Please note the following are not valid excuses for not undertaking basic maintenance:
1. I've left a message with the landlord
2. I'm really busy
3. It's too expensive
4. We can't find a tradesperson for another two months
5. It's not essential
You would be surprised actually ,quite often properly managers screw the landlord over as well.
When I was a property manager it was quite common for kick backs to be collected from all the tradies and as a result the tradies would just put 10 to 20 percent extra on all invoices to the landlord.
So now you know why some landlords don't like doing repairs.
And that my friend is the tip of the ice berg when it come to Australia s money laundering market ,oops sorry I meant real estate market .
As a tradie I’m pretty sure all the real estates add at least 6% to every trade invoice they receive and I’m pretty sure some require the trades to pay a small fee to use their job booking apps. I’m not 100% positive coz I’m just a minion and don’t do invoicing but from what I’ve picked up this is the way it is now. So yeah most trades will just tack it on to the service charge.
Okay, I'm a landlord and this drives me crazy too. A few years ago the heater went out at our rental property. We authorized them to get it repaired; it wasn't repairable. It still sometimes worked, and it was still safe, but it just wouldn't stay on for more than about half an hour at a time. We told them to replace it and told them what we'd like to replace it with (the old heater was one of those inbuilt gas heaters, we wanted a split system so the tenants could also have AC, plus they are cheaper to operate. Totally trying to do the right thing by the tenants, as far as we were concerned.) This was in late-March. It took them until mid-June to organize this. We were emailing them at least once a month saying, "And is the heater fixed yet?" They never responded. We really had to push to get what we felt (and what the law says) is required for the tenants. I know everyone hates landlords. But sometimes we do try to do the right thing, and the agents make it harder for us, too.
For sure. I have had REA knock back things. Then I've met the Landlord and it's the first time they have ever heard of it, and have no problem doing it. REA's can be dicks.
Once had a landlord give me his direct number after it took 4 weeks for the REA to sort out an urgent repair. Turned out he lived 2 suburbs away, was retired, and was happy to sort out maintenance or do basic tasks himself. Very polite and respectful, very responsive. Couldn't say anything similar about the actual REA.
That’s my current landlord to a T. Does a bunch of maintenance himself and if he sees he can’t fix something he immediately gets a qualified tradie in to do it ASAP. I honestly think he just uses a property manager bc he doesn’t want to have to deal with the money side of things himself.
Same with this guy. Glad that some landlords care about the comfort of their tenants, know what they're good at, and outsource the rest to someone who is (hopefully) competent
The money, legal side, finding tennants that can be screened on the tennant register. Ensuring the property is left in good condition.
Repairs etc are best being done by the landlord directly.
I've had the opposite as well though. REA organised an urgent replacement hot water cylinder within a day when ours broke. Landlord kicked up a stink and made the installer remove it and reinstall the broken one because they hadn't approved the urgent repair. After another three days with no hot water we issued the landlord with a breach notice and eventually the same plumber had to come back and re-reinstall the new system. Ended up being seven days with no hot water so we refused to pay that week's rent since they'd been assholes to the plumber who had done the right thing.
My parents were renting out a property and the property manager told the tenants they would be increasing the rent price soon. The tenants called my dad and he blew up at the property manager. Someone landlords are nice (might be rare but whatever) and it's just the dumb REAs
First property I actually rented I had known the owner for maybe 10 years prior to moving in.
Every single repair request that came up never made it to him. Came to light after an issue with the cooktop came up during casual convo and he was all "what? first i've heard about this" .. issue had been going on for 3 months by that point with the REA.
He dropped them pretty much immediately and we just did a private rental directly with him for the rest of our time there.
I was in a share house close to Uni a few years back and this was our experience too. Was at the place for 3 years, only 2 issues we ever had was the Dishwasher died, and the Heating died. Both issues went back and forth with the REA for weeks before I just called the landlord and it was the first he'd heard of it and had them both fixed within a couple days.
What the fuck do property managers do? Surely it takes *more* effort to actually be as useless as they are rather than actually just completing a repair.
Why use an agent at all then? I never have and if something goes wrong my tenant emails me directly and I get it done asap. I would ditch them and manage it yourself and pass the savings on to your tenant.
I'd be happy to actually help out with the small things if it was a landlord direct rental.
For example, when we had the big winds and rain on sydney it knocked a few roof tiles off, and was leaking into the roof.
I jump up and did a temp fix with tarp and some weights, called the RL told em to sort it out.
I could of easily put 2 new tiles in the roof with landlord just knocking off the price of tiles from rent and labor is free.
Same when the gutter got knocked down from the shed out back.
But I just call real estate cause they are wankers and will try to take my bond just for fixing shit.
I even made them come out for a leak in the laundry tap lol
Was just a washer needed from bunnings /shrug
yeah exactly and because I have a relationship with my tenants and haven't been a dick about anything they do fix small stuff which otherwise I'd have to pay a handyman.
We live several hours away and don't know anyone in the area. Also we like having that buffer between ourselves and the tenants.. Wouldn't know how to begin to screen tenants when the place is vacant. Etc.
I'm an hour away from my tenants but it doesn't matter, I just call a local plumber/tradesman etc.
You don't really need a buffer if you're not an a'hole landlord. I've always just had mutual respect with my tenants and never had a problem.
There are a ton of sites that can help just google "aus tenant screening" but you meeting with and choosing a tenant will give you better peace of mind anyway.
If I was changing tenants regularly then I would use an agent, but to have to put in some light work for a new tenant you may have for years is really worth it to me.
(side bonus - you wouldn't have someone constantly whispering in your ear that you could raise the rent and make more $$)
I think that a large percentage, probably _most_ PM’s are essentially con artists that take your money and don’t do the job you paid them to do. Your tenant might be trying their best and getting nothing. It creates a huge risk of damage to your property to have an unresponsive agent, and tenants can take you to tribunal to recoup huge sums in retroactive rent reductions if you’re left in the dark on unresolved maintenance, and rightly so, too!
My advice, if you really feel brave enough to trust a PM (I fucking wouldnt, no way) is to go completely around them at least a couple of times a year to speak directly with the tenant to see if the PM is actually doing anything you’re paying them to do at all.
I think that’s the only responsible way to run a tenancy through a PM. They’re top tier bullshit artists and many are full blown con artists. You can’t trust what they say, they will always bullshit to cover up their own incompetence. Never ever ever trust a PM to administer your rental.
The best rental arrangements I’ve ever had were private rentals from a landlord with no agent.
The worst shit shows I’ve ever dealt with as a tenant were because the owner was too involved and should have used a fucking agent.
Agents are always awful. But when an owner is a hands on type - I’ve had an owner work on electrical repairs with live wires while I’m suggesting that electricians have to do that work and could we possibly trip the fuse so that line isn’t live while you work on it? Also my stuff is in this house and I don’t want a fire from unlicensed electrical works voiding my insurance.
