I’d like to tell you a story….a true but very sad story about one of my former tenants and the problems they have experienced at the hands of one of the worst property managers I have ever heard about.
About two and a half years ago I leased a brand new property in Tarneit to a middle aged couple who had relocated from Kalgoorlie to Melbourne for business reasons. During their tenancy, the rent was paid by direct debit and was never one day late over their two year tenancy; the property was maintained in an exemplary condition, both inside and out; and at the time of their vacating (they had to move back to WA for health reasons), you could not have believed that the home had been occupied; it was absolutely spotless!
I had occasion to contact the tenant this week with a general inquiry about the property they had been leasing and was told their property management experience in Perth was nothing like what they had experienced in Melbourne.
Upon returning to Perth, they eventually found a property that suited their needs. A two storey town house in an inner suburban area that was almost new. They were shown through the occupied property, told that the tenants were shortly vacating and as it met their needs, they completed all the relevant leasing documentation.
The date for the proposed commencement of tenancy passed and they were again told the tenants would be vacating shortly.
When they eventually were given occupation of the property, their first visit was a nightmare. All of the walls throughout the property (not some, all) had been either damaged or covered with graffiti, it was filthy throughout and filled with rubbish.
They immediately contacted their property manager who advised them, as they had taken the property and signed all of the documentation, there was nothing she could do about it. They were also given a blank Property Condition Report to complete themselves.
Devastated but determined, they returned to the property and commenced cleaning and scrubbing in an attempt to bring the property into some reasonable state. It was at this time the husband was told that he had to return to Melbourne for business and would be shuttling back and forth from Perth for the next several months.
Whilst her husband was in Melbourne, the wife awoke one morning to find a young man sitting in her lounge room. When asked what he was doing there, he said he was the tenant and had never given notice of leaving to the property manager and considered himself still the tenant. She asked for and was given his keys to the property but he said, “There are dozens of people out there with keys to this property.” Apparently, the property had been used for drug distribution in the area and this was reinforced by the number of late night visitors knocking on the door.
Again, the property manager was approached regarding the lack of security and again they were given the answer that they had completed the documentation and there was nothing that could be done about it.
You may well ask, “Why didn’t the tenants immediately contact Consumer Affairs and have their problem brought before the Court?”
The tenants had previously owned and lived in their home in Kalgoorlie for over twenty years and their only experience in the rental market was their two year tenancy in Tarneit through True Property Management. They are not confrontational or litigious; they believed what their property manager had told them.
I fully accept that the above situation is not unique but it does beg the question, “Why would the property manager not take action in what is such a blatant breach of the tenancy laws?”
The answer is simple.
· The property manager didn’t take action because such a botch of a job had been done managing the property; a fact that was to be kept from the owner at all costs.
· The problem was able to be put off and not discovered for a further twelve months.
· By then, as is the practice right across the country, the property manager will have left that company and the problem will become someone elses.
· And so the cycle continues….
My reason for telling you this story is to point out some of the possible perils to unfortunate investors.
Not all property managers are the same!
After managing large teams of property managers across the country for over twenty years I have come to the undeniable conclusion that unless the property manager is an integral part of the management company, they don’t have the best interests of their clients as top of mind. To the vast majority, property management is just a job; a job they can move on from when past problems they have been able to hide eventually start to catch up with them. There’s always an unsuspecting and disinterested real estate principal ready to employ them and get the property management monkey off their back.
Why would you pass the management of one of your most important assets into the hands of a person who has no interest, pecuniary or otherwise in its performance?
Not all property managers are the same!
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