journal from the otherside

[goonandtell]

Hey my PPOR goes up for auction this saturday and i plan to purchase 2+ IPs in its place. Which means for the first time in my life i am going to be meeting with PMs and renting.

I am looking to rent a large place 7 to about 12km from CBD in eastern melbourne with 3 friends, 2 of whom i have lived with in the past one of whom i know well and he is neat and clean although can't cook. So we are looking at houses 600 to 800 per week 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 2 living zone, 2 car garage +. The catch is we are 4 males in our mid 20s, but with solid jobs and incomes, no children, non smoking, no pets.

So far we have short listed a few places and i happen to be inquiring about one this week because its not far from my current work so thought i would try and get an appointment.

Found it on the weekend was 790.
Rang on Monday 4/5 left a message with reception staff regarding appointment, was told to expect call back.
One of us noted it has dropped to 740 per week this morning
Rang today (tuesday 5/5) requested to be put through to voicemail and left a voice message.

I figure everyone hears horror storys from the owners side will be interesting to let you know what its like dealing with PM from the tenants side.

 

[BayView]

Did you tell the PM that it was you and some friends?

If so, the PM might have passed this onto the Landlord and has then been instructed to avoid you.

Not really fair or correct, but it happens.

They can't actually tell you this either, because this is discrimination in our world these days and the Landlord can be sued.

I would be very reluctant to rent to 4 males (or females) in their 20's too; especially if it is a decent house charging a high rent.

It's a generalisation of course, but 4 males together tend to very hard on a property, some leave, others move in, not all that domesticated, car bodies, parties, fights.....

You get the picture.

I did say generalisation, but this is how many a Landlord will be thinking.

 

[goonandtell]

bay view, yep i am prepared for a bit of an up hill battle.

i understand 4 males might appear hard on a house but given the type we will be up against families, and i would say wear and tear that either young kids or teenagers would be greater than what we will 'inflict'.

i am hoping an offer of higher bond and initially more inspections (willing to be at our cost) will help tip the scales.

Got a phone call yesterday 5/5/09 from PM, booked in for 5pm tonight.

3 of us are going to have a look, i am taking the lead as far as discussions and what not go.

 

[quoll]

Good luck on the hunt.

There is a property up the road from us that gets rented out each summer to young blokes, then each autumn the landlord get in there and repaints and fixes up all the damage. You would think after 3 years the landlord would learn from the mistakes.

This is an older 2 story house on the Esplanade by a very popular surf break, so a bit of a different situation. BUT it's these situations that cause the stereo typing.

Regards
Graeme

 

[marg4000]

Maybe unfair, but as a landlord I would not be at all keen on an application from 4 young males. My concerns would be lack of domestic skills to maintain the property in a neat and clean state, and also the fear of endless parties.... not to mention girlfriends moving in so that there were more than 4 people living there.

Another disadvantage is that when 4 unrelated people move in together there is often a turnover in flatmates, possibly unreported to the PM.

I would suggest that you take the time to meet a couple of PMs in the areas you are interested in so that you can try to get across how reliable and ideal a tenant you are. References from previous PMs will help.

Good luck!
Marg

 

[The Y-man]

. Which means for the first time in my life i am going to be meeting with PMs and renting.
.

It's a great learning experience - good and bad - you get to find out about how much tenants do/do not hear form PM's, payment methjods, how long you can leave the rent for, how long things get taken to repair etc.

I always think the best way to find a good PM is to rent a property through them - oh and if you still have trouble finding a place to rent, get an IP, have a PM manage it, then go to the same PM saying "Oh, by the way, I need to rent also...." One would assume they would be more interested in talking to you...

Cheers,

The Y-man

 

[goonandtell]

went to property, met woman in her 20s unsure of where its hard to tell with make up.

3 of us showed up to inspection, she seemed more than happy to accept application and continued to sell us the benefit of the house. Her body language was comfortable with us so no instant bad reaction which was nice.

House has dropped $50 a week rent, has been empty for 4 weeks, mixed interested (i am thinking no applications). We are putting together applications today.

I might not play the missing rent game as i think i might need references for a while but will check on things like repair times, so far payment method offered is direct debit only!

Might steal that line y man
Good advice marg

 

[goonandtell]

application submitted via email (for 3 of us in one email) and one via fax. yesterday at 4:00pm.

No note to let us know they have been received as yet. called but PM was unavailable at the time, will phone later to check all received and they are not waiting on anything else from us.

 

[Perp]

How did today's auction go?

 

[goonandtell]

hey if anyone is following good updates all round.

House sold at auction on the weekend, final results for it
200+ couples through the doors
6 serious contenders
3 or 4 groups actually bid on the day
Passed in just shy of reserve
Agent pushed it up 10k managed to get a 60 day unconditional.

Clears debt, pays out ex, gives me a good base to start a new strategy on

As for the main story
Got an email on the Friday saying application received
No contact on Monday
I rang Tuesday morning, didn't leave a message.
Got a call (voicemail) saying thanks for patience still haven't had confirmation from owner.
Got an email Call then Email wednesday saying no need to offer additional bond, offering us a 6 month lease with an inspection at 3 months and a resign for a further 6+ after that inspection.

I put together an email cover letter with the application basically saying yes we might be a perceived risk but a summary of our income is x to xx, even if one person loses a job there is still x coming in. A quick note on each of the tenants and i offered to pay an extra bond from my own pocket refundable after 3 months with monthly inspections at our expensive for that 3 months. Importantly i then got on of the other tenants to read it and fix it up to make it cleaner than i could manage.

 

[handyandy]

I put together an email cover letter with the application basically saying yes we might be a perceived risk but a summary of our income is x to xx, even if one person loses a job there is still x coming in. A quick note on each of the tenants and i offered to pay an extra bond from my own pocket refundable after 3 months with monthly inspections at our expensive for that 3 months. Importantly i then got on of the other tenants to read it and fix it up to make it cleaner than i could manage.

In NSW under the tenancy act it is illegal to get a bond for more than 4 weeks of the rent. I would imagine that the same applies in VIC.

As a landlord I would only rent to you with a previous rental record/ referenced (verified).

My preference in male singles rather than female singles as I have found that males are more stable. Males may bring in girlfriends (relationship tends to last longer) but with the breakup the male stays put. Females they tend to have shorter relationships and the male friend has a bigger (generally negative) impact on the property. Also I have been affected by baggage the the female is carrying around - old boyfriend causing trouble etc.

The other positive with male tenants is that they are less hopeless and can actually fix some things. Or at least put up with things less than perfect.

Seems to me that you are doing everything right to secure the property and if you maintain the property as well as you have indicated then I would certainly have rented to you.

Cheers

 

[goonandtell]

thought i might give an update, no idea if i will ever apply for anyones house on here .

Had the first inspection moved forward a month (so 2 months after we moved in) because the owner was in from overseas and wanted to come through.

Inspection went very well i met the owner personally and introduced one tenant to the REA as he was in attendance during the original inspection. Most of the inspection was focused around the leaking pool (we have been assisting with allowing trade access) and garden (property includes gardener). We have been offered +12 on the end of our original 6 if we wanted to sign and we can do it now only 2 months in. Actually got comments on how well setup we where regarding room layout, furniture and decoration. I think they where expecting milk crates and matresses on floors.

See not all of us tenants are scum.

BTW my PPOR settled currently ironing out last of the details with ex regarding pay out so will be making a thread soon when i purchase an IP and the renos that follow, at the moment playing with some shares because i am going overseas in 2 weeks.