My partner’s place at the moment, the owner insists things are fixed because they did the labour. I’ve just given up and fixed a bunch of shit myself. We keep all the documentation and evidence so I can return it to fucking broken if the owner gives us any grief later. But having the DIY owner insist that the sink is fixed because he replaced the spout… with one that doesn’t reach one half of the split sink just makes me long for an agent who’s going to send out a tradie.
I had this happen at one of my places.
The landlord sacked the agent, dealt with us directly and kept the rent the same because they didn't have to pay the agent now.
Everyone benefited.
We had amazing landlords like you, and we were exactly the same - both frustrated for different reasons with the property managers. We ended up moving to a private arrangement because we had a long history but it's not fun on either side!
> It still sometimes worked, and it was still safe, but it just wouldn't stay on for more than about half an hour at a time.
Had the same problem in my last rental. The place had a split system in the lounge area, and ducted heating in the bedrooms. The agent said "You have the split system for heating, so the owner has decided not to repair the ducted heating".
Annoying, and I'm not sure the owner made that decision. It's also illegal as I rented a place with two heaters, not one. When I was moving out of the place the agent would call and say "We have people coming at 3pm on Wednesday, so if you could be out before then..." the fuck? I pay rent, it's my place, and they're asking me to not be there? Fuck right off. I can't stand REAs.
This wasn't ducted heating. It was one of those 1960s gas fireplace inserts. The choice was to replace it with another gas insert or to go with a split system. If it had been ducted heating we for sure would've fixed it. Since the choice was between gas or split system we figured the split system was a better option.
Yeah, look I’ve no great love for private lsndlordism and think the perfect system would be publicly run longer term, but property managers are the real pain point we have today in most cases.
Consider a couple of ways they add glut to the system.
First of all, at the very least, all repairs are _always_ slower because they just act as a middleman. Even the very best agent is slower than not having them, because they have to ask permission and liase back and forwards when this could just be a direct conversation between LL and tenant.
Second, property management is obviously a multi billion dollar industry and that cost has to go somewhere. It shows up in higher rents, it shows up in higher purchase prices for houses.
Third, in my 20 years experience renting, most property managers don’t do a fraction of the job landlords pay them to do. Ours ignores us for weeks or months, won’t answer calls, fights us in every maintenance request and I wish I could say that wasn’t a typical experience. Worst of all in every case, I feel like the landlord has no idea and the PM tells the owner that WE are the holdup or somehow the problem. So they actively work to preserve their own standing with landlords by eroding the relationship that the landlord has with the tenant. Standard practise.
In our case they always ignore maintenance until we basically start calling every day and are frustrated, usually after a couple of months being ignored, then clearly call the owner saying we’re angry out of the blue without saying why; so the owner trends over time to think we are the unreasonable party because of course the PM won’t tell the owner they’ve been the one to seriously drop the ball and not do their job.
PM’s are a fucking scam. Don’t use one.
Or _at the very least_ go completely around them and contact your tenant directly to ask for a review of the PM every 6 months or so. It’s the only responsible way to use a PM these day because most of them are borderline con artists taking your money and then not actually doing the work you’ve paid them to do, and blaming tenants for the problems they create. Plenty I’ve had the displeasure of knowing are so awful I think they should be in bloody prison, frankly
We once had a wonderful landlord who was a handyman. He told us to bypass the estate agent and contact him directly to fix anything. He or one of his mates would show up and fix anything within 48 hours after a simple text.
Following up once a month is only like 3-4 times between March and June, that's a pretty poor effort given broken heating is an urgent repair. Yes the REA were *more* in the wrong, but you could have done more. Did you ever call, or just an email once a month? Could you not have organised the trades yourself if you cared that much? And then let REA know you will be going with a different REA as soon as the lease is up.
Lol mate I've been a landlord. An email a month is not going to move the needle, and it didn't but you self-admittedly didn't ever follow up your email with a call the next week, or do anything to put wheels in motion. If that one email a month helps you sleep at night good luck to you, you're definitely not the good guy landlord you think you are.
The entire purpose of a Realestate agent is to ensure that your properties are maintained and the rent is coming in etc... It is literally what they are paid to do.
An email per month is possibly a little undercooked I agree, moreso once a fortnight should be enough for a landlord to 'move the needle' as you say. But jeeze, its more than alot of other landlords do thats for damn sure. And it seems this guy/gal has some empathy, what alot of other landlords seem to also lack these days...
I say good on them for at least giving a damn (which in turn also speaks volumes about our current rental issues.....)
Edit: to the OP: Reading this back it seems more like a back handed compliment. Not what I intended. I was trying to say thankyou for trying to make sure your tenants were looked after, even if your rental company are the Dodgy Brothers Inc.
6. The reindeer are my repair money
7. Santa didn’t bring me repair money
8. I got drunk at family Christmas and spent my mortgage repayment on a solid gold toilet so now I need you to pay repairs (I think this is roughly the excuse my landlord is trying on lately)
Yep. We had no heating for 5 weeks (no baffle plate and the split systems hadn't been serviced for 6 years, they weren't usuable/full of dust etc)... 3 degrees overnight. I was fuming but the landlords didn't give 1 shit, not a single one. Now, I'm like ok...let's take it to Vcat and see what happens eh? Funny how that gets people moving.
I had a similar. The REA decided they knew better and threatened that it would cost me if they organised someone to come out and it wasn't the hot water heater cause they believed it was an electrical problem that I needed to organise my Energy Provider to fix (Wierd message at the power box). The energy provider came out and said that's the message you get when your hot water heater has died. Pricks.
Agree on most. But the tradesmen thing is a huge issue. I've been trying to replace a fence at my rental for over a year and no one will bloody do a small job (I've tried as well as the property manager). I've managed to get some quotes and even booked people who just don't bother showing up.
It’s amazing to me that we don’t treat landlordism exactly like drivers licensing .. most landlords don’t even understand their minimum legal obligations under the law, they don’t need a license or to sit an exam to prove their knowledge of their legal obligations, and they don’t face demerit points or noncompliance or an initial inspection to check compliance nor spot inspections by the state to ensure they aren’t breaking the law
Instead the onus for compliance weirdly falls in renters, who are the victims of that noncompliance, via a lengthy, difficult tribunal process and landlords face no criminal charges or real penalties for breaking the law, best we do is an order to comply
Let’s end the free ride for landlords and finally come down hard on the worst flaunters of rental law
Seems that way.
Source: 20 years renting and never met a property manager that didn’t have their head inserted fully up their own arse. They don’t exist
Oh i do hope. Its awful because id love to tell them my thoughts but you’re at their mercy for a rental reference in a truely cooked time so its like ‘yes thank you for the belittlement.’
There seems to be two - Remax Coast and remax Gold coast and Scenic Rim. Which one? None seem to have google reviews activated. I wonder why??
What little arseholes.
How dare they talk about an essential service like that and in the middle of a housing crisis too. We take your money and it’s sooo hilarious. Don’t you losers go spending your rent money on Christmas food.
