Hi There
I have just stumbled across this site as I have been trying to google answers to all my questions..
Here is my situation.. We have two investment properties both managed by the same agency. Bar a few minor hiccups over the years they have been pretty good. 3 months ago the agent managing our units up and left and another women took her place.
In July the lease on our one unit came up for renewal and I told them to continue month to month but to put the rent up by $20. A letter was sent to the tenants giving them the 60 days notice required- this meant by middle September the rent was to increase..
Our September statement came and clearly the rent hadn't gone up.. Called them and they said tenant must have forgotten. Tenant had paid up till 23 September.. Half way through October the agent calls and says they have given notice would we like them to advertise- I said ofcourse.. We spoke several times over the next couple weeks. Come end of October we get our statement and imagine my suprise to see the tenants hadn't paid a cent since 23 September!!! Not at any stage had anyone let us know this was going on.. Strike One
Finally the tenants vacate with rent 6 weeks in arrears- we are told we will get the bond back(4 weeks) and the boys will each come in and pay the amount oustanding- about $670
They haven't started advertising or showing our place so already we are on the back foot with an empty unit… After 3 weeks and countless phone calls and emails( asking the basics like can you put a for lease sign up outside the property/can you place an ad in the paper too etc) I had had enough… This is a really nice big unit so i could not except that no one was interested.. I called them and said am I allowed to advertise the property in the paper privately and she said I could.
Two days later my little ad was in the paper and from 8:30am I started getting calls. I went down to our empty unit and showed the people around. First lady in wanted it and went straight over to the real estate office and filled out the application. She was accepted and we are now just waiting for the bond from old place.. Yesterday I received our November statement and low and behold our bond still hasn't been returned and of the $670 they told me the tenants would pay, one of them came in and paid $347!! Which means in 9 weeks we have only received $347 ….. We have lost 9wks x $460…
So…. just wondering if I can do anything about the above?? We are going to take our units to another agency asap but I can't believe all of the above happened and there is nothing we can do about it!!! Just want some feed back please!!
Contact the licensee of the agency, tell them how poorly the new pm has treated you, that their actions have been pretty abysmal & that they should refund any letting fee, advert costs etc for the last x months.
Hello TT2011,
Maybe you could share with the forum what suburb and state the property resides in so members could give you some recommendations on some top property managers you can choose from based on their experience.
Kind regards,
Jason Moore
Property Trader | Boston West Pty Ltd
http://bostonwest.com.au
Email Me | Phone MePrivate money lending opportunities available paying upto 12%, secured by bricks and mortar!
Hi TT,
This is a very familiar story to me – on two occassions I have had the worlds best PM, only to have them burn out and leave to be replaced by some incompetant! So I really feel your pain.The first thing I would do would be make a loss of rent claim on your insurance! Then I would call the Real Estate Industry Association in your state and ask how much time by law the agent is allowed to withhold your bond.
Then I would contact the licensee of the Real Estate Agency as Jason suggested and complain about the lack of service and you out-of-pocket expenses – I would most certainly ensure that you are refunded for any costs associated with finding a new tenant (letting fee etc) due to the fact that YOU, and not them found the tenant.Good Luck TT, hope it all works out.
Yes a familiar story sadly, obviously move management first of all and then worry about chasing compensation. It sounds like a management agency that has someone inexperienced and not very useful, perhaps with far too many properties to manage as well as they didn't even do the barest minimum in terms of renting the property out, unforgivable!
Absolute nightmare to deal with. We have spoken to the Principal and said we refuse to pay the letting fee and we want to terminate our agreement effective immediately. Unfortunately this woman is digging her heels in and saying we will be paying management fee for the full 30 notice period and she will be charging us the full listing fee- 110% of a weeks rent. Ofcourse we will be slugged with all the advertising bills etc too!
I have a lovely new property manager from a different agency lined up and is helping me with all the documentation required etc. I have called fair work and know the full bond cheque was send to our current property manager 30 November 2011. I asume they will be paying this to us this week. While we feel we have a good case against them I honestly couldn't be bothered dealing with them ever again! As much as I would love to name and shame, there service speaks for itself and I am sure all their other landlords/sellers can see this for themselves! Thanks for all your comments- can't believe these people call themselves proffesionals!
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