Hi Everyone,
I have just had word that my new tenant of 2 weeks is in default! The agent has served some sort of notice and says they can’t serve another one until Tuesday of next week.
Can anyone tell me what my rights are from here and what action I could take.
Also, for a friend wanting to sell, how long does one have to hold onto a property before selling it? She says in relation to stamp duty.
thanks everyone
Shelley
Hi S
It depends what state you are in, in SA for example, you can give tenats a form 2 if they have been in default for 14 days, you then have to give them 7 days to remedy the default (pay up). you have to give them this chance before further action is taken. If they do not pay up, the next step will be to give them a notice to leave.
In relation to your friend, you need to hold a house for a year to get a 50% discount on capital gains tax, if this is what you were refering to?
We buy properties in Adelaide. Immediate Cash Settlements, No Agent Fees.
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phone 0412 437 582Sorry Dr. X, I am in Queensland.
And…. if they don’t remedy the breach? How can I get them out to enable me to get another tenant?
Sorry everyone, just one more thing, the agent took the first week’s rent plus gst for their “letting fee”, but obviously I never received a cent because it went into default after that. Are they entitled to take their “letting fee” when it went into default before it even commenced.
Can you tell I am really having a bad day with both of my properties having troubles this week!!! There is always tommorrow.
How about Bond etc?
do you have LandLords Insurance?
Did your PM do a good job screening the tenants?
and Lastly..maybe the bond, letting fee etc pushed the tenants savings limit and after a week or two things will settle down?
Wasp
**************************************************Its not what you earn but what you do with what you earn
Bond, I guess they have to go through the usual process prior to me receiving the bond.
I think Landlord’s protection insurance only covers damage to the unit – I may be wrong.
I assume the agent did a good job of screening the tenant, she did get a written reference from the ex agent.
I just don’t know about the other i.e. that she is experiencing problems i don’t really care. I have just heard some absolute horror stories about tenants refusing to vacate etc. Will just have to wait and see. it is just a worry this early on in the peace.
Shelley
Your landlords policy should have aloss of rent provision so check that out immediately.
Yes in Qld she will need to wait 7 days before serving them the next notice. Hate to say it doesnt get any easier might want to check out the Qld RTA web site and have a look for yourself.
Cheers Richard
Ph: 07 3720 1888
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http://www.yourstatefinance.comSpecialising in US & IP finance.
Richard Taylor | Australia's leading private lender
Hi Shelley,
Sorry to hear of your troubles. Unfortunately, it sounds like you have to go at the pace of the PM you have. I do think though that some PMs need to be held more accountable for the tenants that they do put in. And if situations arise like yours where the tenants are in default from day one then the PM should forgo their letting fee at minimum.
I manage my own (personal choice) even doing that you really can’t pick the good/bad tenants. One lot I had came with excellent references but were permanently late with the rent. They were always apologetic and had reasons. After a short period of encouraging them to move on – in the nicest possible way [exhappy], they finally left owing 4 weeks rent and leaving about 4 weeks rent’s worth of damage. I took the bond in lieu of rent and put the repairs on the tax bill.
That one’s chalked up to experience. Current tenants are lovely and prepay each week – their preference.
I hope you’re soon over your hic-ups and things get back on an even keel.
Shelley,
It would be worth while finding out why your tenant is behind. An opportunity may then present itself to you. These may be excellent tenants who have an unusual situation whereby you can assist, then you may have a loyal tennant for years to come.
[biggrin]
Regards JakethemateHi Shelley,
I have several properties in NZ and have had this problem from time to time. One thing I have had to do to stop this recurring is to change property managers. It is not easy finding a good one, but when you do, they are worth their weight in gold.The PM in this case should take some responsability, after all, that is what you are paying a property manager for, so you don’t have to worry.
Another solution I have used is to let the tennants pay off their arrears by paying what they can afford on top of their normal rent. This is sometimes better than taking out eviction orders as you can lose all the rent owing.