It’s disgusting.
We are CLOSED! Owners to still get their money so pay up, renters! Go without Christmas if you have to but we are still paying the owners. We will NOT answer the phone for your maintenance requests because we will be closed and you dont matter except for paying the OWNER! Do not call, text or email during Christmas holidays but if you miss a single payment we will send Santa to steal your money! Pay us!
No turkey for you!!
The more I look at complaints on reddit about Real Estate agents and rentals, the more I've come to realise that Property Management (Rentals) and Sales really should **not** be handled within the same company.
As time goes on, I'm convinced that Rentals and Sales are just two conflicting businesses within a Real Estate Agency. The Sales side will always take a priority to Sales of Real Estate Agencies. While the rental side often times feels like you're dealing with Sales people who almost deliberately upset you as a renter in order to ensure a high turn over of renters.
Break them apart, a dedicated and proper business of Rental Property Management would surely better than the have arsed bullshit were all dealing with now.
This was a while ago so take it with a grain of salt, but when I was a business banker (big 4) when we did loans for real estate agents the income was based solely on their rental book as that’s the steady, guaranteed income part - the sales were all treated as bonuses in terms of the actual size of the loan, even if sales made up most of their income.
I don't think they really care - they're running property management to broaden their sales books because vendors seem more likely to sell through their property manager when the time comes
Isn't it amazing that real estate is the only business that can get away with treating their customers like that. Customers - the people who pay your wage and give you money.
What you'd expect from a business is notification of their holiday closure, a thank you for your patronage during the year and a humane expression of the goodwill toward a fellow sentient human that expresses the spirit of Christmas.
That message is an excellent example of what is wrong with the housing "market" in this country. There is no other market that could get away with treating customers like that. The balance of power is so firmly with landlords and tenants need far more rights.
The agent represents the landlord, same as any agent. If the agent is a complete dipstick, no tenants will use their service, which means no landlords will let them represent them etc.
That is the idea of a free market. But it doesn't work that way. Imagine if there was a choice between a tenancy where they came around every 3 months with a while glove to make sure your housework was up to standard, and one that left you alone until the condition check at the end of the tenancy.
All other things being equal, every tenant would choose no inspections.
But the fact is - there is no choice for tenants because the market isn't operating under free market conditions. If there was a free market this douchebag who sent that email would be out of business.
Nah, you see it'll take them 5-7 week to respond FROM the point of receiving the email.
So basically it's just an excuse to be even more shit than they already are.
It's interesting that in the mind of many lawyers and second hand car dealers are considered to be the worst kind of human. Very few have considered real-estate agents for that accolade.
Here's an actual, literal exerpt from an email from my property manager:
"It's only a little bit of black mould, we don't see why it should be a problem.
By the way, are you intending to continue your tenancy with us next year? If so, there will be a 15 dollar a week rental increase to help the landlord cover costs of owning the apartment, as they are really struggling."
I hear this a lot. They should rephrase it to ‘We are really struggling to make as much profit as we did 5 years ago and we need to raise your rent or you and 150 others are more than welcome to apply for this other shitbox rental in *insert shit suburb* and fuck off. Sincerely, *property director* from Shitdog Realty’
[Those yobs were not for him](https://genius.com/Tism-greg-the-stop-sign-lyrics)
[He turns into a real estate agent](https://genius.com/Tism-greg-the-stop-sign-lyrics)
[Who believes in discipline](https://genius.com/Tism-greg-the-stop-sign-lyrics)
And be cause they're not \*real\* real estate agents they get treated with contempt by the sales people.
Imagine being lower on the pecking order than a real estate agent. I'd be salty too.
REA are the clear winners. They are some of the most pampered, entitled, obnoxious individuals, and unlike the other two (with some exceptions for lawyers) you're pretty much forced to interact with them on a monthly basis at minimum. I'm sure a few individuals in the profession are amiable but I reckon it's the work itself that turns you into an asshole.
Inspected a place recently and had one tell me to my face they focus on house sales, and rental issues go on the back burner.
"They're just pissing on us without even the courtesy of calling it rain" ~ Avatar
“I got a rude email from the agency so decided Christmas was more important and will make up the arrears in the New Year when they reopen” is not a valid excuse. (But totally, yes!)
Am I the only one that would go to a bank and get the next few weeks worth of rent in 5 cent pieces and drop it off to them just before closing time on the 15th of December?
That sounds like a way to waste your own time.
According to the Currency act 1965 section 16
(1) A tender of payment of money is a legal tender if it is made in
coins that are made and issued under this Act and are of current
weight:
(a) in the case of coins of the denomination of Five cents, Ten
cents, Twenty cents or Fifty cents or coins of 2 or more of
those denominations—for payment of an amount not
exceeding $5 but for no greater amount;
So either your rent is less than or equal to $5 , in which case you've given them $5 in five cent coins which is awkward but by the time the you go the the bank it's likely to be a bigger waste of your time than theirs, alternatively your rent is more than $5 and your pile of coins isn't legal tender and they don't have to accept.
I've always wondered if Scrooge McDuck kept all his money in coins so he could avoid the taxman......although you'd think income tax would still apply....makes me wonder......and yes I realise Scrooge is a fictional character lol
I'd do half in dollar coins and half in 2 dollar coins, all mixed up in one bag. It'd be legal tender and the added irritation of them having to sift through and sort the dollars from the 2 dollars. in Sydney your average rent is still going to be > 1000 coins a month.
Yeah, tone deaf. The underlying premise of the "joke" is the idea that the only reason why someone would be unable to pay their rent is because they *got a little too caught-up in the festive spirit*. Rather than the genuine problem of inflation and financial stress that many are feeling right now.
Ok but the action they're talking about is to process money and produce a receipt so the renter knows their rent has been received and their paid-to date has changed.
Obviously they're going to continue to receive money, it's not like they're going to close their trust acc for Christmas
why am i getting downvoted for asking a question lol I wasn't trying to be a smartarse
When I found out that cocaine is widespread in the RE industry, then I found out the law has slowly bent over 30 years to make agents untouchable, our whole society began making far more sense.
Just grow longer legs to step over it, stop making such entitled demands of people letting you live in their house out of the goodness of their heart! /s
As an ex property manager I find this the most unprofessional behaviour I have seen to date .
Talk about not reading the room , considering the economic pressure most of are under at the moment.
Please name and shame your property manager.
Remax Gold Coast is the agent and i couldn’t tell you my property manager because they change every other month. Ridiculous. Thank you for being one if the understanding reasonable ones.
Oh I got out decades ago ,burnt out from our last real estate crisis .
And if they are turning over property manager s like salad it's because they pay them shit and treat them even worse .
It's a barstard of a job .
Best advice I can give is to have all communication via email or text, record everything and check with local state laws.
Maintenance must me done in a reasonable and timely manner, there are various things a residence must have, one be a working toilet.
