we were prepared to live in and commit to for 12months, I wouldnt not of rented a property because of an agent. Unless your extremely flexible in what/where/when etc your unlikely to be in a position to have a number of similar properties to choose from, and limiting yourself due to an agents reputation probably isnt realistic.
At the end of the day give as good as you get, dont let them walk all over you and be prepared to complain about them to there superiors, REIWA etc if there not doing their job properly.

movetoperth

The rental situation in some areas is pretty shocking really, you may find that the area you are looking at may only have 2 or 3 homes for rent at the time you need one, you may find that those homes are fairly dreadful. For example, one family i was helping were desperate to stay in one particular suburb, at the time they arrived there were only 2 rental properties available, both had been rentals for close to 20 years and had probably never seen a paint brush in all that time let alone a replacement carpet, or bathroom suite, in my opinion these homes aren't fit for housing a dog, let alone a family. It can be very depressing for a newly arrived family looking at rpoperty to find places like this, many are told by the estate agents that these are typical rentals and that they wont find better, then rent it. Going home to somewhere like that every night would push you over the edge if times were tough.

This is why you cannot refuse to work with a particular agent, good homes are hard to find and you need to see past the agent.

Lynn

kev235

Hi

I am immigrating to Perth in two years, I have already purchased a property in Subiaco, I use Actons as my letting agent, and no problems at all. I deal with Fleur Ingram based, I think at there subi branch or near. They have many branches, check out there website, I do not have the address to hand but google will find it for you. I have always found Actons to get the job done, they found a tennent quickly and I always get the rent transferred no problem. Hope this helps and good luck to you all.

Regards Kevin Palmer