Warning-read this before you rent.
Sep 4th 2004, 12:38 pm
#31
Just Joined
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 8
Re: Warning-read this before you rent.
:scared: Yikes, there seems to be some loony landlords out there! Thanks for all the good advice and warnings. We’ve just arrived n Sydney (nearly 2 weeks 
) and have let our house out to our friends. We’ve forgotten to give them the inventory that we had written up before we left so that was a good reminder…
Also, having only just started to look around for somewhere to rent, the excitement of being here, the anxiety of our shipping containers arriving, etc, its east to forget that a condition report is important…
I hope it all works out for you and you get your bond back.
) and have let our house out to our friends. We’ve forgotten to give them the inventory that we had written up before we left so that was a good reminder…Also, having only just started to look around for somewhere to rent, the excitement of being here, the anxiety of our shipping containers arriving, etc, its east to forget that a condition report is important…
I hope it all works out for you and you get your bond back.
Originally Posted by tinaj
About few weeks ago we moved out of our first rental house and into another. Simply because we finally found another one to rent that had a pool/ air con and we did not want to suffer another QLD summer without any. Little did we know what we were in for..
The house we lived in for 6 months was brand new when we moved in and we knew the owners were picky as we had a lot of visits from them in the first few weeks, in the end the agents had to tell them to bog off, politely!
We paid 3 months rent in advance and all the rest on time and looked after the house carefully. We knew the owners would be fussy, so we allowed a 4 day cross over on the rent dates so we could go back and clean etc really thoroughly. We spent over 10 hrs cleaning the place and it looked cleaner than when we got it when we left, as the builders had left it in a state when we moved in.
Short version:
The agent found a few little indents in the walls ( about 3 mm wide)
and told us that we could fill and paint them. Most of these indents were made by the builders, but Hubby fixed them, owners were not satisfied so he went back again and spent 4 more hours painting whole rooms. Agents signed off the exit report saying it was all done satisfactorily and we applied to get our bond back.
Owner went round once new tenants had moved in and said they want the whole areas re-plastered and painted and want us to pay for it!!
Owners have have told the RTA not to refund our bond and we will now have to go to the small claims court to fight it. We cannot get our bond and have no way of getting it back for weeks.
I cannot believe our luck renting a place from such a loon, I cannot print the long version of what has happened, but we spent a further 2 days there fixing damage that you can't even see.The annoying thing is if we had known they would be this unreasonable we would have written EVERY LITTLE mark on the condition of entry report.
This is a warning to all people moving into rentals. Go around the place with a fine toothed comb and write down everything. If you don't, the owners/ agents can string you up when you leave and blame you for it.
This woman has caused me huge amounts of stress and I am so angry with her for being so unreasonable. She has accused us of all sorts that we have not done, luckily the agents have backed us up as they realise what she is like and are also sick of her.
I will keep you posted, but we are refusing to pay her the extortionate amount of money she wants. The agents have agreed to go to court for us and tell them that the place was A1 when we left. Still I will have to live with the hassle and stress of it al luntil then.
Some people suck
The house we lived in for 6 months was brand new when we moved in and we knew the owners were picky as we had a lot of visits from them in the first few weeks, in the end the agents had to tell them to bog off, politely!
We paid 3 months rent in advance and all the rest on time and looked after the house carefully. We knew the owners would be fussy, so we allowed a 4 day cross over on the rent dates so we could go back and clean etc really thoroughly. We spent over 10 hrs cleaning the place and it looked cleaner than when we got it when we left, as the builders had left it in a state when we moved in.
Short version:
The agent found a few little indents in the walls ( about 3 mm wide)
and told us that we could fill and paint them. Most of these indents were made by the builders, but Hubby fixed them, owners were not satisfied so he went back again and spent 4 more hours painting whole rooms. Agents signed off the exit report saying it was all done satisfactorily and we applied to get our bond back.
Owner went round once new tenants had moved in and said they want the whole areas re-plastered and painted and want us to pay for it!!
Owners have have told the RTA not to refund our bond and we will now have to go to the small claims court to fight it. We cannot get our bond and have no way of getting it back for weeks.
I cannot believe our luck renting a place from such a loon, I cannot print the long version of what has happened, but we spent a further 2 days there fixing damage that you can't even see.The annoying thing is if we had known they would be this unreasonable we would have written EVERY LITTLE mark on the condition of entry report.
This is a warning to all people moving into rentals. Go around the place with a fine toothed comb and write down everything. If you don't, the owners/ agents can string you up when you leave and blame you for it.
This woman has caused me huge amounts of stress and I am so angry with her for being so unreasonable. She has accused us of all sorts that we have not done, luckily the agents have backed us up as they realise what she is like and are also sick of her.