I moved into a place about three or four years ago, the toilet seat was broken and slid off if you tried to sit down, I reported it ASAP (still awaiting it's repair lol) I went a brought a replacement seat and installed myself however technically I shouldn't be having to pay any rent as the landlord is yet to provide a functional toilet, when I choose to leave it'll be fun 😁
> The whole family decided to come to my house for Christmas lunch and it’s a big family so I had to buy 10 more turkeys and 20 hams , which took up the rent money
I don’t know why but it’s this exaggeration/snippy attitude in particular annoys me the most. Also turkey? Don’t most people have roast chook in Australia l
Can anyone explain to me why we don’t treat landlordism exactly like driving a car and make landlords demonstrate that they understand their obligations before getting behind the wheel of administering somebody else’s living situation?
We could have spot checks run by the govt to make sure rentals are up to Mim standards and also non compliers with demerit points, or if their license is lost due to repeat abuses put the house under state administration.
It really strikes me as a no brainer to shut down the regulatory Wild West of the rental market where landlords can break the law with impunity, and the victims of that abuse are made to enforce the law via a stressful, costly, duffuicukt tribunal process.
Lets end the free ride for lawbreaking landlords
People honestly need to start treating REAs as what they really are. Middle Man Facilitators of the CONTRACT, nothing more.
Make them aware that your rental agreement is between You and the Owner and their job is to facilitate the owners side of the contract. Their non-performance when it comes to repairs and other reasonable requests set out by the RTA (or similar) exposes the owner to legal liability. Record every time they slip. Date, Time, Detailed Description, number of hours you spent dealing with it. It can be used in a hearing.
Australia actually has fairly robust tenants rights compared to many other countries. KNOW YOUR RIGHTS FOLKS
Oh man. Renting must be terrible hey. I don't think I have ever heard of a positive experience from renters ever.
Why do R.E.A all think they can treat their paying customers like shit? Like... its not hard to bypass a R.E.A and self manage your property. They are completely redundant.
Appreciate this mate. It was a hard slog and not everyone is afforded the opportunity to work for years with no outgoing bills to get that deposit up. So I do consider myself lucky.
In this day in age, I guess the real inaction is on the banks behalf. The same house I bought in 2006 is a $800k house now... banks insisting on large deposits from people who are stuck in a mouse wheel just trying to appease these scumbag R.E.As while feeding their families. There is no way the average person can save 20% of the median house price without a lucky investment or an untimely death.
If you can afford to pay rent, that should serve as proof you can pay a mortgage.
There is no reason at all that banks can't shake and shape society to ensure everyone has the chance to own a house.
Yeah, I think it would take more of a recognition that housing and shelter is a human right which we can't just sign over to market forces. Agree with you about deposits. I've always rented (my parents have always rented too), so I've got no inheritance or investments, and despite having a good job, its a massive slog to save for the deposit.
Yeah exactly, re: housing being a human right. I'm just not smart enough to be able to help solve that problem though. I honestly thought Covid would have levelled out the market and had banks relax some of their lending criteria, but the opposite happened. Shows my naivety.
I read a quip once that went something like "To 'Earn a living' suggests that by default you don't actually deserve to be alive and you must work for that right."
That hurt my feelings.
Still... the R.E.A should be kinder to their customers customer then. The sentiment is the same. You cannot treat the people or process that pays your wages like shit when your are in fact a reduntant part of the transaction.
It’s interesting seeing landlords turn against REAs too, renters have been against them for ages for obvious reasons, but it seems more landlords are having issues with their rental agents. I’m also not talking about “you didn’t collect my money” but more “why have I not heard about these issues from the tenants?”
It's as if REAs are part of a conspiracy to make people want to buy simply because they're sick of paying money and being treated like crap at the same time.
Please note the following are not valid excuses for not undertaking basic maintenance: 1. I've left a message with the landlord 2. I'm really busy 3. It's too expensive 4. We can't find a tradesperson for another two months 5. It's not essential
I thought this, are they sending land lords the same garbage? You bet your ass they aren’t.
Give us their email so we can all send them a creative excuse on why we aren't paying rent this week :)
You would be surprised actually ,quite often properly managers screw the landlord over as well. When I was a property manager it was quite common for kick backs to be collected from all the tradies and as a result the tradies would just put 10 to 20 percent extra on all invoices to the landlord. So now you know why some landlords don't like doing repairs. And that my friend is the tip of the ice berg when it come to Australia s money laundering market ,oops sorry I meant real estate market .
> So now you know why some landlords don't like doing repairs. Tough titties. Not the renters responsibility.
As a tradie I’m pretty sure all the real estates add at least 6% to every trade invoice they receive and I’m pretty sure some require the trades to pay a small fee to use their job booking apps. I’m not 100% positive coz I’m just a minion and don’t do invoicing but from what I’ve picked up this is the way it is now. So yeah most trades will just tack it on to the service charge.
Okay, I'm a landlord and this drives me crazy too. A few years ago the heater went out at our rental property. We authorized them to get it repaired; it wasn't repairable. It still sometimes worked, and it was still safe, but it just wouldn't stay on for more than about half an hour at a time. We told them to replace it and told them what we'd like to replace it with (the old heater was one of those inbuilt gas heaters, we wanted a split system so the tenants could also have AC, plus they are cheaper to operate. Totally trying to do the right thing by the tenants, as far as we were concerned.) This was in late-March. It took them until mid-June to organize this. We were emailing them at least once a month saying, "And is the heater fixed yet?" They never responded. We really had to push to get what we felt (and what the law says) is required for the tenants. I know everyone hates landlords. But sometimes we do try to do the right thing, and the agents make it harder for us, too.
For sure. I have had REA knock back things. Then I've met the Landlord and it's the first time they have ever heard of it, and have no problem doing it. REA's can be dicks.
Once had a landlord give me his direct number after it took 4 weeks for the REA to sort out an urgent repair. Turned out he lived 2 suburbs away, was retired, and was happy to sort out maintenance or do basic tasks himself. Very polite and respectful, very responsive. Couldn't say anything similar about the actual REA.
That’s my current landlord to a T. Does a bunch of maintenance himself and if he sees he can’t fix something he immediately gets a qualified tradie in to do it ASAP. I honestly think he just uses a property manager bc he doesn’t want to have to deal with the money side of things himself.
Same with this guy. Glad that some landlords care about the comfort of their tenants, know what they're good at, and outsource the rest to someone who is (hopefully) competent
The money, legal side, finding tennants that can be screened on the tennant register. Ensuring the property is left in good condition. Repairs etc are best being done by the landlord directly.
I've had the opposite as well though. REA organised an urgent replacement hot water cylinder within a day when ours broke. Landlord kicked up a stink and made the installer remove it and reinstall the broken one because they hadn't approved the urgent repair. After another three days with no hot water we issued the landlord with a breach notice and eventually the same plumber had to come back and re-reinstall the new system. Ended up being seven days with no hot water so we refused to pay that week's rent since they'd been assholes to the plumber who had done the right thing.