There is a blacklist you can put the tennants on in this case to protect other landlords. Your PM should have checked this list. Ask them if they have and also ask them what action they are taking to rectify this situation asap.
Hope this helps.Grae1
after all, that is what you are paying a property manager for, so you don’t have to worry.I think this is where most of the trouble originates from. This is an unrealistic expectation placed on the PM by the Owner…I believe as their title is a complete misnomer, yet the Owner believes with that title the PM actually manages the property.
A PM will never relieve you of your responsibility for your property. If the going gets tough it’ll always end up right back in your lap, as we’ve seen on this forum in the past. Reading the PM agreement very carefully, usually one finds many ‘out’ clauses where the Owner is unable to pin the responsibility on the PM.
I believe the job title should be changed to caretaker or something less, not PM, which would ultimately not give the Owner the impression that they actually ‘manage’ your prop. This particularly applies to the typical 19 yr old front secretary who’s been with the organisation 6 months, never owned a property, never rented, yet has been sent on a 5 day course and is now a fully qualified Property Manager.
Just my experience.
Thanks everyone, will keep you posted on Monday as I am pretty much in the dark. I only received an email from the “caretaker” and that was that.
Well, I had one property where the tenant went into default on theri first payment of rent too. I served the relevant notice adn they paid some adn then had a story etc.
In the end they slowly got further and firther behind, so I’d say serve the notices adn if they don’t rectify the breach then follow through with the court hearing. Your PM, opps, sorry, your caretaker, can take care of all of this, jsut let them know that you defintley want to follow through if they don’t rectify and you don’t want to be lenient.
Yes, they can take the letting fee out of your rent, that’s normal.
It depends who your landlords insurance is with as to what it covers, if it doens’t cover loss of rent, then after your sort this tenant out, change to a policy that does.
Good luck.
PKDazz,
They really take a HUGE chunk out of your profits for someone who doesn’t have responsibilities.
Would you give 2 weeks rent and 10% to a “caretaker” and also allow them to rent it for under market value so that they can tick it off their list and move on with the next one!
Can you tell I’ve had alot of bad runs with PM’s?
We buy properties in Adelaide. Immediate Cash Settlements, No Agent Fees.
[email protected]
phone 0412 437 582Sorry to be so slo, but … what are you saying here:
Dr.X Posted – 07/11/2005 : 14:55:41Would you give 2 weeks rent and 10% to a “caretaker” and also allow them to rent it for under market value so that they can tick it off their list and move on with the next one!
I am keend to discover what you mean by this! As we are soon to take posession of an investment debt (first IP) this info couldbe of great benefit!
Cheers
C@34Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is to always try something one more time.
– Thomas EdisonNo I wouldn’t and no I don’t.
I too have had a really bad run with PM’s over the space of 4 or 5 years trying 6 different ‘highly reputable’ agencies. They are all made from the same cloth.
We now manage our own, and everything is now happy days….both from a management perspective and also receiving 100% of the rent.
We are however, about to embark on handing over our fully leased out ‘smaller sheds’ to a PM. We shall see how they go. The big sheds we’ll keep – nothing to do with larger tenants.
Heres my 2c
Tenants, when they default there can be only 2 outcomes:
1. If you can determine a special cause which makes sense. Such as maybe had an accident, or a child or had to attend to an emergency. AND if they pay up at same time of explanation. Keep them and watch them.
2. If you cannot find special cause, or if they fall behind a second time, evict them (follow the process to the letter). Its not nice, but I found being nice will only put you in more debt. Late tenants also have a tendency to destroy your property. So best to get them out any way you can.Agents:
I found the big ones that win all the awards are hopeless. They have too many on book and cant provide the attention to your needs.
The smaller ones are fantastic, but difficult to find as they are much less consistent. They will work hard on your property because the commission they make keeps them in business.Having said all that, I still get the occasional bad tenant and I still have to change agents from time to time. But I have my plan in place for when this occurs (no surprises)!
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