I will keep you posted, but we are refusing to pay her the extortionate amount of money she wants. The agents have agreed to go to court for us and tell them that the place was A1 when we left. Still I will have to live with the hassle and stress of it al luntil then.
Some people suck
Sep 4th 2004, 1:05 pm
#32
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Oct 2003
Location: Depends
Posts: 4,041
Re: Warning-read this before you rent.
I had a few agents who didnt give bonds back either. Even with condition reports. The camera idea is a good one, but dates can be argued that they were changed. Get double copies and get the landlord/Agent to sign that they are correct at time of signing with them keeping a copy also. A third copy may be useful to give in with your bond to an independent.. Its just another tip, I had a solictor as my landlord once and his father in law used to just walk into my garde and was my neighbour. . When I tried to break my lease because of it he quoted the law to me saying it was a neigbours dispute.. Lucky I had given money to his father in law for rent therefore he became an Agent. I broke my lease as an Agent is meant to give me 7 days notice to do anything to the property. My landord solictor threatened to take me to court, I told him to fill his boots as I would have fun with it. He backed down and gave me my bond back and I moved somewhere else. 
Sep 4th 2004, 1:23 pm
#33
High in the Dandenongs
Joined: Apr 2003
Location: Listening to Puffing Billy
Posts: 9,183
Re: Warning-read this before you rent.
Originally Posted by tinaj
It sounds like this is more common than I thought! !
Just about everyone i speak to overhere (in vic)tell me that its really rare to ever get your bond back, or all of it anyway :scared:
True??
Sep 4th 2004, 1:37 pm
#34
Forum Regular
Joined: Jun 2003
Location: Taranaki
Posts: 155
Re: Warning-read this before you rent.
Gawd! We rent our house in NZ out, through an agent, we've only had one lot of tenants in so far and as I had to come back to the uk before the house was transfered into our names, we couldnt inspect the property to see how the vendors had left it. We were given a list of a few things that were wrong over the first two weeks (totalling about $1500) and we authorised the agent to get them sorted. The agent does a 3 monthly inspection (which have all been fine). So we're not too worried about what we'll find when they leave - perhaps we're too laid back!
Hope it all works out for you.
Hope it all works out for you.
Sep 4th 2004, 7:07 pm
#35
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 906
Re: Warning-read this before you rent.
Originally Posted by bridiej
Seems the agents are a bit lazy over there - I know in the UK reputable agents will go round with the tenant and sometimes the landlord as well and write up a record of condition which both tenant and landlord have to sign.
They then take another record of condition when you move out and compare the two, obviously normal "wear and tear" is OK but it is easy to pick up any serious problems.
Hope you get your money back soon!
They then take another record of condition when you move out and compare the two, obviously normal "wear and tear" is OK but it is easy to pick up any serious problems.
Hope you get your money back soon!
I did write to them and keep a copy of damage that was done before we moved in, hope this will help when we move out and to Aus next summer.
Our own home in NZ is rented with an agent that has been great. Tinj (sorry not sure if that is right), Don't worry too much about the court case from what you have said I'm sure the judgement will go with you from what you have said. We had nightmare tenants when we first left NZ, every month something went wrong, ran over the auto garage door opener etc. Then decided they were spliting after 3 months of being in our home and just stoped paying rent as they figured they would not get their bond back (they would of been under obligation to pay rent until the agent found other tenents) Our agent took them to court and we won, didn't get anything extra but just what was owed to us.
Our next tenants were fantastic, rent paid on time, didn't block the drains with nappies and left the place clean, minus a bit of wear and tear, which most landlords expect. We were over the moon with them. Stick to your guns, sounds like she is just being unreasonable.
Hope it works out for you, not all landlords are like this, but you have highlighted some good tips for other renters, thanks
KAZ
Sep 5th 2004, 6:25 am
#36
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Aug 2004
Location: Sydney
Posts: 512
Re: Warning-read this before you rent.
Originally Posted by Tim & Jan
:scared: Yikes, there seems to be some loony landlords out there! Thanks for all the good advice and warnings. We’ve just arrived n Sydney (nearly 2 weeks ) and have let our house out to our friends. We’ve forgotten to give them the inventory that we had written up before we left so that was a good reminder…
Also, having only just started to look around for somewhere to rent, the excitement of being here, the anxiety of our shipping containers arriving, etc, its east to forget that a condition report is important…
I hope it all works out for you and you get your bond back.
) and have let our house out to our friends. We’ve forgotten to give them the inventory that we had written up before we left so that was a good reminder…Also, having only just started to look around for somewhere to rent, the excitement of being here, the anxiety of our shipping containers arriving, etc, its east to forget that a condition report is important…
I hope it all works out for you and you get your bond back.
