I'm so angry! Where should I be directing my energy?

[Rooster]

Rooster, yes... Did you read the email I got on the first page of this thread asking me to pay for a tradesman? I never should have gotten that, as a maintenance request form should have been put in to the builder without sending me an email asking to pay - do you get that? I wasted my time and called the builder, then called the rea estate to have them tell me they've already done that - WTF!

Thanks bespeak! Food for thought, I guess.

Yep, read all that!

I'm still trying to fathom why you are so uptight. You were incorrectly asked to pay for something that is under warranty. So it was a stuff up. Move on.

From what you are describing you had to take one phone call and make two.

All could have been done in the time it's taken you to post about it here.

Nothing will always go smoothly with an investment property, whether it be in the relationships with the people you deal with or the day to day grind of running it.

You will need to develop a thicker skin, a bit more tolerance or devote your future proceeds to your 30% return, tax free winner that you have up your sleeve.

Your call


Rooster

 

[TSS]

I think you have an obligation with the door handles - from the simple position that it could become a hazard. What if there is a fire and the door cannot be opened? I would not want that on my conscience. But get the PM to check it out and determine whether there is a problem or not ... and if there is, get onto the building company and log the call for the repairs to happen.

As for the blind, you can't make it happen if you don't have the money. So tell the PM that - I don't have the money to do this at this time. The allocated amount of money for improvements for this year went on the aircon, so tenant will have to wait.

The bin - nope, that which is supplied by the council is sufficient for everyone else in the street. People I know who have an extra bin, generally have 100 kids and need the bin space or run a business from home..... if they want it, they pay for it. And you will need to keep that cost in mind when the tenant moves out.

As others have said, a lesson learnt with the aircon, if you didn't agree to it with an extra $$$ in rent to cover the improvement, don't forget that little bonus next time you spend substantial money on a home improvement a tenant requests.

 

[kathryn d]

I think Bon needed to vent.
We all do sometimes, whether it is here or somewhere else.
I understand his frustration.

We are putting back together our former PPOR as the tenant left quite a mess.They stole our double car steel garage door.They stole the mailbox at the end of the driveway. They removed my piano from the basement and put it in the garage, with no doors....so it was subject to the weather.
The smashed a livingroom window and tore most of the flyscreens. They painted the walls dark horrid colors. They removed all of our flooring.Smashed a couple of window shutters. Left a giant mess in the yard.
They decided to use my daughter's playhouse my dad built for her as a bonfire.Their dogs dug holes in the yard.
They left when their lease doesn't expire for another 6 months and stopped paying rent.
The first week was stressful, but we are putting our house back together before the new tenants move in January 1.The house will be great again very soon. Looking forward to it now.

We will see the former tenants in court.

 

[skater]

Bon, don't sweat the small stuff. This is all small stuff.

You are at the beginning of your journey and some of the gloss is wearing off. Tenants will complain. Maintenance needs to be done. Some tenants will do a runner. Properties get trashed. Just protect what you can with insurance, keep a buffer, and above all else CHILL OUT!

 

[lizzie]

... and either find somewhere cheaper to live yourself or sublet the 2nd bedroom (one would hope it has a 2nd bedroom for $500/wk).

every step of the way will be learning experience. take what life is trying to teach you about ip's, keep your sense of humour and don't take it all so seriously.

personally i'd rather have a good laugh with my pm over some of the odd denied requests, know exactly how my money is being spent by my pm, always get 3 quotes, don't stress and take control of my financial future ... take responsibility as it is "your" financial future, not your pm's or your tenants.

to repeat some very wise words "chill out" - from past threads you seem to get very angry and stressed about the small things in life. don't be setting yourself up for a heart attack, ulcers or anyersim.

 

[Sheryn]

Bon

I have been reading your posts on this forum for a while so have some comprehension of where you are coming from (eg Mt Isa) sleeping on the floor BUT why are you paying $500.00 per week rent?

Anyway 'cut & paste quote' from MCS 80
Going by your first post Bon, you seem like a grumpy bum.

They all seem like reasponsible requests to me.

* the tenant would like to have a larger bin ordered from the council. This will cost approximately $80.00.

You can say no, or you can say yes but if they pay for it. Agree tenants pay

* a tradesman is needed to attend to some door handles that keep falling off and one door that gets stuck and therefore have trouble unlocking the door

Just because the doors and handles may be new, it does not mean they are perfect. New doors can expand, hinges drop, handles become faulty etc.

Check builders warranty to fix this - just imagine if tenants stuck in bedroom and unable to get out due to door stuck on floor.

* the tenant has asked if you would consider going halves in putting up some outdoor blinds on the back bedrooms windows as it gets too hot in the rooms for her children. The tenant has advised she is happy to have the blinds left at the property when they decide to vacate the property.

