I thought I’d share my last week of surprise.
I let the owners of an IP i bought stay for a few weeks while they got their move organised. It was starting to drag on, so i insisted on a date, (i had tenants ready and waiting who were paying big money in a hotel)
We settled on Thursday, i took a day off work, organised friends and a delivery van for the furnishings.. Last minute i get a phone call
“…hi, um, we are 4 and 1/2 hours away and sleepy and the house is still full of junk. will get there on saturday though…. “
[uneasy] brain went eerily blank. I knew all the words i had just heard over the phone, but it made no sense????
I asked ” when can i get in, can i come and get the key”
“…no no, wouldn’t like that idea….”
“…the trailer broke a week ago you see…”me blinks into phone and “so hire one”
“….we did, it was too big, couldn’t get over 80kmh… big load…we are not hiring a trailer again…..”
<blink blink> “so hire a smaller one”
“…no, i can weld it up, no need..”
This was going around in circles, so i set my foot down and manage to negotiate for friday lunch time.
I meet them Friday, and there is junk everywhere, layers of mouse shit in the kitchen, wallpaper ripped off the walls, yard was like tigerland – charlie was everywhere <hugs imaginary rifle>, Boxes and boxes and boxes in boxes. Whatever.. i got the house![thumbsup2]
“i will put all your stuff in garage, you can pick it up during the week, tenants move in monday, do you want to lock it?
“……not really, we don’t have a lock…”
“so buy one?”
“…oh no, too much trouble….”
“Would you like me to get a lock?”
“….no, no, no don’t worry about it…”
“whatever <voice trails off>”
I spend 17 hour days all weekend, cleaning, painting, moving, polishing, like a leopard!
[whip]Place is sparkling, tenants move in, I ask them to keep out of garage, and tie entrance so their 3yo boy doesn’t get in. Mention last owners will be around to get stuff. No probs.
[jester]I get a phone call at work from the last owners on friday just gone, a very high strung and irrational tone to his voice
“…..Have you stolen our cds and baby photos from the shed, where are they? Are all these marijuana plants (apparently with stalks the size of your fore-arm) yours? .i am getting angry, eeeeeeeeek, oh no my pregnant girlfriend has just been pulled inside the house, i think your tenants have been sniffing metho…..<dial tone beep beep beep beep beep>”
[idea]
This is true and almost exactly the words used over the phone… I will finish this story tomorrow.[lmao]lifexperience
Good luck sorting it out lifexperience!
Cheers,
Aceyducey
Looking forward to installment No2.
Great story LE, or was it!
‘Eat rich food, barbeque a yuppie’ [greedy]
Part 2.
Quick recap, finally got last owners out of house, cleaned the pig sty, then placed new tenants. Then.. that phone call.
Now it was mid afternoon friday when i got that call. There were many breakdowns at work, which i am supposed to fix, so i have very little time to fret. I get another phone call later that afternoon from the last owners. This conversation was a little more rational.
“…..hi, we suspect your tenants have some of our stuff, there are plants in the garage and your tenants have been very aggressive…”
he started to babble about his wife looking in the house for their stuff, and about some kid following them through a park and losing the scent. and then stopped talking with the hint that i should sort everything out.so i did
i say “mate, I don’t know anything about your missing stuff, there was no lock as you know, so anything could have happened in that garage. Call the police if you want to. What the tenants do are up to them. If the police want to investigate, thats up to them but i can bet they have better things to do. I have to work til late.”
As long as tenants are up to date with rent, which they were, and the house was ok <the tenant had already painted two rooms for me>, i didn’t feel obliged to get involved. But i was starting to question the effectiveness of the due diligence i did on the tenants background.“…..Fine, i’ll call the cops!!!!” he said.
So i go back to work.[uneasy]
more later……….
lifexperience
So i get back to work which is in complete chaos, one of those fridays!!!
Later the cops call me ” erm. this is senior constable steve, ” asks me all sorts of questions about tenants and the house and my involvement. I am helpful, i got nothing to hide. They tell me they are taking care of things, ….whatever.
Then a call from the ex-owner “…..hey, the tenants have left the house,…now listen we need your key to the house, the cops and us are going to do a raid on the house and get the baby photos!!!….” they ask me
I mention that the residential tenancies act doesn’t encourage raids on tenants, and that i would prefer to wait for the cops. end of call.