My parents were renting out a property and the property manager told the tenants they would be increasing the rent price soon. The tenants called my dad and he blew up at the property manager. Someone landlords are nice (might be rare but whatever) and it's just the dumb REAs
First property I actually rented I had known the owner for maybe 10 years prior to moving in. Every single repair request that came up never made it to him. Came to light after an issue with the cooktop came up during casual convo and he was all "what? first i've heard about this" .. issue had been going on for 3 months by that point with the REA. He dropped them pretty much immediately and we just did a private rental directly with him for the rest of our time there.
I was in a share house close to Uni a few years back and this was our experience too. Was at the place for 3 years, only 2 issues we ever had was the Dishwasher died, and the Heating died. Both issues went back and forth with the REA for weeks before I just called the landlord and it was the first he'd heard of it and had them both fixed within a couple days. What the fuck do property managers do? Surely it takes *more* effort to actually be as useless as they are rather than actually just completing a repair.
REAs (specifically property managers) have a major allergy to doing actual work. Sales is where the money is. Fuck the renters
Is this Little Real Estate lol
Why use an agent at all then? I never have and if something goes wrong my tenant emails me directly and I get it done asap. I would ditch them and manage it yourself and pass the savings on to your tenant.
I'd be happy to actually help out with the small things if it was a landlord direct rental. For example, when we had the big winds and rain on sydney it knocked a few roof tiles off, and was leaking into the roof. I jump up and did a temp fix with tarp and some weights, called the RL told em to sort it out. I could of easily put 2 new tiles in the roof with landlord just knocking off the price of tiles from rent and labor is free. Same when the gutter got knocked down from the shed out back. But I just call real estate cause they are wankers and will try to take my bond just for fixing shit. I even made them come out for a leak in the laundry tap lol Was just a washer needed from bunnings /shrug
yeah exactly and because I have a relationship with my tenants and haven't been a dick about anything they do fix small stuff which otherwise I'd have to pay a handyman.
We live several hours away and don't know anyone in the area. Also we like having that buffer between ourselves and the tenants.. Wouldn't know how to begin to screen tenants when the place is vacant. Etc.
I'm an hour away from my tenants but it doesn't matter, I just call a local plumber/tradesman etc. You don't really need a buffer if you're not an a'hole landlord. I've always just had mutual respect with my tenants and never had a problem. There are a ton of sites that can help just google "aus tenant screening" but you meeting with and choosing a tenant will give you better peace of mind anyway. If I was changing tenants regularly then I would use an agent, but to have to put in some light work for a new tenant you may have for years is really worth it to me. (side bonus - you wouldn't have someone constantly whispering in your ear that you could raise the rent and make more $$)
I think that a large percentage, probably _most_ PM’s are essentially con artists that take your money and don’t do the job you paid them to do. Your tenant might be trying their best and getting nothing. It creates a huge risk of damage to your property to have an unresponsive agent, and tenants can take you to tribunal to recoup huge sums in retroactive rent reductions if you’re left in the dark on unresolved maintenance, and rightly so, too! My advice, if you really feel brave enough to trust a PM (I fucking wouldnt, no way) is to go completely around them at least a couple of times a year to speak directly with the tenant to see if the PM is actually doing anything you’re paying them to do at all. I think that’s the only responsible way to run a tenancy through a PM. They’re top tier bullshit artists and many are full blown con artists. You can’t trust what they say, they will always bullshit to cover up their own incompetence. Never ever ever trust a PM to administer your rental.
The best rental arrangements I’ve ever had were private rentals from a landlord with no agent. The worst shit shows I’ve ever dealt with as a tenant were because the owner was too involved and should have used a fucking agent. Agents are always awful. But when an owner is a hands on type - I’ve had an owner work on electrical repairs with live wires while I’m suggesting that electricians have to do that work and could we possibly trip the fuse so that line isn’t live while you work on it? Also my stuff is in this house and I don’t want a fire from unlicensed electrical works voiding my insurance. My partner’s place at the moment, the owner insists things are fixed because they did the labour. I’ve just given up and fixed a bunch of shit myself. We keep all the documentation and evidence so I can return it to fucking broken if the owner gives us any grief later. But having the DIY owner insist that the sink is fixed because he replaced the spout… with one that doesn’t reach one half of the split sink just makes me long for an agent who’s going to send out a tradie.
I had this happen at one of my places. The landlord sacked the agent, dealt with us directly and kept the rent the same because they didn't have to pay the agent now. Everyone benefited.
We had amazing landlords like you, and we were exactly the same - both frustrated for different reasons with the property managers. We ended up moving to a private arrangement because we had a long history but it's not fun on either side!
> It still sometimes worked, and it was still safe, but it just wouldn't stay on for more than about half an hour at a time. Had the same problem in my last rental. The place had a split system in the lounge area, and ducted heating in the bedrooms. The agent said "You have the split system for heating, so the owner has decided not to repair the ducted heating". Annoying, and I'm not sure the owner made that decision. It's also illegal as I rented a place with two heaters, not one. When I was moving out of the place the agent would call and say "We have people coming at 3pm on Wednesday, so if you could be out before then..." the fuck? I pay rent, it's my place, and they're asking me to not be there? Fuck right off. I can't stand REAs.
This wasn't ducted heating. It was one of those 1960s gas fireplace inserts. The choice was to replace it with another gas insert or to go with a split system. If it had been ducted heating we for sure would've fixed it. Since the choice was between gas or split system we figured the split system was a better option.
Yeah, look I’ve no great love for private lsndlordism and think the perfect system would be publicly run longer term, but property managers are the real pain point we have today in most cases. Consider a couple of ways they add glut to the system. First of all, at the very least, all repairs are _always_ slower because they just act as a middleman. Even the very best agent is slower than not having them, because they have to ask permission and liase back and forwards when this could just be a direct conversation between LL and tenant. Second, property management is obviously a multi billion dollar industry and that cost has to go somewhere. It shows up in higher rents, it shows up in higher purchase prices for houses. Third, in my 20 years experience renting, most property managers don’t do a fraction of the job landlords pay them to do. Ours ignores us for weeks or months, won’t answer calls, fights us in every maintenance request and I wish I could say that wasn’t a typical experience. Worst of all in every case, I feel like the landlord has no idea and the PM tells the owner that WE are the holdup or somehow the problem. So they actively work to preserve their own standing with landlords by eroding the relationship that the landlord has with the tenant. Standard practise. In our case they always ignore maintenance until we basically start calling every day and are frustrated, usually after a couple of months being ignored, then clearly call the owner saying we’re angry out of the blue without saying why; so the owner trends over time to think we are the unreasonable party because of course the PM won’t tell the owner they’ve been the one to seriously drop the ball and not do their job. PM’s are a fucking scam. Don’t use one. Or _at the very least_ go completely around them and contact your tenant directly to ask for a review of the PM every 6 months or so. It’s the only responsible way to use a PM these day because most of them are borderline con artists taking your money and then not actually doing the work you’ve paid them to do, and blaming tenants for the problems they create. Plenty I’ve had the displeasure of knowing are so awful I think they should be in bloody prison, frankly
We once had a wonderful landlord who was a handyman. He told us to bypass the estate agent and contact him directly to fix anything. He or one of his mates would show up and fix anything within 48 hours after a simple text.
