[
!] Seemingly Careless Real-Estate AgentsI recently let my property.
I am getting pissed off with my agents who don’t seem to respond in a timely manor and it has been two weeks since the tenants moved in and I still don’t have a copy of the inspection report. By legislation I understand the landlord is supposed to be given a copy within 3 business days. NOTE the agent representing the landlord applies in this case, so allow a couple of extra days for them to mail it to me. I have had no further word on the absence of this inspection report from the agent, for several days. I consider this level service below an acceptable level and if this is any indication of what to expect, then I think I could be in for a rough ride.
There seemed to be lots of smooth talk to start with, but now they have the contract, it all seems to have dropped away. It’s starting to feel like I’m being ripped off. It also feels like that the tenants that I had lined up myself through the melb exchange, for a higher rent, may have been given the side shuffle, so the agents could get their friends in on a good rent deal. I expect I will unlikely no the truth about this though.
I have also sought formal confirmation of some other matters such as my provision of keys and registration of power, gas and phone in the tenants name and again had no suitable response other than they will look into it.
One of the agents told me to use his hotmail address instead of their business email address, but now the email bounces from that address as the mail box is full according to the systems response. Thus I am now using their business email address, but seemingly to little avail. My phone calls are also seeming to become a waste of my time.
Unfortunately I may have been stupid enough to go with their tenant selection who I understand are friends of one of the agents. Potential conflict of interest emerges, but I was desperate to get a tenant. They seemed to heap praise by the bucket loads, on the tenants like it was almost too good to be true.
It all sounds bad news and I know when you get that feeling that you are being taken for granted and they just don’t seem to give a rats ass, cause they got you to sign on the dotted line and so don’t seem to give a F__K.
It almost feels like they are representing the interests of the tenant and not me, being landlord. I used to think this company had a reasonable reputation, but this office is rapidly changing that view. I would not want to see other investors dealt such fait, especially with interest rates on the rise and crappy property management is the last thing one needs.
I can’t seem to find and higherarchical management structure on their web site. I am wondering where the feedback loop for quality control is. It seems to be a franchise operation with too many chiefs. I believe I am wasting my time with the people I am dealing with.
What do you suggest I do about this ?
Have a look on the front door of the office and you will find the name of the principal, or liscencee. If not ask them and ask to speak to that person.
Someone isues them with a liscence. Donltknow who that is in Vic?
Hi hwd007,
Do you live in/by the same area? If so, go in and see somebody face to face. If the agent is ‘out’, ask to speak to the manager or most senior person. Have you seen the actual lease agreement? Are you sure the lease has been signed and the condition report done? You should by now have a copy of both. Ask to check your tenants references as well. Did the agent give you a copy of your contractual agreement. i.e that they will inspect every three months, that they will issue statements etc etc, if they are in breach of their contract you would be able to terminate (if you stand your ground!)
If they are not meeting their obligations at this early stage it will be much worse later. I would also be concerened that you havnt any paperwork -???at all??? The conflict oif interest is unethical anyway as there is a possibility that the real estate agent has not checked their rental references because they ‘knew’ them. Look into this quick smart before things go more sour and if you can, get yourself out of the agency. You can always check with another agency how this would affect the current lease (if there is one!).
Good luck, be brave and start demanding answers. It is not good enough that your agency is always unavailable to you. Your house, your money!
Sunshine
On remote investing (where you don’t live in the area ) you really need a GOOD agent. As an accountant we have clients in property (not a lot as we are a SME type practice ) and have heard too many bad tennant stories. Not a lot as a percentage, but when they are bad, they are REAL bad. In each case it also involves a slack agent.
Had a tennent stop paying rent, when my client flew from Darwin to Canberra to sort it out (bring back the biff!!!!) he found a stack of unanswered correspondence between tennant and agent. Rent was stopped because, of plumbing and stove not working plus other simple maintenance that needed attending. End result was tennant stayed Agent went.
In your case though you may be getting worried for nothing, give it time.
I have both lease / management agreement and tenancy agreement. I will go over them tonight. The franchisee I presume is the one I am dealing with but it seems to make no difference, I still seem to be treated with disregard. I mean it seems unfair that I have to bust my gut, just to ensure they meet their minimum obligations, but I will do so if I have to. I have spoken to them face to face but, well you just know when they don’t seem to really care. You can just tell. You know what I mean. Its in the attitude, and the actions or seemingly lack there of in this case.
Hwd007 thanks for sharing your nightmare with us, I feel sorry for you, and the scary thing is, it can happen to any of us, unless you live in the area and manage the property yourself.
No matter how well you interview PMs beforehand, they can all come up with smooth talk and later you find out it was all talk no action. How frustrated you must be! I can imagine!
Is there something in your contract about a cooling off period? In mine it says there is a month cooling off period so if you are not happy with the service of the PM you can get out without costs.
