From the perspective of an ex-tenant and now despairing yard PPOR owner. Both of us work full time, on the weekends, we're running about doing what we do. We're not interested in gardening. When a property is suitable in size and location for me to rent. I will rent it regardless of the garden. If as a landlord you pride yourself in keeping the garden neat, tidy and alive (not dead and weed ridden) can i ask why you didn't hire and pay for the mowing to be maintained?
Tenants ringbarked trees
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This is what my mum and I do with our places. We have a couple of 36 perch blocks which take a lot of mowing and tenants often aren't interested, or they say they will mow and the block looks like the "rented place" before too long.
We now organise and pay ourselves, add it to the rent and advertise it as "yard care included". We probably don't get back the whole cost, but the well kept yard is worth it.
You could re-plant the trees if you want this to be a PPOR down the track, and organise your own yard care and make sure the tenant doesn't touch the trees. You do risk losing them again, unfortunately, but much more chance of keeping them with a proper gardener. Maybe put up those little fences around them so a whipper snipper cannot accidentally ringbark them again.
Could just as well ask why someone with no interest in looking after a yard or gardening would rent a house with a nice yard instead of a unit.
After all, if I as an owner was to lazy to look after a yard I would buy a unit.
Dave
I agree, if you dont want a back yard, rent a unit.
I would have thought that renting a nice well kept place is to the benefit of the tenant. Whats the point of renting a house with long grass with everything dead in it. Plus I would assume this tenant wants to be a longer term tenant who had a hard time finding this place. apparently they were looking for 5 months to find something suitable and be accepted.
So from this point of view, having some nice fruit trees there with fruit on them will benefit them in the end. Whats the point of trashing a place and then having to move again.. I'm not saying my tenants trashed it, but other landlords who had their places trashed. Plus they can forget about a decent referral after doing that!
My tenants might be a bit edgy at the moment as tomorrow is inspection time and their 12 month lease is up for renewal in just over 2 months time.
I would have thought that renting a nice well kept place is to the benefit of the tenant. Whats the point of renting a house with long grass with everything dead in it. Plus I would assume this tenant wants to be a longer term tenant who had a hard time finding this place. apparently they were looking for 5 months to find something suitable and be accepted.
So from this point of view, having some nice fruit trees there with fruit on them will benefit them in the end. Whats the point of trashing a place and then having to move again.. I'm not saying my tenants trashed it, but other landlords who had their places trashed. Plus they can forget about a decent referral after doing that!
My tenants might be a bit edgy at the moment as tomorrow is inspection time and their 12 month lease is up for renewal in just over 2 months time.
Because with vegetation it's so difficult to establish whether damage was due to accident, neglect, or malice. Even if you can prove malicious damage, given that it's outside, how do you establish that it was the tenant rather than somebody else? How do you prove that the plant was removed rather than having just died and biodegraded?
Though I was surprised to note that in Victoria at least, the tenants are obliged to "maintain" the garden. I guess this case is going to test just how far that obligation extends.
I must apologise on Ausprop's behalf wylie. I've been chatting with him of late, and hence why he has developed such an atrocious attitude. I'll ask him smarten up. Sorry.
Only Ausprop and his good wife are in a position to answer this, but perhaps a wee thing called tax got in the way. This is supposed to be a numbers game we all play after all.
Having seen some of his properties, I can only cordially assure you madam that his absolutely brand spanking new properties with "modern everything that opens and shuts" are not the source of his current angst.
Frankly I find it reassuring that they are unlikely to mend their ways and buy their own places leaving mine vacant.
Dazz, I wasn't asking YOU the question. Why not let Ausprop answer for himself. Just because it is ME doesn't mean you have to come out guns blazing. What is your problem?
He stated that the majority of tenants are idiots and wreck houses. That is a sweeping generalisation and one I don't agree with. Please let him speak for himself.