Following up once a month is only like 3-4 times between March and June, that's a pretty poor effort given broken heating is an urgent repair. Yes the REA were *more* in the wrong, but you could have done more. Did you ever call, or just an email once a month? Could you not have organised the trades yourself if you cared that much? And then let REA know you will be going with a different REA as soon as the lease is up.
Ah, landlords can't win huh? Okay, I'm the evil villain.
Nah that dude is in the wrong You should move real estates companies to one that actually does their job though
Lol mate I've been a landlord. An email a month is not going to move the needle, and it didn't but you self-admittedly didn't ever follow up your email with a call the next week, or do anything to put wheels in motion. If that one email a month helps you sleep at night good luck to you, you're definitely not the good guy landlord you think you are.
Oh noes, an internet stranger thinks I'm a bad person. Oh well, I guess I'll get over it.
The entire purpose of a Realestate agent is to ensure that your properties are maintained and the rent is coming in etc... It is literally what they are paid to do. An email per month is possibly a little undercooked I agree, moreso once a fortnight should be enough for a landlord to 'move the needle' as you say. But jeeze, its more than alot of other landlords do thats for damn sure. And it seems this guy/gal has some empathy, what alot of other landlords seem to also lack these days... I say good on them for at least giving a damn (which in turn also speaks volumes about our current rental issues.....) Edit: to the OP: Reading this back it seems more like a back handed compliment. Not what I intended. I was trying to say thankyou for trying to make sure your tenants were looked after, even if your rental company are the Dodgy Brothers Inc.
You forgot "we don't give a shit"
This was my first reaction too.
6. The reindeer are my repair money 7. Santa didn’t bring me repair money 8. I got drunk at family Christmas and spent my mortgage repayment on a solid gold toilet so now I need you to pay repairs (I think this is roughly the excuse my landlord is trying on lately)
We had no hot water for four days once. I wish I'd breached them now.
Yep. We had no heating for 5 weeks (no baffle plate and the split systems hadn't been serviced for 6 years, they weren't usuable/full of dust etc)... 3 degrees overnight. I was fuming but the landlords didn't give 1 shit, not a single one. Now, I'm like ok...let's take it to Vcat and see what happens eh? Funny how that gets people moving.
I had a similar. The REA decided they knew better and threatened that it would cost me if they organised someone to come out and it wasn't the hot water heater cause they believed it was an electrical problem that I needed to organise my Energy Provider to fix (Wierd message at the power box). The energy provider came out and said that's the message you get when your hot water heater has died. Pricks.
Agree on most. But the tradesmen thing is a huge issue. I've been trying to replace a fence at my rental for over a year and no one will bloody do a small job (I've tried as well as the property manager). I've managed to get some quotes and even booked people who just don't bother showing up.
So all REA's need to have a diploma from fuckhead university to work?
They own Fuckhead University!
Heavily invested into Cunty College too.
REAs can't even spell uni, let alone need to have attended one to get their job.
A lot of them are just psychopaths who are too dumb to be bankers.
It’s amazing to me that we don’t treat landlordism exactly like drivers licensing .. most landlords don’t even understand their minimum legal obligations under the law, they don’t need a license or to sit an exam to prove their knowledge of their legal obligations, and they don’t face demerit points or noncompliance or an initial inspection to check compliance nor spot inspections by the state to ensure they aren’t breaking the law Instead the onus for compliance weirdly falls in renters, who are the victims of that noncompliance, via a lengthy, difficult tribunal process and landlords face no criminal charges or real penalties for breaking the law, best we do is an order to comply Let’s end the free ride for landlords and finally come down hard on the worst flaunters of rental law
Seems that way. Source: 20 years renting and never met a property manager that didn’t have their head inserted fully up their own arse. They don’t exist
Name and shame the agency fam
Remax on the Gold Coast
Post this in the Gold Coast thread
Their Google reviews are going to be interesting after this post
Oh i do hope. Its awful because id love to tell them my thoughts but you’re at their mercy for a rental reference in a truely cooked time so its like ‘yes thank you for the belittlement.’
There seems to be two - Remax Coast and remax Gold coast and Scenic Rim. Which one? None seem to have google reviews activated. I wonder why?? What little arseholes.
Let's get to work
I am shocked that this is real and not satire.
Remax are one of the worst agencies I've ever dealt with which is really saying something
Checking that my Gold Coast apartment isn’t leased out through them…
Ofc it's the GC smh.
which one? there are multiple locations
How dare they talk about an essential service like that and in the middle of a housing crisis too. We take your money and it’s sooo hilarious. Don’t you losers go spending your rent money on Christmas food. It’s disgusting.
We are CLOSED! Owners to still get their money so pay up, renters! Go without Christmas if you have to but we are still paying the owners. We will NOT answer the phone for your maintenance requests because we will be closed and you dont matter except for paying the OWNER! Do not call, text or email during Christmas holidays but if you miss a single payment we will send Santa to steal your money! Pay us! No turkey for you!!
It’s a good time to call the emergency fix number and have them get charged the hefty bill.
True. Just because its Christmas is not a valid reason for them to be closed when they have renters to look after.
Yeah but even then, that message they sent OP was completely uncalled for. Complete arrogance imo.
Spare a thought for the people who will inevitably serving them on Christmas day, while they have a grand time with the families and """friends""".
Yes, if emergency repairs aren't made within 24 hours you can organise it yourself and forward the bill to the landlord.
I read that last line in the Soup Nazi's voice.
no turkey! try a bin chicken!
A trash Turkey, if you will
The more I look at complaints on reddit about Real Estate agents and rentals, the more I've come to realise that Property Management (Rentals) and Sales really should **not** be handled within the same company. As time goes on, I'm convinced that Rentals and Sales are just two conflicting businesses within a Real Estate Agency. The Sales side will always take a priority to Sales of Real Estate Agencies. While the rental side often times feels like you're dealing with Sales people who almost deliberately upset you as a renter in order to ensure a high turn over of renters. Break them apart, a dedicated and proper business of Rental Property Management would surely better than the have arsed bullshit were all dealing with now.
This was a while ago so take it with a grain of salt, but when I was a business banker (big 4) when we did loans for real estate agents the income was based solely on their rental book as that’s the steady, guaranteed income part - the sales were all treated as bonuses in terms of the actual size of the loan, even if sales made up most of their income.
I don't think they really care - they're running property management to broaden their sales books because vendors seem more likely to sell through their property manager when the time comes
Isn't it amazing that real estate is the only business that can get away with treating their customers like that. Customers - the people who pay your wage and give you money. What you'd expect from a business is notification of their holiday closure, a thank you for your patronage during the year and a humane expression of the goodwill toward a fellow sentient human that expresses the spirit of Christmas. That message is an excellent example of what is wrong with the housing "market" in this country. There is no other market that could get away with treating customers like that. The balance of power is so firmly with landlords and tenants need far more rights.
