Final inspection questions

[qbikevolution]

Hi everyone I have a couple of questions about a final inspection I need to do.
I have just received the keys back from my tenant. I only just started self managing this property a month ago and the tenant has now moved out.
The tenant has been very gooda and has looked after the property relatively well considering she had 5 kids running around.
These are my issues and I'm unsure what a fair way to deal with it would be.
1. There are some patches on the walls where paint has chipped away and she has tried to repaint over it, unfortunately she has not matched the color correctly and the rooms now need a repaint.
2. There has been a hole put in one of the sliding doors on the wardrobe not very large its half the size of a tennis ball, however she has once again tried to fix it and the patch job looks terrible.
3. She also had a small baby and I'm not sure she would notice the smell but I do think it now smells like dirty nappies in one of the rooms.

Anyway as I said I'm a bit unsure on what the fair cost for fixing / replacing these would be.

 

[Spades]

Hi qbikevolution,

Firstly,how long was the tenant in the property before you self managed?

Cheers Spades.

 

[zepth]

You wont be able to charge her for a full repaint, just a repair of the problem sections depending on how bad they are and how old the paint was in the first place and how lenient the tribunal member is if it gets to dispute.

For the baby smell just deodorise and air out the room, doubt you will have much hope of getting any more than that.

Let the tenant know straight away about the issues you have found and see how reasonable she wants to be, once you have established if she is willing to fix the damage without a fight you can move to getting quotes etc for the cost.

 

[MichaelGilbert]

Hi qbikevolution,

Depending if the condition report says the walls were undamaged, clean and working. Then I can't see why you can't get a tenant to repaint (if that's what it takes to bring it back to the standard it was in according to the condition report - and taking into account fair wear and tear for the time they were there).
I have done this a few times.

What I have also done is....if the property was still fine to rent out and didn't want to waste time and effort getting it fixed properly now. I would ask for compensation from the tenant (get their agreement to take it out of the bond). This is a easy fix for both of you and allow you to keep the money to get things done all at once.

The way I would word this is by saying... Unfortunately you have had a good go at trying to repair but its the wrong colour (etc etc) so now I'll have to get someone in to do it properly and that would cost around ...... However to make all our lives easier would you like to just take out (70% of the approx cost) of the bond.

It's a bit hard to role play on chat but happy to help if you want to private message me.

 

[qbikevolution]

Thanks everyone,

I only took over the management 4 weeks before her vacate date. She has however been in there for 18 months now i believe. It wa sjust unlcuky timing as that was when i finished my property managment course and i believed she wanted to stay on.

My preference is to repaint the problem areas i.e two bedrooms and one wall in the kitchen/ living. I just dont know what is a fair price to charge. I guess approach her first and see what her stance is before i go and get quotes.

Im a fairly handy person and i do most work myself so painting is no problem. However would it still be best to obtain quotes and make her pay a percentage of that rathern than charge her for paint and what ever hours of my time it takes.

 

[travelbug]

Why did she move out if she wanted to stay on?

 

[Lil Skater]

You can try to claim the full cost of painting, but if it went to VCAT unless it was freshly painted when she moved in you would be very lucky to get anything much.

If it was painted more than 7 years ago, VCAT deems that as the paintings life span (for lack of a better reference) and most members will give you nothing.

Claiming the door repairs shouldn't be an issue.

Re doing the work yourself - usually it wouldn't be allowed. You can only charge the tenant what you're out of pocket. I have never had a VCAT member accept costs for a client doing the work themselves, only the materials.

 

[MichaelGilbert]

Hey Qbikevolution,

As Lil Skater said you can't charge the tenant for doing the work yourself. But as I said you could come up with an agreement for 'Compensation' for the damage. I would be speaking to the specific trades people and working out what the repair cost would be approximately (they may have to go out there). Also get the tenant to get their own quote - this will help them realise you are trying to help them.

After you have the costs for the trades people to repair then I would negotiate with the tenant for the compensation. - What you will take out of the bond.

Good call Lil skater about the life span of paint.

 

[neK]

1. There are some patches on the walls where paint has chipped away and she has tried to repaint over it, unfortunately she has not matched the color correctly and the rooms now need a repaint.

If you have the original paint then it'll take you 30 mins tops to repaint those patches.
If its been that long ago, you got buckleys chance of getting them to pay.
Easiest thing is to get a patch of the wall and go to a paint store (not bunnings) and get them to match the paint. It will never be a perfect match, so just paint one entire wall. It will difficult to tell the colour doesnt match from wall to wall. Alternatively make a feature wall

3. She also had a small baby and I'm not sure she would notice the smell but I do think it now smells like dirty nappies in one of the rooms.

This one is just going to get laughed out.
Baby nappies stink up a room (while the nappy is in there, but they don't really absorb into the walls). Open the windows and give the house a good air and spray some air freshener.

The tenant has been very gooda and has looked after the property relatively well considering she had 5 kids running around.
These are my issues and I'm unsure what a fair way to deal with it would be.

If she was in your opinion a good tenant, then just let it go. These are VERY VERY minor things and is part of owning a property. Nobody is perfect and poop happens. I believe in what comes around goes around.

There's fighting on principle, then there's just being an a-hole. Do what's right morally.