Tell PM to tell her you can't afford this for a couple of years due to installing airconditioning in the property!

"Consider" going halves... At least they offered. And you get to keep them !!!

Why not capitalise and create some Win-Win situations here? Tenants are not only human beings, they are the main point you can afford your investment. Why not help keep them comfortable in their "Home" to help keep the cashflow coming in?

FYI

Son purchased H + L package and I wrote out by hand 4 pages of faults or poor workmanship and son found at least another 1 page of faults once he moved in. Took him 12 months for faults to be rectified.

Did you live in the property first?

BTW son sleep on the floor in his shared accommodation and put up with a weird house mate for 18 months as he could see his bigger picture!

Chin up
Sheryn

 

[Sheryn]

Bon

You received about 35 posts on SS offering constructive thoughts, suggestions and ideas in response to your initial post.

Please take some time to reflect on your life and this situation and congratulations for putting your 'problems' [I'm so angry] out there as I trust you have experienced some learning and may an -ahhh moment-.

Anger is a natural response to defend oneself and emotional intelligence is a reflection on what are you doing. You are 'in charge of your emotions once you can identify your emotions' IMHO


Regards
Sheryn

 

[yadreamin]

Bon, take a step back. Breathe.
I would have the doors fixed asap. Its probably just a loose screw.
It will cost you big dollars to have a lock smith come in and break the door to get a child or adult out.
If you dont like your PM change.
If you cant afford extras at the ip say so.
You say the PM should take care of everything. This would be costly. Surely you would want to know whats needed at the ip and surely you would want to ok any costs.
Giving the PM an open cheque book could only lead to more money misery for you.
You didnt have to pay $200 for a tv point in the master b/room. You could have said no. Thats a luxury as far as l am concerned. But you could have agreed for the tenant to have it professionally installed at THEIR cost.
Bon, try to respect your tenants a bit more, they are an asset to you.
Bon , contact your landlord and ask for a/c in your very expensive unit?
They can only say Yes or No, if you dont like it move on.
Bon, did you do the search and purchase of this ip yourself or did you use a third party?
Bon, dont sweat the small silly stuff.
Have a search through the threads on tenants from hell and others similar.
They will make your hair curl.
By the way care to share where else you could get 20/30% return with no headaches??????
cheers
yadreamin

 

[craigb]

Sort of a continuation of this thread - http://www.somersoft.com/forums/showthread.php?t=54216

I got an email today from my property manager saying:


The tenant of your property has asked and queried the following -

* the tenant would like to have a larger bin ordered from the council. This will cost approximately $80.00.
* a tradesman is needed to attend to some door handles that keep falling off and one door that gets stuck and therefore have trouble unlocking the door
* the tenant has asked if you would consider going halves in putting up some outdoor blinds on the back bedrooms windows as it gets too hot in the rooms for her children. The tenant has advised she is happy to have the blinds left at the property when they decide to vacate the property.


my reply:


absolutely not! I have already spent 3k on an air con and a tv point...

Her reply:


Is it possible that the door handles get fixed as the tenants are getting locked into rooms?


At this point I am livid. I already said no, the doors and the WHOLE property are brand new as they moved into it 3 weeks after it was finished built and I installed an A/C in the master bedroom + a TV point for them. My response:

The doors are brand new... I'm not spending anymore money on the property unless I'm legally obligated too.

What's next? They want me to put a swimming pool out the back? Tell them to find a new place if they don't like it.

hey bon i have had some nasty batches of gainsboragh door handles , they started getting them made in china , and the threads were not tightening enough to whithstand the turn and pulling action,

 

[jaycee]

great, I just bought and installed gainsborough handles on my doors..

 

[Bon]

Yes, its no big deal but I work 72 hours a week with 1 day off a week and time is scarce!

And I thought I was respecting the tennants, who would have appreciated the a/c and tv point which came out of my pocket.. Now they are asking me to pay for more stuff when I've been unable to work for 6 months and I'm still playing catch up. I should have pulled the pin on the air con when I was unable to work as it seems they have no gratitude.

Anyway, probelm is solved.. I will take the time to read the posts later when I'm not so irrate at the whole situation.

 

[skater]

Yes, its no big deal but I work 72 hours a week with 1 day off a week and time is scarce!

How is that relavant? You said you are using a PM. Get them to deal with it.

Personally, I feel from what you have been saying that you have a couple of problems. Firstly, you have overcommitted with the IP. You should have got an increase in rent from the air-con (like many advised) but you didn't.

Secondly, you are paying much too much for your unit you are renting. Move to cheaper accommodation. This will help with the holding costs of the IP.

Thirdly, maybe you are working too much. Is this the reason you are stressing out over the small stuff? I would hate to see what you would do if you really had a problem with the place. Or are you working so hard because you paid too much for the IP and are paying too much for rent?

