Beware Lin Andrews in South Australia !!!

[Cherry Pro]

Further to my earlier message, need some advice here ...

Had Lin Andrews manage my property at Elizabeth Downs for a year, with the earlier PM being really good. She moved away some months ago and a new upstart came on board.

I decided to move the management to LJ Hooker when the current lease ran out. The tenants moved out on Friday, 8 August and the management agreement expired on Thursday, 14 August. I was in constant touch with the property manager over that period asking her about the condition of the place and whether everything was tidy. She only told me that the tenants have a small amount of cleaning to do and was even reluctant to hand over the keys to the new property managers, LJ Hooker, on Friday, 15 August.

Anyway, LJ Hooker were finally given the keys after 2 pm on Friday, 15 August and have gone in and taken pictures which show that the tenants have left a mess at the property (new blinds broken, huge marks on walls, cupboard slats broken, bathroom slats broken, fly screens taken off, garage door broken, hinges to screen door taken off, old furniture left in garage). The tenants had earlier broken down a door which had been replaced but not painted.

I sent Lin Andrews and email with pictures about getting all the issues either attended to / compensate me for getting the above done but the insolent
PM and rude MD have just advised me that since I have moved property management, all they will do is have the door painted from the bond money.

I have now called Lin Andrews, Group MD and left him a message.

What other recourse do I have ?

Thanks.

 

[wylie]

Has the bond been claimed or returned by the tenants?

If not, get a claim in ASAP for the whole of the bond and let the tenant fight for any refund they may think they are due.

If so, I would be spending $25 or $45 or whatever it is and take the slack agent to the small claims tribunal if they handed bond back and you have photos to prove that it should not have been refunded.

 

[Cherry Pro]

Thanks Wylie ...don't think bond has been returned.

I sent Lin Andrews an email on Friday categorically stating that the bond
is not to be returned till all the issues are resolved.

What if the cost of resolving these damages exceeds the bond ? Is there
any recourse for me or will I have to cover these myself ?

Regards

 

[wylie]

.... taken pictures which show that the tenants have left a mess at the property (new blinds broken, huge marks on walls, cupboard slats broken, bathroom slats broken, fly screens taken off, garage door broken, hinges to screen door taken off, old furniture left in garage). The tenants had earlier broken down a door which had been replaced but not painted.

I would be telling the agency not to paint the door and take the cost from the bond, because they will probably pay some painter way more than you can get it done for, especially if you need to paint some walls.

If this was my situation, I would be claiming all the bond monies, getting quotes to fix what the tenants have broken, paint anything that is beyond "reasonable wear and tear", quotes for new blinds to replace the ones they broke, fitting of the flyscreens, fixing garage door, storage of furniture left in the garage, or dumping fees etc etc.

I would add these quotes up and get every cent you can from the bond. If the totals come to more than the bond, you will have to wear the rest (not sure if insurance would cover any of it). If it was me, I would then do whatever I could myself to make it rentable again.

If you cannot do it yourself for whatever reason (distance?) then the new PM could perhaps organise it for you (or organise it yourself with them arranging access).

My mum had a similar thing happen, she claimed most of the bond, tenants lodged and paid for a hearing which they lost. Get those bond forms in quickly so that they have to fight to get it back. If you let them get the forms in first, you have to fight to get it back (at least in Queensland).

 

[The Y-man]

I decided to move the management to LJ Hooker when the current lease ran out.

I know it's always clear in hindsight, but why did you wait until the end of the lease to change management? It would surely be the worst time to change....

Do you have landlord's insurance?

Cheers,

The Y-man

 

[quoll]

She moved away some months ago and a new upstart came on board.

I've found this to happen way to often, it's not the agency that is good, it's the people, you find a good PM and then they go and move somewhere else and you end up with a useless idiot.

Not happy.

I want to move my properties with the PM, keep the PM and drop the agency, if only it was that easy.

cheers
Graeme

 

[Aaron Sice]

sounds spiteful to me - almost like they didn;t care what state the property was left in becasue you were switching to LJH.

 

[Dazz]

What if the cost of resolving these damages exceeds the bond ?