I have had a couple of bad tenants but most of them are just people who need to rent a house. Many of my tenants appear to be better placed financially than I am. Maybe the fault lies in his tenant selection. I am genuinely curious why he keeps IPs if he finds them so bothersome.
But I don't need you to speak for him. Perhaps he would prefer to answer himself.
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Dazz pretty much covered it and I have indeed taken on some of his bad attitudes. When two or three hundred bucks a week is the biggest outgoing of these tenants then petty issues can quickly become major issues. I have struggled away developing and renting resi IPs for so long and feel like I am beating my head against the wall. I have flogged those that I can sell at a good price and won't whack me with a tax bill, the ones I am stuck with have such an inherent CGT bill (actually worse as they are development stock so its GST and income tax...50% odd tax on profit) that I have no choice other than to cop it sweet for these ever ongoing demands. The yield marked to market is pathetic and barely copvers the ever increasing swathe of govt taxes and levies - seems everyone wants to live in a nice new house but the only mug prepared to cop the bill is me as the landlord. I have had a couple of good tenants over the years and quite frankly they should be good considering the bargain they are getting. Others incluude drug dealers, rent skippers, house wreckers, morons, idiots, the poor elderly and incapable which I feel sorry for but I really do have enough of my own personal and family dramas without adopting all these other families. If you have time in your life to get involved in all these domestic disputes and relationship issues AND you have a big cashflow income to support their lifestyles then great, resi IP may be your thing. For me it is just a necessary eveil to not have to foot a large CGT bill. I look forward to developing assets that have real yield paid for by substantial entities that take pride in their premises by necessity if nothing else. I compare my financial position with Dazz's and the glaring difference is obvious and attributable to the asset class. Anyway, I am not too old, have seen the light and will move on. If we take anything from thsi crisis engulfing the world it should be that yield is priority.
Thank you Ausprop for your honest, clear answer.
We have very different aims in life and we have never had any big tenant issues, so we are looking at things from very different positions.
I imagine it must be frustrating not being able to rid yourself of your ressy properties because of tax issues.
We have very different aims in life and we have never had any big tenant issues, so we are looking at things from very different positions.
I imagine it must be frustrating not being able to rid yourself of your ressy properties because of tax issues.
I have only ever rented a place with a big front and backyard. This was a private rental through someone I worked with. She was a horticulture person so it was her thing. One of the girls i was sharing with had a dog and needed a big secure backyard. The landlord saved money from PM fees as she knew me. She also knew that her property would be looked after and not trashed entirely inside. She understood that we dont' have green thumbs so she cleaned up the yard when she would come back from the UK and trim the bushes back etc. I mean with the water issue in Melbourne now i'm not even sure what day i'm allowed to water these days. She would also leave her friend's contact details if something in the yard died and needed to be pulled out.
Damaged Garden...
The problem with gardens is that everyone has a differnt view of what maintenance should look like, and sadly gardens and plants are not claimable on insurance...even if your house is burned to the ground you get nothing for your garden!
It is very frustrating when tenants don't look after the garden the way you would hope...I suggest employing a gardener and making it a selling point to the tenant, I have done this before and the tenant was happy to kick in for the mowing etc and I got to ensure that the garden was in good condition.
Interestingly we also had a problem with getting a tenant to water the lawns regualarly with the water restrictions, my PM said that we can't force them to keep the lawns green...since the tenant is charged for water usage they were reluctant to run up their bill for watering the lawns...so a little communication and of course some $$ kicked in from me and the lawns again are green...
It is all give and take...
if you need to buy plants in bulk I have found this company useful and very affordable...
http://stores.ebay.com.au/Plantinspirations
cheers
Propertygirl
The problem with gardens is that everyone has a differnt view of what maintenance should look like, and sadly gardens and plants are not claimable on insurance...even if your house is burned to the ground you get nothing for your garden!
It is very frustrating when tenants don't look after the garden the way you would hope...I suggest employing a gardener and making it a selling point to the tenant, I have done this before and the tenant was happy to kick in for the mowing etc and I got to ensure that the garden was in good condition.
