Tennants Lawns

[Shaneelastic]

I was helping my old man yesterday a bit around his house, My 1st IP is in the next street. The nature strip was disgraceful. So I took his mower and whipper snipper and mowed the nature strip.

Any thoughts on how to get tennants to mow lawns?

 

[wylie]

We gave up on that long ago. We pay for the lawns to be mowed. It costs about the equivalent of less than two weeks' rent per property. Some of the houses we look after are on big blocks which look terrible if they are left unmown, and we have found this big yards actually used to lose us tenants, until we took the mowing out of the equation.

Knowing they never have to mow the lawn, but still get a nice yard is a plus and we don't actually load up the rent as such, because setting "market rent" is not an exact science, I believe that this, like having a dishwasher, second toilet, air-con etc is just one more thing that gets higher rent.

 

[Ace in the Hole]

You could call the council.
They should contact the residents to maintain the nature strip.

Or, tell your property manager to remind them that it's part of the agreement to maintain lawns.

 

[Aaron_C]

Yes if the grass gets too long it becomes a fire hazard and council can compel them to cut it (at their own expense).

 

[chrispy]

I have given up on trying to get tenants to maintain the garden.

I have just moved a tenant out after 11 years and it has taken 2 men 3 days to get rid of wandering dew, ivy etc. PM had been reporting they were maintaining the house and garden in good condition!!! Both were appalling!!!!

I now have all mine maintained by a gardener. I have been using the same man for a few years now and he reports back to me if the house is becoming a mess or there are any issues with the tenant.

Chris

 

[Lil Skater]

You can send them breaches and threaten eviction on successive breaches, although gardens don't tend to have the tenants evicted so it's really just a threat.

Depending on the size of the block, up the rent $10 a week and get a gardener. Mine charges me $37 every month or so to do the lawns and every couple of months I'll get him to do the shrubs too.

 

[Dave_R]

As my IP was my PPOR and I moved into an apartment, I left the mower, whippersnipper and garden tools there as a hint

I haven't been back to Canberra as the nature of my work has prevented me from leaving Melbourne in the past 12 months, but going on reports from my PM, they've kept it reasonably maintained.

As an aside, does anyone know if, in this situation, would mower servicing etc. be tax deductible?

 

[our obsession]

.

Depending on the size of the block, up the rent $10 a week and get a gardener. Mine charges me $37 every month or so to do the lawns and every couple of months I'll get him to do the shrubs too.

+ 1

What I have done, set in place with tenant/rental properties, some, not all.

The rent is premium rent so I ensure my gardens, (very basic landscaping), weed control, lawn, if any is maintained. Tenant is actually paying for this service.

 

[Paul j F]

As my IP was my PPOR and I moved into an apartment, I left the mower, whippersnipper and garden tools there as a hint

I haven't been back to Canberra as the nature of my work has prevented me from leaving Melbourne in the past 12 months, but going on reports from my PM, they've kept it reasonably maintained.

As an aside, does anyone know if, in this situation, would mower servicing etc. be tax deductible?

I am sure it is, at least I hope it is, because I deduct pool maintennce.. That aside is it really an issue? Are they paying rent regularly and on time? Are you getting the returns you are after?.... I know it is frustrating but don't be too concerned with the minor issues. Look at the big picture

 

[depreciator]

As an aside, does anyone know if, in this situation, would mower servicing etc. be tax deductible?

Yep. You can depreciate them, too, if they are provided for the use of the tenants.

 

[buzzlightyear]

Had an older 4br house with large gardens. The tenant used to get a gardener every 3 months after much insistence from the PM. It was a hack job, but then again, I don't expect them to get them to maintain them like I would/do.

What made it worse that next door was also tenanted and they were even worse, so the nature strip which is continuous at the front of the two properties, looked pretty ordinary.

Once I got rid of the tenants to update the house, I decided to concrete the front, cleared the back, and started spraying poison quite frequently, especially during the summer months, to keep weeds at bay.

 

[DaveM]

As an aside, does anyone know if, in this situation, would mower servicing etc. be tax deductible?

Mowing and gardening yes, plants no.

 

[Louwai]

I rented in Melbourne for 12mths in 2007. The lease said "Landlord to maintain property". All I had to do was water the gardens.
Getting into the 4th month of the lease & I had to chase the LL to come & tidy the place. After 7mths there were 8 foot high weeds in the front yard. At the end of the lease the LL came & mowed ready for the next tenant.

BUT, he also tried to sue me for $20k saying that because I had not watered the garden (as per the lease) it had destroyed the landscaping & I am responsible to re-landscape the entire property.

What a jerk....

He didn't win & I was given all of my bond back.

 

[SkyIsTheLimit]

I feel your pain. This happened to our 1st investment. It was our PPOR, then became a IP. I did all the gardens myself, and they looked gorgeous. Of course the tenants didnt know a plant from a weed, and ruined them. At least I took out all the plants that were valuable, before renting it out. It still looked awful by the end of the tenancy.

We are in the exact same set up now - Our PPOR will become out IP again. This house I made the gardens double the size. At the time I made them, I didnt plan to make it a IP. So I now have a huge mission on my hands to, yet again, dig up all the plants worth any value, and watch my gardens go to ruins when rented out... the only difference is that I know what to expect this time. I may get tenants who take care of the lawn, but I doubt it...

 

[Ausprop]

Yes if the grass gets too long it becomes a fire hazard and council can compel them to cut it (at their own expense).

normally they just sting the owner? why bother getting involved with destitute tenants when you have a rich greedy landlord with all their contact details laid out before them?

 

[Dave_R]

Yep. You can depreciate them, too, if they are provided for the use of the tenants.

Mowing and gardening yes, plants no.

Thanks both

 

[jaycee]

normally they just sting the owner? why bother getting involved with destitute tenants when you have a rich greedy landlord with all their contact details laid out before them?

I wondered this too...

 

[Dazz]

Residential Tenants are willing to pay you about 3% gross yield on your property and do nothing else.

If you expect them to do anything else, you're dreaming.

P.S. Tenants are more than happy to live in a pigsty if a task to make their lives more pleasant is not their own, even if they get the benefit.

After 7mths there were 8 foot high weeds in the front yard. At the end of the lease the LL came & mowed ready for the next tenant. What a jerk....

I can just imagine this clown standing in his front yard inviting guests in, saying "oh, the 8 foot high weeds, don't worry about them, the Landlord promised to come around soon....me ?? No, I'm quite comfortable to look at them every day.

 

[jaycee]

Residential Tenants are willing to pay you about 3% gross yield on your property and do nothing else.

If you expect them to do anything else, you're dreaming.

P.S. Tenants are more than happy to live in a pigsty if a task to make their lives more pleasant is not their own, even if they get the benefit.



I can just imagine this clown standing in his front yard inviting guests in, saying "oh, the 8 foot high weeds, don't worry about them, the Landlord promised to come around soon....me ?? No, I'm quite comfortable to look at them every day.

" not my job. It's their fault "

 

[Ocean Architect]

Property investors around the globe should pitch in money to engineer a special kind of grass that you can smoke with the same effects as marijuana. If that happened, IP lawns would be absolutely manicured at all times.

(My apologies, I had nothing more to add, but had a glass of wine earlier so was compelled to share what the wannabe comedian voices in my head are saying)