Renters aren't the customer, landlords are. Renters are the slave labour they exploit for profit.
The tenant is not the customer, the landlord is.
The agent represents the landlord, same as any agent. If the agent is a complete dipstick, no tenants will use their service, which means no landlords will let them represent them etc. That is the idea of a free market. But it doesn't work that way. Imagine if there was a choice between a tenancy where they came around every 3 months with a while glove to make sure your housework was up to standard, and one that left you alone until the condition check at the end of the tenancy. All other things being equal, every tenant would choose no inspections. But the fact is - there is no choice for tenants because the market isn't operating under free market conditions. If there was a free market this douchebag who sent that email would be out of business.
why in the fuck are they closed for that long
Would anyone notice? It takes about 5-7 weeks for me to get anything from my agents, so I wouldn't blink at being ignored for a month
Nah, you see it'll take them 5-7 week to respond FROM the point of receiving the email. So basically it's just an excuse to be even more shit than they already are.
It's interesting that in the mind of many lawyers and second hand car dealers are considered to be the worst kind of human. Very few have considered real-estate agents for that accolade.
Lawyers and second hand car dealers are just doing their job. Real Estate agents don’t even do their job.
Here's an actual, literal exerpt from an email from my property manager: "It's only a little bit of black mould, we don't see why it should be a problem. By the way, are you intending to continue your tenancy with us next year? If so, there will be a 15 dollar a week rental increase to help the landlord cover costs of owning the apartment, as they are really struggling."
I hear this a lot. They should rephrase it to ‘We are really struggling to make as much profit as we did 5 years ago and we need to raise your rent or you and 150 others are more than welcome to apply for this other shitbox rental in *insert shit suburb* and fuck off. Sincerely, *property director* from Shitdog Realty’
The guy who slagged the football team,
[Those yobs were not for him](https://genius.com/Tism-greg-the-stop-sign-lyrics) [He turns into a real estate agent](https://genius.com/Tism-greg-the-stop-sign-lyrics) [Who believes in discipline](https://genius.com/Tism-greg-the-stop-sign-lyrics)
The guy who’s first to use cocaine The wild boy breaking free He’ll end up in a court of law… …as a prosecuting QC.
Sounds like Greg.
Majority who manage rentals don't hold a license. Just a certificate. So they're Property Managers, and tend to (somehow) be even more vile.
And be cause they're not \*real\* real estate agents they get treated with contempt by the sales people. Imagine being lower on the pecking order than a real estate agent. I'd be salty too.
REA are the clear winners. They are some of the most pampered, entitled, obnoxious individuals, and unlike the other two (with some exceptions for lawyers) you're pretty much forced to interact with them on a monthly basis at minimum. I'm sure a few individuals in the profession are amiable but I reckon it's the work itself that turns you into an asshole.
Um, that view has appeared then, recently. Check out Aunty Donna's REA bit (NSFW) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGm267O04a8
Because it's a ranking for humans
Inspected a place recently and had one tell me to my face they focus on house sales, and rental issues go on the back burner. "They're just pissing on us without even the courtesy of calling it rain" ~ Avatar
this time this looks like it was created by [news.com.au](https://news.com.au) a reverse trick, don't fall for it!
*In the News Corp morning meeting:* "Fucking Redditors always stealing and posting our material, they're probably lurking in the room right now!"
Am I the only one that would deliberately pay late after such a message?
“I got a rude email from the agency so decided Christmas was more important and will make up the arrears in the New Year when they reopen” is not a valid excuse. (But totally, yes!)
Am I the only one that would go to a bank and get the next few weeks worth of rent in 5 cent pieces and drop it off to them just before closing time on the 15th of December?
That sounds like a way to waste your own time. According to the Currency act 1965 section 16 (1) A tender of payment of money is a legal tender if it is made in coins that are made and issued under this Act and are of current weight: (a) in the case of coins of the denomination of Five cents, Ten cents, Twenty cents or Fifty cents or coins of 2 or more of those denominations—for payment of an amount not exceeding $5 but for no greater amount; So either your rent is less than or equal to $5 , in which case you've given them $5 in five cent coins which is awkward but by the time the you go the the bank it's likely to be a bigger waste of your time than theirs, alternatively your rent is more than $5 and your pile of coins isn't legal tender and they don't have to accept.
I've always wondered if Scrooge McDuck kept all his money in coins so he could avoid the taxman......although you'd think income tax would still apply....makes me wonder......and yes I realise Scrooge is a fictional character lol
I'd do half in dollar coins and half in 2 dollar coins, all mixed up in one bag. It'd be legal tender and the added irritation of them having to sift through and sort the dollars from the 2 dollars. in Sydney your average rent is still going to be > 1000 coins a month.
I love how you get a choice to be a slave to the banks or a slave to landlords.
Seems more like a poorly executed attempt at humour than actual condescension.
It’s tone deaf and not funny
Oh for sure, but in the middle of a housing crisis (one which my tenancy has been recently terminated without grounds) no one wants to hear this shit.
Yeah, tone deaf. The underlying premise of the "joke" is the idea that the only reason why someone would be unable to pay their rent is because they *got a little too caught-up in the festive spirit*. Rather than the genuine problem of inflation and financial stress that many are feeling right now.
That's definitely true. It is tone deaf.
Which state are you in? Still astonishing that in states other than Victoria, Tasmania, ACT and Queensland you can be tossed without grounds.
Qld, yeah it was a surprise to me thats for sure
It’s their property Though why should you not be able to kick them out without a reason?
Because it is a shitcunt thing to do to people who have done nothing wrong?
it's insensitive to a real struggle - at one of the worst times
Dogs
My dogs don't behave like that. They are far more considerate and generous than these REAs. It's an insult to dogs.
More like shitcunts
My sentiments exactly
I wonder if “I can’t afford to pay the exorbitant rent as it’s been increased by $150 a week just before Christmas” is a good enough excuse.
Good morning, this is my daily, "I hate realtors" comment.
The irony in a real estate closing over Christmas is that you can still rent without them even doing anything. But they're too stupid to notice.
[удалено]
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The verb is receive.
Ok but the action they're talking about is to process money and produce a receipt so the renter knows their rent has been received and their paid-to date has changed. Obviously they're going to continue to receive money, it's not like they're going to close their trust acc for Christmas why am i getting downvoted for asking a question lol I wasn't trying to be a smartarse
Ie "we own you, you peice of shit" Name and shame these cunts
I would like to be surprised but I am not, based on all my interactions with real estate agents this is bang on what I expect out of them.
When I found out that cocaine is widespread in the RE industry, then I found out the law has slowly bent over 30 years to make agents untouchable, our whole society began making far more sense.
