You are not trying hard enough
. Try harder and stop having so many vacancies and dud students 
The Joys of Student Tenants
- Thread starter Perp
- Start date
. Try harder and stop having so many vacancies and dud students Blue Card,
i can see why they kick a big fuss about a 7 bedroom house. The code defines a Class 1b accommodating not more than 12 people. So, if a LL put two single beds in each bedroom, then it will exceed that maximum and possibly alter the class of the building to Class 3.
like you mentioned, if you want more rooms, just name them differently- theatre (mine is another bedroom actually), a snoring room, granma's sewing room, time out corner etc. just watch the number of ensuites. the council staff are very skeptical about every bedrooms with their ensuites.
That would be right..........It didn't take long for someone to rat on us 'poor ol engineers'.
I can say though, that those uni days were pretty good ol days.......
Cheers,
F
That's the figures when I'm full and problem-free, Propertunity! Right now it's bleeding more heavily...You are not trying hard enough
yes i'm aware of this.
but to re-zone an entire area around a uni to allow development, then have a hissy fit about houses with more than 6 bedrooms is just plain contradictory. fine, granny down the road might have an issue, but bigger picture plays a serious part here.
professional management should be a condition of approval to avoid slumhouses.
no idea dude - check your local planning guides.
Hey dude - I thought the whole idea of the NSW planning code is to develop outside of local rules, thought it may be an easier path.
Hi All,
An interesting read!
I'm thinking of starting on of these student accommodation places down here in Melbourne. Could anyone recommend an insurance policy or company that allows multiple tenancies contracts within one house?
Thanks
An interesting read!
I'm thinking of starting on of these student accommodation places down here in Melbourne. Could anyone recommend an insurance policy or company that allows multiple tenancies contracts within one house?
Thanks
LOL - I married one, so I should know how to deal with this!That would be right..........It didn't take long for someone to rat on us 'poor ol engineers'.
Fair call - time for some drastic action.You are not trying hard enough
Step 1: we issued eviction notices to every tenant, and told them we planned to list them on TICA. That got their attention - cue the whiny letters about "but I'm so young and being listed on TICA will affect my future!" Well, shame they didn't think of that when they got issued so many breach notices the past few months... (Seriously, there are a few tenants who are also victims in this scenario, and we're doing our best to figure out who they are, and won't list them on TICA.)
Step 2: hired a new cleaner who has a policy of throwing out everything that is in common areas when it shouldn't be. You leave a towel in the bathroom, sauce bottles on the benchtops, clothes in the laundry... it's gone!
Step 3: have been wanting an on-site manager for some time and having trouble identifying an appropriate candidate. Out of the blue, somebody I know from interstate posted on facebook that she was moving to Brissie and looking for somewhere to live... and she's just *perfect* - the opportunity is ideally suited to her circumstances, and I trust her and think she'll do a great job. Win-win, I love it! She arrives in Brissie this week.
Step 4: remove every service/amenity that I'm not legally obliged to provide. For example, our place is advertised as having TV. They have small TVs in their room, but also a big-screen in the living room. The one in the living room is being removed, as are the fridges in the kitchens (they have bar fridges in their rooms), the dryer in the laundry (they have a clothes line), toilet paper from the toilets, crockery and cutlery etc from the kitchen. I also disconnected every phone line. (They can skype; they still have internet.) The PMs are so fed up, they said "look, if they're going to behave like children, we'll treat them like children and withdraw privileges".
Step 5: I treated them like responsible people and gave them great big kitchen pantry cupboards. They steal each other's food, and nobody puts stuff away. So instead of attractive big cupboards, we're giving them individual lockers. They'll have to get their own dish detergent, dish cloth, cutlery, crockery, drinking glasses, tea towel, etc, and they'll have to store the lot in their locker. (I really hate having to treat them like this, but it seems to be the only option.)
Step 6: Hired a skip yesterday and let afore-mentioned cleaner loose on the property.
Hopefully things are on the mend again now.
So you've turned into the LL equivalent of the soup nazi on Seinfeld?
Well done!
Well done!
O
I'm pretty confident that an on-site manager will really help. I placed an ad stating "Chopper Reed lookalikes are particularly encouraged to apply."
It would probably be better and less costly if you allocated this task to one of them in return for reduced rent
Yes, that's what I did for 18 months up to Jul 09 and it worked well. Unfortunately the current lot are such a bunch of prats that the PM says none of them are responsible enough to be entrusted with the job.
But fortunately my friend is arriving this week - as per point 3 below - and she's going to move in and take on these duties. I have aspirations in that direction... have been way too much of a soft touch, with both the tenants and the PM. But those days are over, baby!So you've turned into the LL equivalent of the soup nazi on Seinfeld?
The ozperp has spoken
A bit like Survivor except the tribal counsel shall now be run as monopoly...........the Queen of the "Hill" has spoken
No more softly softly; you are well aware that you a running a commercial concern and not a charity........you and you alone dictate where your charitable dollar$ go and actually help people in real need not spoilt uni brats that are double majoring in "victimhood" and "poor me"
Happy release to your tenants that are voted off the island. Good luck moving forward with your new live-in manager
I have aspirations in that direction... have been way too much of a soft touch, with both the tenants and the PM. But those days are over, baby!