I’m not sure if this is standard as I have only one IP. Even if you have to pay some fees to get out of it, it sounds like you need to get out of there fast!The challenge is then to find a better PM and I think if you do a search on finding a property manager you will find a few posts on it. May be there are some points in these post that may help you selecting a new PM, even though you will only really find out how good they are when you are actually ‘trying them out’. But you can still minimise the risk of choosing a bad, lazy, stupid, uncaring etc PM.
There is a blacklist of bad tenants, may be we should develop a blacklist of bad PMs! (AND a list of recommended ones!)
I wonder what the law says about when a tenant stops paying rent because the PM is not fixing the problems, not fixing the plumbing etc. Shouldn’t the PM be made liable for the loss of rent since it was at no fault of the owner and the tenant can’t be blamed for not paying either; the only person to blame is the PM in charge of the property.
WIshing you success in solving this problem with the PM from hell.
I am not saying that the agent’s behaviour is justified but it could be that it may just not be worth their while of they are getting half a peanut out of the rental.
Yes, I know it is around 7% but if the rent is low , like perhaps $ 60 or $ 80 or even $ 100 per week the agent’s take is $ 4-20 to $ 7-00 per week.
So if for example there is a reason that there is a need to go and inspect the property the
$ 4-00 or even $ 7-00 worth of petrol your management fee will buy will be used up before he reaches the place so he stops dead in his tracks.
(and, if he is smart, he wouldn’t even bother getting in his car because he knows the money will be spent before he reaches his destination.So if you are talking about a low rent and, by implication, a pittance of a management fee it isn’t surprising that the agent doesn’t have too much interest in subsidising YOUR investment !!
[] []Pisces133
hi hwd 007
your money, your property & the pm is on your pay roll, go for the throat. i would check with what xyzzy & sunshine said first, great advice!!!!!!!!!!!!!. after that it lies in the area that peterm spoke off but having said that if the agent is worth their salt they would have multiple lettings on their books, ie 60 to 120 min & out of all of them only 2 to 3 bad ones, max. so they have more then enough money to cover their fuel to go & check your place out which brings me back to my opening statement. keep us posted.Take the Best & leave the rest
Thanks for all views. In regard to the Landlord being paid pittance view. With the utmost respect for your right to express a view, I don’t accept this at all.
There are certain obligations and expectations I believe exist between landlord, agent and tenant. This is outlined in the Residential Tenancy Act. This act has been formulated over many years of consideration of legal judgement over many issues that come before the courts, in relation to such matters and is designed to protect the fair and reasonable interests of all parties concerned.
If we cant rely on the acts of parliament as a guide to code of ethics, then we are all doomed to a stressful life of law of the jungle free for all, kill or be killed. We may as well all go and live in IRAQ.
If any party is not willing to respect such laws, then they should not be in the business. Why have traffic lights ? To protect us all from the madness of jungle riddled fever of the road.
So more to the point, if one is not willing to accept ones responsibility and obligations, then don’t take on the job and make life miserable for others in the process.
By the way they are actually only getting 5.5% on $280 a week. But in my view, that’s not the point.
Anyway I have spoken to the Head Office people and they agreed it was taking a bit too long to get the inspection report to me, given that I had requested a copy of it. I guess the agent wont like the fact that I complained to Head Office, but I could see I was getting nowhere fast.
I think I’m getting less patient in my older age.
or starting to see the Bull Sh_t allot sooner Having said that I have a good agent in Brisbane I am pleased to say, who makes this guy look like an amateur. I guess it has set a standard for me and I don’t want to accept less than that.I already dumped another agent who took way too long to rent the place out because he was advertising at a rent that the market was not near. i.e. $325 per week when it was more like a $290 a week market.
Thus I went with this current one who seems slack and careless, but got it rented out. I had that gut feeling on the phone to him not to trust him, but I was so desperate to get a tenant, I felt I had to take a chance or risk going under financially.
Oddly after 8 weeks of stuffing around with the first agent without him once suggesting to lower the rent, the day I signed the contracts with the slack agent, the first agent comes up with an application for $280 a week also. He missed it by hours. I think when I told him I had something lined up elsewhere he may have decided it was time to pull out his finger and try to get it rented. This guy was even smoother than the current one. He could do radio adds for “Spun Gold” butter or “Smooth as Silk” pantyhose
Well you know it aint real spun gold and well those pantyhose, they still get ladders. I’m guesing here
Hi hwd007,
The main question is are you getting your money? If you are then relax a little. It appears you may be reading too much in to the situation. There are always faults to be found if you look hard enough.
C2
“Is it true the more you owe the more you grow until the Bank steps in?”I have been paid for the first month, but I am not optimistic about that either given the goings on.
To make matters worse, I have just found out from the first agent that the body corporate is trying to contact me, about noise complaints made about the tenants that moved in, who this second agent recommended with glowing praise about their references.
i.e. the ones that are allegedly friends with one of the property managers at the second estate agents, currently managing my property.
I mean what next ! I am already under the hammer financially due to the stuffing around by the first agent and now I fear more problems from the second agent, who knocked the rent down for the tenants of their choice and leave me with troublesome tenants at their recommendation in less than 30 days.