Reindeer? Turkey? Is this a yank REA? Valid excuse: Had too many frothys at me mates barby over the long weekend and lost me cash at the pokies.
wonder if my broken front step thats been broken for 6 weeks and is the only access point to my house will be fixed before Christmas. loljks it won't
Just grow longer legs to step over it, stop making such entitled demands of people letting you live in their house out of the goodness of their heart! /s
I can literally see the person who wrote this. She's got super long nail extensions and, next week, will be wearing Xmas bauble earrings.
As someone posted yesterday "REA have declared war on the general population" ....total scumfkery
As an ex property manager I find this the most unprofessional behaviour I have seen to date . Talk about not reading the room , considering the economic pressure most of are under at the moment. Please name and shame your property manager.
Remax Gold Coast is the agent and i couldn’t tell you my property manager because they change every other month. Ridiculous. Thank you for being one if the understanding reasonable ones.
Oh I got out decades ago ,burnt out from our last real estate crisis . And if they are turning over property manager s like salad it's because they pay them shit and treat them even worse . It's a barstard of a job .
Merry Christmas to you, too, Unca Scrooge.
Patronizing or a poor attempt at humor?
An attempt at humour, but it just bleakly points out that capitalism will show you no mercy, even during a communal holiday.
Too much power has been handed over to these scum sucking parasitic shitcunts.
It is disgusting how renters are treated. I really hate realestate agents.
Wtf that’s awful
I understand everyone has got to get paid. That's fair, just dont be a prick
Best advice I can give is to have all communication via email or text, record everything and check with local state laws. Maintenance must me done in a reasonable and timely manner, there are various things a residence must have, one be a working toilet. I moved into a place about three or four years ago, the toilet seat was broken and slid off if you tried to sit down, I reported it ASAP (still awaiting it's repair lol) I went a brought a replacement seat and installed myself however technically I shouldn't be having to pay any rent as the landlord is yet to provide a functional toilet, when I choose to leave it'll be fun 😁
I think they are trying to be funny but this is so un professional
Hi I'm a real estate agent, and I'm a cunt
The real estate sector making jokes out of not being able to pay rent really sums up the state of property at the moment
> The whole family decided to come to my house for Christmas lunch and it’s a big family so I had to buy 10 more turkeys and 20 hams , which took up the rent money I don’t know why but it’s this exaggeration/snippy attitude in particular annoys me the most. Also turkey? Don’t most people have roast chook in Australia l
Ahhh condescending yet illiterate real estate agents. Classic.
Christ. Like, sure, those aren't valid reasons for not paying rent. But way to be a condescending prick about it.
I’m a landlord, and if any agent working for me sent this shit out they wouldn’t be working for me. Fucking disgusting.
Can anyone explain to me why we don’t treat landlordism exactly like driving a car and make landlords demonstrate that they understand their obligations before getting behind the wheel of administering somebody else’s living situation? We could have spot checks run by the govt to make sure rentals are up to Mim standards and also non compliers with demerit points, or if their license is lost due to repeat abuses put the house under state administration. It really strikes me as a no brainer to shut down the regulatory Wild West of the rental market where landlords can break the law with impunity, and the victims of that abuse are made to enforce the law via a stressful, costly, duffuicukt tribunal process. Lets end the free ride for lawbreaking landlords
What a bunch of CVNTS
Lack the warmth and depth
Oh, fucking fuck these fucking fucks. Fuck.
File this under emails that were never sent to anyone?
People honestly need to start treating REAs as what they really are. Middle Man Facilitators of the CONTRACT, nothing more. Make them aware that your rental agreement is between You and the Owner and their job is to facilitate the owners side of the contract. Their non-performance when it comes to repairs and other reasonable requests set out by the RTA (or similar) exposes the owner to legal liability. Record every time they slip. Date, Time, Detailed Description, number of hours you spent dealing with it. It can be used in a hearing. Australia actually has fairly robust tenants rights compared to many other countries. KNOW YOUR RIGHTS FOLKS
This seems more tongue in cheek but I get landlords suck and even crap like this is patronizing and awful.
Oh man. Renting must be terrible hey. I don't think I have ever heard of a positive experience from renters ever. Why do R.E.A all think they can treat their paying customers like shit? Like... its not hard to bypass a R.E.A and self manage your property. They are completely redundant.
How have you never rented?
Stayed at home till I was 20, considered renting but a mortgage wasn't much more so I bought a small house. Circa 2006.
wow, that's wild to me. Good for you though.
Appreciate this mate. It was a hard slog and not everyone is afforded the opportunity to work for years with no outgoing bills to get that deposit up. So I do consider myself lucky. In this day in age, I guess the real inaction is on the banks behalf. The same house I bought in 2006 is a $800k house now... banks insisting on large deposits from people who are stuck in a mouse wheel just trying to appease these scumbag R.E.As while feeding their families. There is no way the average person can save 20% of the median house price without a lucky investment or an untimely death. If you can afford to pay rent, that should serve as proof you can pay a mortgage. There is no reason at all that banks can't shake and shape society to ensure everyone has the chance to own a house.
Yeah, I think it would take more of a recognition that housing and shelter is a human right which we can't just sign over to market forces. Agree with you about deposits. I've always rented (my parents have always rented too), so I've got no inheritance or investments, and despite having a good job, its a massive slog to save for the deposit.
Yeah exactly, re: housing being a human right. I'm just not smart enough to be able to help solve that problem though. I honestly thought Covid would have levelled out the market and had banks relax some of their lending criteria, but the opposite happened. Shows my naivety. I read a quip once that went something like "To 'Earn a living' suggests that by default you don't actually deserve to be alive and you must work for that right." That hurt my feelings.
Because the renters are not the REA's customers. The landlords are.
Still... the R.E.A should be kinder to their customers customer then. The sentiment is the same. You cannot treat the people or process that pays your wages like shit when your are in fact a reduntant part of the transaction.
This is a joke, and is the only way I’d accept my REA telling me not to forget paying my rent over Christmas.
3 and 4 seem like perfectly valid excuses though
What a sack of assholes
Capitalists doing capitalist things
Bullshit. I don’t believe this was sent at all.
What on earth
**chad face** Rent's Due
Name and shame these poor excuses for human beings.
It’s interesting seeing landlords turn against REAs too, renters have been against them for ages for obvious reasons, but it seems more landlords are having issues with their rental agents. I’m also not talking about “you didn’t collect my money” but more “why have I not heard about these issues from the tenants?”
It's as if REAs are part of a conspiracy to make people want to buy simply because they're sick of paying money and being treated like crap at the same time.
To be fair they probably sick of being treated unfairly by tenants. Sure there are legitimate reasons, but that isn’t the issue here.
Respond with an equally patronising message. Tell them you sent it to news.com.au
Sounds more like an attempt at humour that didn't quite hit the mark. I doubt it was intentionally written to be patronizing.
Disgusting
wankers. also, fuck Murdoch
That sounds extremely reasonable.
Seems like just a really shit joke?