Tenants took off, Slow PM and other hassles

If the tenant has already left is a really good thing, you don't have to get a court order trying to kick them out while they damage the place more while not paying rent.

Just move on, I've cleaned up the mess tenants have left.

They might also think they left stuff behind, must of been confused the same as thinking they didn't owe rent.
 
That list doesn't sound too scary and something we would just get stuck into.

If you can not (or do not wish to) tackle the jobs yourself I would get a quote from the handyman used by the PM agency. I would be surprised if it cost you too much more than the excess to do all that (assuming you source second hand doors).

We are fortunate that we have the skills to do all that. But even without those skills I reckon a handyman would be cheaper than a builder who knows it is an "insurance job"... price just doubled :rolleyes:
 
I recently emptied a house of tenants left over crap, anything that was in usable condition (a bit of furniture and and crockery) was taken to the salvos. The rest of it was a trailer load dumped at the tip for $33. That was the only cost involved other than about 6 hours of mine and my girlfriends time on a Saturday plus some sugar soap and mopping. Sure beats the rubbish removal and clean up quote of nearly $800 got by the agent.

Now just waiting for the house to lease out again which is taking a bit longer than I would have liked.
 
Hi Melbournee,

It sounds like your PM has made an application to VCAT for possession of the property based on rent arrears. She should still attend this hearing but instead of getting possession they need to have an order that declares the premises has been abandoned.

While waiting for the hearing she should lodge a request with Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV from here on in) for them to attend the property, inspect the goods left behind and make an order as to whether the items can be disposed of or if they must be stored (I would bet my savings that it's a disposal job!), once you have this piece of paper then you can start throwing out rubbish. I can recommend a good rubbish removal company if you don't want to hire a skip - PM me if you need any trades and I'll help if it's the right area :). For storage to be ordered by CAV you have to have a house full of pretty much brand new items and a great car!

Landlords insurance generally doesn't cover cleaning or rubbish removal, as such your aim is to keep the rubbish removal and cleaning costs as close to the bond as possible so you aren't really out of pocket.

A lot of insurance policies will charge you an excess per event. This is why you have to pay $750 in excesses. Get some quotes for the work you would be claiming on and if they come in under the excess then don't claim on your insurance.

The main thing you want to be claiming on insurance is your loss of rent. This is going to be worth your $250 excess so you receive any outstanding rent (up to the date the property is declared abandoned by VCAT), that way you still get that rent owing and your bond will hopefully come close to covering the cleaning and rubbish removal.

Check with your policy to see if gardening is included.

If your insurance policy requires a VCAT order for your claim then your PM will have to make an application for Bond and compensation (she may need to do this anyway as if the rent arrears was under the bond amount on the day of application to VCAT she can't have applied for the bond at that time).

Good luck, I hope it all turns out well and you get a great tenant in there!
 
Thanks all, started some minor things - Turns out these little things wont be covered by anything in the end so might as well get onto those little wins!


Turns out the bond and lease are in different names - no one seems to know why that is. :confused:

Regd the VCAT hearing can PM get an order against all concerned now or only the person on the bond or person on the lease.

Even if I wont get any money from VCAT order I want to get the order against both parties - is that possible?
 
Also, there a roof leak - the ceiling plasterboard sheet seems hanging so will need replacing. fixing the source of leak is step 1 but how much does the sheet change cost? Is it a big job?
 
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