The first agent freely admitting that some how he always seems to be the bearer of bad news to me and then has the cheek to suggest that if I am looking for a property manager, he would be available. I mean like yea right !!! like cost me $1500 interest due to ill advice on the appropriate asking rent, plus $400 advertising costs and then offer to pick up any crumbs of my misfortune. Way to go dude !
Sorry people, but I just have to have a whinge to someone.
The way to check prospective tenants is to ask for references.
Not only their present landlord but also the one before.
Don’t bother to check with the present landlord as without fail you will receive a glowing report if they want to get rid of their tenant.
The second last landlord has got nothing to gain by telling you lies and you will be therefore betold the true facts if the tenant is a no-good son of a bitch.
Cheers,
Pisces133
Thanks Peter,
I think that is a great tip to check the reference of the second last landlord. I’ll be sure to remember that one.
Sue []“Be careful not to step on the flowers when you’re reaching for the stars”
The second last landlord has got nothing to gain by telling you lies and you will be therefore betold the true facts if the tenant is a no-good son of a bitch.
Cheers,
LOL – you tell ’em peter!
My question is – Why not ditch the Agent!!! Tell them that their service has been poor, they have failed to supply the correct documentation as required by law and therefore the management contract is null and void.
I’d even suggest claiming any expenses from them (in the form of a bill – with a due date etc) caused by their poor handling of the situation just to show them your deadly serious about it.
Chances are that you wont get any money but it will sure as hell make them understand that you are p*ssed off.
Address all corespondence to the principal of the agency – deal only with the principal. The other agents may not even hold an agents licence and therefore not fully understand their legal obligations.
If you live close enough to the IP manage it yourself for a while untill you find a good agent.
Cheers,
RiffWhat the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.
The previous agent recommended the tenants who were reportedly the agents friends. This agent arranged it all but appears to have left me with dud tenants. I am begining to think and also they lowered the rent from what I was asking initially to favour their friends. Basically feel I have been taken for a ride with these agents. Thats the long and short of it. Yes I did complain and bring this to the attention of their Head Office who basically agreed with me. Becuase it is a franchise operation their Head Office power seems a little limited. Upon hearing about my complaint, the previous agent then relinquished management of the property which was the right thing to do at least.
But they have stuffed me around, cost me cash and left me with seemingly dubious tenants, of whom they gave glowing reports. I would have said they had a potential conflict of interest in that they seem to have held the interests of their tenant friends, above that of me, being landlord, whom I understand hey are supposed to be representing. Thus I have already had issues with noise complaints and non full payment withn the first month of tenancy. Anyway thats my lot and I will deal with it. We will get there in the end. You live and learn.
Hmm I’m now with a new property manager who seems better than the previous two agents, however the seemingly dud tenants have paid the rent but were short by $93. Now my new property manager has to chase this up as I understand, they have had no explanation as to why they short paid the rent.
So much for the glowing reports from the previous property manager who indicated they knew the tenants and that they had excellent references.
Gut feelings carry much weight and I wish I had gone with them when I first spoke to the previous agent. i.e. the feeling was troubled waters.
It is about time that we start to report people who supply misleading information.
Just having a grouch isn’t going to make the phenomenon of liars, sucking innocent people in,
go away.Take some action, report the agent who mislead you.
He doesn’t deserve to be in business to only continue misleading others as well.
Pisces133
I doubt I will ever use Stockdale & Leggo’s Malvern Office again under their current Franchise ownership. I would not recommend them to anyone.
Hey hwd007 – sorry to hear about your problems.
You know, at common law (regardless of whether there’s a written contract in place), an agent is under a duty to act in the best interests of his principal (ie the landlord). The contract between you and the agend may try to exclude this duty, so check the fineprint.
The tenancy agreement may also have some clauses which prohibit the tenants from making a nuisance of themselves to their neighbours. If they’ve breached the contract, you may be able to kick them out (although I admit it’s much easier said than done for residential tenancies). However, if they’re friends of the dodgy agent, you may have some leverage over the agent for failing to properly discharge his duties to you, and maybe you can pressure him into “facilitating” the departure of your lousy tenants.
Oh, and before you try to play hardball, make sure your landlord’s insurance is in place and covers intentional/malicious damage!
Good luck.
Cheers
Elysium-MElysium-M Many thanks.
Well I am with a new agent now, so I am just waiting to see if the tenants pay the full rent plus the $93 in arrears on time, this month. If they play the game right, I will be happy to put it down as experience and review at years end. I would prefer to aviod the red tape if possible. I think I have been sold a lemon on this, but I will just have to see how it goes from here.
Yes got the Landlords Insurance, but I hope I don’t have to spend my time bothering with it.
cheers
!] Seemingly Careless Real-Estate Agents
] [
or starting to see the Bull Sh_t allot sooner 
You must be logged in to reply to this topic. If you don't have an account, you can register here.