Indeed - a very good question.

Have a look at the parties involved....LL, PM, tenant and maybe Ins. Co

Legal obligation vs who actually pays....now there's an interesting chat.

 

[Cherry Pro]

Hi Y Man

I know it's always clear in hindsight, but why did you wait until the end of the lease to change management? It would surely be the worst time to change....

I just thought it was an appropriate time to make a fresh start ...now I know better. And yes, I do have landlord insurance.

Lin Andrews have just come back to me that their tenant will consider painting the door and that's it. Makes me so angry but I guess it's the name of the game.

My new PM is not keen to go down the Tribunal way and neither are they.
I did call the Tenancies department and they said it was up to the PM in whose name the bond is to pursue this further but clearly, with me having moved on, it's not in Lin Andrews interest at all to spend time on this.

We live and learn ...sigh ...sigh.

 

[wylie]

At least get quotes to dump their left over furniture (or store it). I would be pushing the PM who is going to do the bond refund as hard as I could.

They are working for YOU.... not the tenant. Push them to get as much bond as you can to cover the damage.

 

[steveadl]

At least get quotes to dump their left over furniture (or store it). I would be pushing the PM who is going to do the bond refund as hard as I could.

They are working for YOU.... not the tenant. Push them to get as much bond as you can to cover the damage.

That's the problem, they're not working for her anymore as the management agreement has been terminated. They do however still have the tenant in another of their managed properties and probably want to keep them happy, not explain why their withholding the bond from their previous place. If CP was still one of their LL's, they may be more willing to go to bat for her and take a stronger position with the tenant.

As it stands now, they have no incentive to do this. They would receive nothing out of it except a pi$$ed off tenant in one of their properties.

 

[wylie]

That is why I self manage........ (but I know if I didn't live in the same city I would not do it).

I would be looking to "take over" as self-manager and get hold of the bond paperwork and handle it myself, then hand the management on after I got hold of their bond. Don't know if that is possible, but worth a try.

 

[aussieamp]

Have you seen www.notgoodenough.org?
Well worth listing these types to warn others. I once got my $1300 deposit back from a shonky (VERY well known company) through this site.

I can't believe there is no other recourse with these property managers who do the wrong thing.

 

[weg]

I have a friend who self manages, hand over 6 of her IP's to an 'award winning' PM REA, when she went overseas for 6mths last year.

I won't go into all the problems she was left with, but we were truly gobsmacked at their incompetence. The loss to her was a few thousand dollars and many months of work sorting through the mess.

I suggested she see a lawyer, and with paperwork and proof of loss to the value of $3,500 in hand + a claim for reimbursment of all management fees, the end result was a generous settlement out of court.

If goods or services (PM included) are 'not fit for the purpose they were intended for' and you have proof that losses were as a direct result of them, then you can seek compensation.

This friend was fobbed off everytime, up until the point where they knew they would end up in court (and having their glowing reputation ruined )

 

[Cherry Pro]

Thanks all.

Aussie Amp ...thanks have now posted on www.notgoodenough.org?

Other landlords should be made aware and steer clear of Lin Andrews and their shoddy service.

Cheers

 

[Shuttergirl]

Sorry to hear about all of this trouble Cherry. Hopefully you can get some reimbursement.

 

[Prakman]

Ummmm.. interesting post.. I have a property by Lin Andrews and so far have been very impressed by their service. Keep us posted on the progress.

 

[Piston Broke]

When do the defamation charges begin?
Surely this breaches the rules....

Or is it only those that say property is going down another 20% that breach forum rules?
Or those that dont agree with a moderators views?

 

[Cherry Pro]

I have had to pay for all the damages wrecked by the tenant, still waiting to hear from insurance.

Lin Andrews have washed their hands off the case but the final straw is -
I have just been slapped with a further charge and when I checked it was to replace some louvres because the property had been broken into ! And to think, I wasn't even informed of this even though I have been in regular contact with their property manager.

Prakman ...I too had been quite impressed with their service but then there was a change of property managers and it seemed to all go downhill from there.