Repairs where there are long term tenants and other problems

Hi there
just wondering if I could vent some issues we are having to see whether others have had similar problems and how they have resolved them.

The first issue relates to delay in getting repairs organised.
We have just been contacted by our tenant in Canberra who is having difficulties with the central heating system not getting up to the temperature set. She initially had trouble with the call centre - because she was a tenant - and not the owner of the property. They were stonewalling her and not addressing the problems. We have since contacted the call centre and resolved that side of the problem. But there is still likely to be a one month delay before a service call at this stage - though the call centre people did say it may be earlier because ours is a warranty claim.
Would you offer to purchase another heater in the circumstances? There is another heating unit in another part of the house but the main utility areas at the moment would likely be quite cold.

The second issue relates to painting and repairs to ceilings that really should be done.
The particular property was only due to be tenanted for one year whilst the tenants built a new property. The never did build and now 5 years on, the property needs painting. Ceilings also need attention because the glue holding the plasterboard up is no longer doing the job. Ideally the plasterboard needs to be replaced and ceilings painted. This would be a very messy job and better done without any furniture in the property.
Would you undertake the repairs with tenants in the property?

thanks in advance for your review and comments
 
Just in regard to the gyprock.

In all likely hood a plasterer can fix the ceiling without removal.

They can either nail or screw where the glue has failed and then just plaster over or if the ceiling is really bad they can remove the cornices and simply resheet over the existing ceiling. Its still messy but at least doesn't generate a lot of waste.

All up why not speak to the tenant and see how they feel about the state of the paintwork. If they have not brought it up then I wouldn't do anything and simply wait until they leave.

My personal preference (and practice) is to wait until a vacancy and then take about a month to really bring the property back up to scratch.

The main reason for not doing anything substantial whilst the tenant is in place is that apart from the difficulties they will just damage it (wear and tear) and then when you leave it will need doing again.

Cheers
 
Raddles, I don't understand what you mean about the "call centre" - is this the manufacturer of the heater?

If the heating unit is defective I would replace/repair it and sort out any warranty issues later. I wouldn't keep the tenant in the cold waiting on the call centre to sort it out.
 
Raddles,

My wife manages a dozen or so 'fully managed' units in the ACT and getting service on any sort of appliance is a struggle at the moment. 1 month wait seems about par these days, but it will get worse! When they do give you a day when they can come out they will give you a 4 hour window of when they will be there. and then they might not turn up :(

Buggers!
 
Hi there
just in relation to the call centre - the central heating is provided by a brand (won't mention it in case there are any issues with doing so) who have their head office in Melbourne - and all service calls/warranty claims are dealt with them.
I did actually contact the canberra business who installed the heating system first and they said because it is a potential warranty claim, the service has to be booked via their call centre - which has been done. The delay is the issue and what to do in the interim. Should we offer to purchase some column heaters in the interim?

Just in relation to the plaster repairs - we have recently had another property with the ceilings nailed back up - but the plasterer did say the other property should probably have the plaster replaced because it is so bowed in the middle. The particular tenants don't complain about anything - we noticed the front fenced had been knocked down and they didn't say anything. The concern though if you leave these repairs for one big hit - it then becomes a major job - rather than trying to keep up the maintenance as you go along.
thanks
 
Replacing ceilings is REALLY messy. My ceilings are dreadful here, they are made of ancient wood and nailed on so some boards are splitting and the nails pull through by sheer force of gravity so the boards sag down. When we took the largest one down, there would easily have been 30kg of dirt on top of the ceiling boards (130 year old house) and you couldn't see a thing in there for the airborne dust. Your house is newer than mine if you've got actual plasterboard ceilings (my first house had pressed metal ceilings, the one I'm under contract for has miniorb ceilings), but even so - not the sort of job you want to do in an occupied house, especially if you have that fluffy insulation up there. You should be able to re-screw the sheets if they're just sagging and aren't broken or water damaged anywhere, just be careful the screws don't break through the paper coating of the sheets.
 
Unless leaving the repairs will cause greater issues down the track or greatly effect a bank valuation I would leave it. I would let the numbers dictate the best move to make.

Things I would consider.

Are the current tenants paying market rent? If not then rectifiy that asap.

What are your long term plans for the property?
 
Thanks for the comments
We aren't needing the property to be in tip top condition for a bank valuation and the repairs can probably wait - its just we were expecting these tenants to be out of the property after 12 mths - and now goodness knows when it will become vacant.
There is no issue about market rent because they are paying it.
As for the property, it was once our PPOR - and we are still in our accumulation phase for properties. The property was purchased in 1999 pre boom and is cashflow positive - so there are no issues with keeping it.
thanks
 
Sounds like you don't really have an issue apart from being surprised that the tenants are still there. If the tenants start to complain about the state of the place you can always offer to make improvements in returns for higher rents. ;)
 
Hi Raddles I think I would just buy a stand alone heater for them until the problem is fixed on the condition it comes back to you when things are ok. You can always keep it as a spare for any other properties or use it yourself .
They can be picked up pretty cheap and provide a little comfort for the tennent as its not really their fault the heater died.
 
Usually at this time of year - wouldn't worry about a heater - but this winter (and it really is already winter in Canberra) your tennant is really going to need it.

Heating available in housing here is often a major consideration when renting a place, so would go with purchasing a single column/radiator style heater.
 
Hi there
just thought I would update that the warranty call has now happened. The tenant actually is involved in the industry and was able to call a friend to work out what the problem was - and at least got the central heating system working. One of the parts has been replaced today.

In order to establish a warranty claim you have to provide proof of purchase. I have the details of when we paid the builder for installing the heating and cooling and provided that to our tenant to show the contractor. We did also contact the supplier to try and establish when the heating system was installed. In the process of this call - we find out the builder never paid the installer for the heating system - it has been through the courts and now the debt collectors are on the job.
What will be the effect on our warranty claim if the unit was never purchased? Anyone been through that before?
thanks
 
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