A bit like Survivor except the tribal counsel shall now be run as monopoly...........the Queen of the "Hill" has spoken
No more softly softly; you are well aware that you a running a commercial concern and not a charity........you and you alone dictate where your charitable dollar$ go and actually help people in real need not spoilt uni brats that are double majoring in "victimhood" and "poor me"
Happy release to your tenants that are voted off the island. Good luck moving forward with your new live-in manager
way to go ozperp. actually, i'm surprised how luxuriously you treated them. when we were briefly between homes we stayed at a "serviced accom" place and it was set up exactly how you now run your student accomodation - and found no problems with it at all.
lockers in the communal dining/kitchen. fridge, tv and kettle in the bedroom. the crockery, cookware and cutlery was communal but personally i would have preferred to have my own (some people just don't wash up!).
my only irk was that the bar fridge was too small - carton of milk, bottle of softdrink, block of cheese and it was full. no room in the freezer bit for icecream either.
lockers in the communal dining/kitchen. fridge, tv and kettle in the bedroom. the crockery, cookware and cutlery was communal but personally i would have preferred to have my own (some people just don't wash up!).
my only irk was that the bar fridge was too small - carton of milk, bottle of softdrink, block of cheese and it was full. no room in the freezer bit for icecream either.
Delighted to report that, whilst this has been traumatic, things have done a 180 degree turnaround.
* I sacked the PM and got a new one - rapt so far.
* My friend moved in to be the caretaker and is doing a sterling job. It's really a win-win arrangement.
* I've done a top to bottom clean and repair - patched all holes, replaced broken/damaged furniture and fittings, steam-cleaned carpets etc.
* We've started a new marketing campaign with new professional photos and I'm now flooded with requests for inspection and prospective tenants.
The debacle with the nightmare tenants, which unfortunately came at a time when I was ill-equipped to be on top of it promptly, has cost us about $40K in lost rental income and aforementioned cleaning and repairs. That was $40K we didn't have sitting around as a buffer, unfortunately, but have begged, borrowed and ... well, not stolen fortunately!
But gosh, I feel fantastic now. We've made some hard decisions, sometimes taking what seemed like backwards steps (eg sacking PM just before the busiest fortnight of the year and thus impeding marketing for a few days to a week at the beginning of the peak period), but I'm now convinced they were all good and necessary decisions, and I'm really enjoying seeing things turn around.
* I sacked the PM and got a new one - rapt so far.
* My friend moved in to be the caretaker and is doing a sterling job. It's really a win-win arrangement.
* I've done a top to bottom clean and repair - patched all holes, replaced broken/damaged furniture and fittings, steam-cleaned carpets etc.
* We've started a new marketing campaign with new professional photos and I'm now flooded with requests for inspection and prospective tenants.
The debacle with the nightmare tenants, which unfortunately came at a time when I was ill-equipped to be on top of it promptly, has cost us about $40K in lost rental income and aforementioned cleaning and repairs. That was $40K we didn't have sitting around as a buffer, unfortunately, but have begged, borrowed and ... well, not stolen fortunately!
But gosh, I feel fantastic now. We've made some hard decisions, sometimes taking what seemed like backwards steps (eg sacking PM just before the busiest fortnight of the year and thus impeding marketing for a few days to a week at the beginning of the peak period), but I'm now convinced they were all good and necessary decisions, and I'm really enjoying seeing things turn around.
Ian Yeo and Tanya Thompson at PB Broking specialise in these properties.
I tried that. Doesn't work. That student lives with the rest of them and he is just as young. He becomes mates with his housemates and you just end up with less rent.
I love my student house. Has been running now for 5-6 years and I have only evicted one guy. He was actually mature aged and not even a student - long story...
I find if you treat them with respect they give you back the same. I personally manage and I think maybe a PM wouldn't put in the effort I do.
When my PPOR is sorted out I will consider buying another student place.
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Agreed. It has to be somebody who goes in in that position, or, as I've been able to do, is already in place as "the boss" before others move in, so their position is established from day one.
I still have a PM (for paperwork, rent collection, etc) but have decided to try being a little less anonymous. I try and meet all the tenants, and pop around to do minor repairs with my kids in tow. I think that when they see that you're a regular person with bills to pay, instead of some anonymous rich organisation, they're far less likely to be disrespectful to your home and property.Simon said:
Wow! 7 people inspected late this afternoon and 7 took application forms! Usually about two-thirds who inspect take application forms, and about half of those who take application forms submit them. So based on that, I've probably picked up at least 2 or 3 tenants this evening.
Five of them were a group of Indian mates who all want to live in the same house and are (understandably) having trouble finding somewhere that they'd all fit; that would be awesome!
Five of them were a group of Indian mates who all want to live in the same house and are (understandably) having trouble finding somewhere that they'd all fit; that would be awesome!