Interestingly we also had a problem with getting a tenant to water the lawns regualarly with the water restrictions, my PM said that we can't force them to keep the lawns green...since the tenant is charged for water usage they were reluctant to run up their bill for watering the lawns...so a little communication and of course some $$ kicked in from me and the lawns again are green...
It is all give and take...
if you need to buy plants in bulk I have found this company useful and very affordable...
http://stores.ebay.com.au/Plantinspirations
cheers
Propertygirl
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Do you refuse to pay that much tax on principle, or have you done the sums and found that you're better off holding the resi IPs?
My husband goes over to tend the courtyard with the numerous plants himself, and cuts out what is dead and rescues/feeds/waters what he can.
Plants are expensive and are a feature of this particular IP, but unless the actual pots are missing, it would be hard to claim dead plants out of the bond.
We wouldn't have spent so much money on it, had we not lived in this IP for years and the plants were too big to move.
In fact, our last tenants used them as ashtrays!
What can you do really.
Plants are expensive and are a feature of this particular IP, but unless the actual pots are missing, it would be hard to claim dead plants out of the bond.
We wouldn't have spent so much money on it, had we not lived in this IP for years and the plants were too big to move.
In fact, our last tenants used them as ashtrays!
What can you do really.
it's more of a financial thing. the yield vs the net proceeds of sale is actually ok. I own the whole complex so it is nicely controlled and the area is being rezoned so it should see more expensive housign surround it. I also accept the growth story for resi property plus it's a bad time to sell anyway. It all adds up to just holding the properties and sucking up the unweeded garden beds, damaged bench tops, marked paint, arguments over the power bill for the bore, ring barked trees, domestic dramas and broken windows every time the local bogans decide they want to nick some booze and a few bucks for ciggies, extortionate PM statements every month, endless govt charges and levies and those dam blue bills from the water corp that now turn up so frequently and in those larger A4 envelopes because there are so many of them
I had a great gardener in one of my IPS... he liked gardening so much that he filled the bath tub with gravel and was growing his plants in there as well as in the ceiling space.
It looks to me like you have selected IPs which are at the very bottom of the demographic rung - and while they may have a higher yield as a result - they also have greater maintenance and tenant issues.
The worst "horror" story in my area is tenants flicking cigarette butts onto a common area steel awning from their balcony. The PM went absolutely nuts and turfed out of the building. They didnt get their bond back either due to the cost of having the awning steam cleaned (it was considered an OHS issue).
Its not compulsory to pick battler bogans and disability pensioners as your preferred clients - there are plenty of decent yields out there renting to professionals / corporates.
The worst "horror" story in my area is tenants flicking cigarette butts onto a common area steel awning from their balcony. The PM went absolutely nuts and turfed out of the building. They didnt get their bond back either due to the cost of having the awning steam cleaned (it was considered an OHS issue).
Its not compulsory to pick battler bogans and disability pensioners as your preferred clients - there are plenty of decent yields out there renting to professionals / corporates.
I've had my fair share of professional/corporate types rent my higher end stuff and they caused there fair share of grief over the years, more so than my lower end stuff and worked the rules to their advantage.
Compared to my lower end stuff that has had no issues at all, apart from a scratched area the size of a potplant on the polished floors of one.
One of my lower end tenants I would almost put up for a tenant of the year award he looks after the place so well and actually has improved the property at his expense over the years. Maybe we are just lucky
Personally, I would rather 2 cheapies getting higher yield and similar/same c/g because if one tenant moves out, the short term dollars lost aren't that much.
The dollars involved in holding a high end property while vacant is obviously higher, plus I'll suggest in the near future the higher end props. may be harder to rent than the more affordable ones.
Just because we have property in cheaper areas does not mean all people in those areas are battler bogans on disability pensions.
I'd suggest some of my bogans earn more money than some of my so called corporate types and they certainly seem more down to earth, honest and reliable
Dave
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