Repairs...

I just received a letter from tenants to my property manager after just last week repairing a leaky tap, the only sign of maintenance since moving in 3 months ago.

The list is an A4 sheet of paper which is hard to spot a word that is spelled correctly, so my tenants are presumably hicks..

I'm a little worried about one of their concerns, which is a cold water tap that is 'rustty water' thats the only one in the house apparently, does this sound like a rusty pipe? expensive..?

Another concern was labelled 'URGGENT?' Found reddbak spidder in shed, house needs termination urgent! WTF... spiders in an out-door shed, whats the world coming too!

One thing I didn't realise is there is no clothes line at this property..

One laundry door doesn't have a key..

One bathroom fan not working

One window unsafe, someone could 'brak in' (from my tenants vocabulary)

One 'green' bin is missing, Can I get one from the council or something?

What a pain.. I assumed all was sweet and have grand plans for all my cash! it's going to be tighter than I thought.. :(
 
If there was no clothesline when they moved in, then it depends if you want to add one or not.

What's actually 'unsafe' about the window - from my knowledge and window, could be broken into, but there might be a specific problem.

As for the green bin, why don't they just ring up the council - The cost generally just gets added to the rates from memory. But I could be wrong.
 
The potential plumbing issue with 'rusty' water aside, the issues don't look overly expensive.

One visit from your PM's handyman should be able to take care of; clothes line installation, new lock for laundry door, fix/replace bathroom fan, one window lock installed. My guess $500-700 all up.

Green bin, they can buy one from council they take with them, failing that it's only about $80 (?) from council to supply them with one. Spiders - buy them a can of flyspray and tell them to harden the $&#^ up. ;)
 
Tell me about it! Out of any rental property I've owned, this is the most hastle I've had so far. Difference is you won't catch me buying shares.. ;) Wheres the leverage man!! :D

So this 'green' bin is optional? I'm not sure what one is.

Welcome to property investing. Thats why some people only buy shares not property.
 
I would think a clothes line essential in an IP. If the $$$ are tight then get hold of a second hand one and have the PM's handyman install it when he attends to the other matters. I would not worry too much about one spider...

Keeping an IP in good condition is essential to attract and keep good tenants. Most of the matters you mention are "one off" and easily remedied.

Whether your tenants can spell or not is irrelevant, so long as they pay the rent on time.
Marg
 
I just received a letter from tenants to my property manager after just last week repairing a leaky tap, the only sign of maintenance since moving in 3 months ago.

Lets hope you only signed them up for a 6 month lease. String them along for the next 3 month and give them notice.
 
Difference is you won't catch me buying shares.. ;) Wheres the leverage man!! :D

There's plenty of leverage available if you go about it the right way. I've invested $'000k's in the ASX over the last year, my personal input was the cash equivalent of about 5% of the total current gross value.
 
Out of any rental property I've owned, this is the most hastle I've had so far.
If this is the most hassle you've had, then either you don't have much experience as a landlord, or you've been exceptionally lucky. These requests sound pretty routine to me, and apart from expecting you to do something about the spider, I think they're all pretty reasonable.
investor2009 said:
Difference is you won't catch me buying shares.. ;) Wheres the leverage man!! :D
You can leverage shares much more highly than property - which is both a blessing and a huge danger. ;)
 
I have to agree with ozperp and marg on this one. These things should work and if not, they need to be fixed. They are not big issues.
 
You can leverage shares much higher than property...?

60% lend as opposed to 95%..?

In regards to my 'experience'
I've been 'lucky' to a certain extent, but I like to believe I just buy well. Never anything more than 10 years old. But.. This one is 45 years old, totally renno'd but still has an old core. It was sight unseen, the last time I buy anything that way again. Its called experience though and I'm glad I did it. capital growth should be good over the long term and rents are 6% on that one so is neutral after tax at these rates.
 
You can leverage shares much higher than property...?

60% lend as opposed to 95%..?

In regards to my 'experience'
I've been 'lucky' to a certain extent, but I like to believe I just buy well. Never anything more than 10 years old. But.. This one is 45 years old, totally renno'd but still has an old core. It was sight unseen, the last time I buy anything that way again. Its called experience though and I'm glad I did it. capital growth should be good over the long term and rents are 6% on that one so is neutral after tax at these rates.

Yes, don't discount shares from your future plans. Equities may not suit you now, but perhaps one day.

Don't worry too much, older places do need more maintenance but new ones can have things go wrong as well. Just budget say $500-1,000pa for repairs for this one so it doesn't take you by surprise. Even after the problems you've mentioned above, you'd be surprised how many times you get a "leaking shower" :rolleyes:
 
Don't sweat the small stuff Investor.

Maintenance is part of property investment. None of this sounds over the top - oh except for the spider:D

As wise Steve says - put some money aside for small maintenance issues each year.

We have a 45 year old IP and allow about 2k for this one. (Mind you we didn't allow for the 6K sewage renovation - but there you go).
 
Back
Top