 

[Bon]

Lol, yes I'm totally over committed paying 20-30$ a week to hold my ip

I think 500/wk for a 2 bedroom unit in Alexandria is about the market rate, I am sharing so it costs me 225/wk.

Great thing about my job is I don't have to do much, I just have to sit here all day and pass the time, so I'm not working hard, the hardest part is turning up.

You guys read way too much into everything and seem to miss the main point!

 

[lizzie]

okay - to help with cashflow - obviously you are making a loss on this property, have you put in a "income tax withholding variation" (itwv - i think i got those letter around the wrong way so will correct in a moment when i check).

you can do it online at the ato.gov.au website.

this allows you to claim, what you would normally get back at the end of the financial year, on a pay by pay basis ... ie, if your refund at the end of the year - due to losses and depreciation - would normally be around $20,000, after submitting your variation your take home pay each week would increase by $348 (in other words, the tax paid out of your wages would decrease by $348).

make sure you get a depreciation schedule done up. either you or the pm can organise this over the phone. i use bmt&assoc but there may be others in your area. cost of the schedule will be around $6-800, but is fully tax deductable - but you need to have it done by the end of the financial year.

i tend to claim the cashflow losses in the weekly pay via a variation and then the depreciation comes thru at end of financial year - means i get better cashflow during the year and a lump sum at tax time.

hope this helps.

 

[JamesGG]

You guys read way too much into everything and seem to miss the main point!

Wait;

So the property isn't really costing you too much to hold.
Your own rent isn't really costing you too much, either.
You don't have any stresses from work and get paid to do nothing.

Mate, just what is the main point here?

 

[lizzie]

Lol, yes I'm totally over committed paying 20-30$ a week to hold my ip

I think 500/wk for a 2 bedroom unit in Alexandria is about the market rate, I am sharing so it costs me 225/wk.

Great thing about my job is I don't have to do much, I just have to sit here all day and pass the time, so I'm not working hard, the hardest part is turning up.

You guys read way too much into everything and seem to miss the main point!

hang on! ... your working 72 hours a week, your ip is costing bugger all to hold, you pay only $225/wk rent ... methinks you led us up the garden path a lot with your comments (ie, paying $500/wk rent and sleeping on the floor).

how could we miss the main point when you provided so much misleading information.

so, on 72hr a week work, how come you are flat broke and b!tching about how much your rental is costing you.

there be a lot of facts missing laddie.

 

[skater]

Hello! I've already spent 2800 on a ****ing air con plus another 200+ on a tv point in the master bedroom... Where is it going to end? My property is cashflow negative and I've just moved into a 2 bedroom apartment that's 500/wk and I'm sleeping on the godamn floor cause I don't have any money after footing the bill for an air con... No sympathy from me, i don't have air con in the place I'm renting!

Lol, yes I'm totally over committed paying 20-30$ a week to hold my ip

I think 500/wk for a 2 bedroom unit in Alexandria is about the market rate, I am sharing so it costs me 225/wk.

Great thing about my job is I don't have to do much, I just have to sit here all day and pass the time, so I'm not working hard, the hardest part is turning up.

You guys read way too much into everything and seem to miss the main point!

Wait;

So the property isn't really costing you too much to hold.
Your own rent isn't really costing you too much, either.
You don't have any stresses from work and get paid to do nothing.

Mate, just what is the main point here?

Hmmm.........I have to agree with James. WHAT IS THE POINT?

You seem to be a little dishonest in your replies. You said you were paying $500pw rent AND you are sleeping on the floor because you can't afford furniture. Then you say that you are only paying $225pw.

You can't afford furniture, yet you are only out of pocket $20-30pw with your IP AND you are working 72 hours. Something just doesn't add up here.

Sorry, but you have just lost all respect (and support) from me.

 

[Bon]

I've been in Sydney working 72 hours a week for a month! I just bought a fridge and a washing machine which cost 2700$ and I've only just gotten paid properly for the first time this week since my employer kept doing my pay without my tfn.

My point about the unit was that at 500/wk, there's no air con.. So 360/wk for a 4 bedroom house with air con is pretty damn good if you ask me!

And yup, can't afford furniture just yet.. Maybe next pay

 

[MCS_80]

My point about the unit was that at 500/wk, there's no air con.. So 360/wk for a 4 bedroom house with air con is pretty damn good if you ask me!

Sounds like you need to take a lesson from your tenants. They got an air con installed and a TV point in their bedroom, why shouldnt you?

Send the PM who looks after the unit you are renting a request for an Air Conditioner. Keep us posted on how you go

Cheers

Mick

 

[Hooray]

Angry rants usually don't make that much sense anyway. Why let the facts or logic or common sense get in the way of a good vent? Feel better, Bon? No? Punch a wall. Still don't feel better? Do it again.