Traps for young players

From: Michele B


Here's a good one! I advertised an IP in the classifieds but (unknown to me) the new tenants responded via a listing agency which had taken my IP details from the ad (what they do is phone you and ask if they can list your house at no cost to you so you say yeah, sure, go ahead)

New tenants have been in the house for one week and are now wanting a substantial rent reduction or compensation/restitution via the tribunal because the listing agency had mistakenly ticked a box indicating that the house is air-conditioned - this is despite the tenants having inspected the house thoroughly prior to signing up and noting that there was no air-conditioning!

I am now required to air-condition the house because that is what I effectively advertised via the listing agency. Whether I want to take this matter up with the listing agency is a separate issue and up to me. But the bottom line is that I verbally authorised an ad I hadn't read. I will find an efficient and cost effective way round this problem and learn from it. But it's worth remembering that in business you must ALWAYS get things in writing, and make no mistake, with rentals you ARE in business.

Two more hints (gleaned from bitter experience :) is NEVER let tenants move into your house before all the paperwork is complete and you are happy and ALWAYS make notes (dated) every single time you have contact with your tenants.

A good property manager, if you use one, should be doing the above anyway, but if they don't, insist that they do when dealing with your properties.

Michele
 
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Reply: 1
From: Michael Croft


Michele, contact the SA electric authority they may offer an interest free installment plan (usually 24 months) for the installation of an A/C unit if there is a "demonstrated need".

Michael Croft
 
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Reply: 1.1
From: Rick Otton


this may be a good time to throw in my two cents....based on my recent case with the tribunal you may wish to simply say sorry to the tenant and let him move back out of your property he then has to produce his costs involved which must be provable to the tribunal they will decide how much of those costs are fair and award him accordingly.

an agent recently rented me a unit with parking in another property owned by the same landlord and this parking was put on the lease.
when i recently returned from the states my 30,000 car had been dumped as the agent and landlord had rented me a parking space that belonged to somebody else.The other person didn't know about a car in his spot so he got rid of it....
the agent and landlord simply told the tribunal they were sorry.....
point is i needed to show and document all my costs and even then it got negotiated to what the court thought should be the costs.
when the guy moves out he'll probably only get a couple of hundred dollars for hard moving costs but if you organize and pay for the removalists he may not be given any more compensation by the court.
p.s. quick update on the car....when we finally got car back 3 weeks ago it got stolen that night was trashed by teenagers who did 10k worth of damage to it and got caught in a car chase with the cops, they got a warning and I pick up my car from the repairer today after i pay them the insurance excess.
as it was once said....life is a box of chocolates

Rick Otton
 
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Reply: 1.1.1
From: Jeremy Laws


Micheal,
That is hardly the point. Don't let the buggers win! They are practised, should leave or have a play at fighting them (though I doubt it would be worth it)
 
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