I couldn’t believe the days phone calls, and when i finally get out of work , which was insanely busy, I really couldn’t be bothered with anything but a good nap. So i went to sleep.[snooze]
It turns out that the cops turned up and supervised the ex owners while they got their remaining stuff from the garage. I have heard no more about the alleged marijuana stash, I visited the tenants yesterday and they mentioned the irrational ex-owners. They said their 3yo boy had been playing in the shed, and took some blocks. There was no sign of metho or dope. And the tenants had done a great job re-painting the lounge and were starting to clear junk from the backyard.
Good tenants it would seem.[pimp]
Last Owners said they were going to press charges[smash]
The police didn’t seem at all interested.[snooze]
And I am happy while the rent is paid.[thumbsupanim]
There are numerous lessons i learnt from this whole episode.
The house number was 13, by the way.
[?]lifexperience
Ah, don’t worry about the 13. Read a previous thread on that number.
As for your day, well, now that the old owners are good, perhaps, everything will continue on a better note. Let’s hope so anyway.
Thanks for encouragement guys.[hat2]
lifexperience
Good to see im not the only one with the weed as a tenant.
Went to Brizzy to do a reno on one of the two townhouses I had just bought in the same block I already had 2 and what do I find? Happy people all around that I had kicked out the local druggies causing their lives to be hell. I found a bong and some bong cleaning fluid in the kitchen and patchig the walls before painting was NOT fun. 57 small holes in one wall. Stones people should not try to hang stuff on walls.
Another doozie was the head hole at the bottom of the stairs..OOPS!!!Built ins had doors kicked in from the inside??? and a brand new shower screen was cracked by someone passing out in the shower(heard from next door). Well thats what they said anyway.
Don’t worry, old tenant was paying $95.00/wk and now I get $145.00/wk and have great tenants. place cost me $95k. Trust your instincts and usually you get through it all.
DD[buz2][jerry]
Hey LifeX
You are Mr Cool [suave]
Glad it all worked out – thanks for the story [cap]
Liz Wilson
Mortgage Lender
DD,
I am surprised that your tenants who smoked marijuana would make all the holes in the walls! I know other drugs and certainly alcohol, can make people aggro, but pot smokers usually just sit, eat a lot and watch music TV… Glad you got dysfunctional tenants out and better ones in though [biggrin] By the way, what is bong cleaning fluid?? I thought peoiple just washed it in the washing up, like one might an ashtray.
LifeX- not sure if you were using a PM to look after that IP for you. Good reason to use an IP- so you don’t get caught up with other people’s dramas.
kay henry
We just purchased a house for my brother. The foundations are ‘eroding’ at one point. the previous owner ‘knew nothing’.
However, when my brothers were climbing around under the house they found a lovely hydroponic setup – complete with the screen door that used to be on the laundry – not sure where the wooden door went though – guess they didn’t need it as it was an outdoor laundry though……
I reckon if they smoked lots the bright pink bedroom wouldn’t have been too good for them [biggrin]
Cheers
MelOK OK, 2 months on, the saga continues.
Apparently the police have been to house many many times due to domestic violence situation with aforementioned tenants. (the landlord is never informed by police about such calls by the way, so leave your number with neighbours if you wan’t to keep your finger on the pulse)
Property is 2 hours from my place and i have been up and back 7 times this week between night shifts at work, dealing with police and sering immediate notices to vacate and can only say one thing with the last pant from my exhausted body……………[dunny]
DUE DILIGENCE CHECKS,
I did check references, but apparently there are police checks and other places to check tenants history….anyone know details?
lifexperience
Mel, strange this house had a bright pink bedroom too. I have had it painted a cool purple.
hmmm
lifexperience
Managed 1 place we owned once and once only. Pay the 10 bucks a week or whatever it costs, its worth it.
DD
Don’t sweat the small stuff,and it’s all small stuff!!
DD,
I am all for the idea of paying someone else to do work (ie: maintainance etc) so you can spend ya valuable time on bigger things.I am unable to use a PM at this stage as I am building a range of extra services for my tenants and can not leave such matters with a PM.
I agree though, if you just want to sit on the fence, have your tenants treated like 2nd class citizens and wait on clumsy rent collection techniques then YEAH get a PM.(granted there may be some exceptions to this generalization,,,, the good PMs, I have yet to deal with any )
I intend to get the most out of every property i can and build a large portfolio around extra service and well earned respect to tenants (who are the ones in the end who pay the $$$$).
Once i have a good system, THEN i will bring in people to take care of the system.
I just have to step up a notch in the meantime, I am not deterred by one incident.
[biggrin]
lifexperience
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