Quinkla Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 also , all the immigrants who come over and offer more money to secure a rental are jerks. this is what screws up the rental market and inflates rentals. totally uncool Couldn't agree more. I was one. I had a rental - perhaps others didn't. So I was a jerk with a roof over my head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caramac Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Sadly, this is common in Sydney and not only when you're renting. Our friends, who had $1.5 million to spend on a house were treated exactly the same. Agents not turning up, home opens being cancelled, 10 minutes to look around, treated like scum. We rented two places there. The first one was a furnished apt when we first arrived. There were lots of things wrong with the place, all of which we noted on the form, but still when we left we were charged for the same things. They said we'd broken chairs (they were falling apart when we moved in, stained the carpet which was already filthy, stolen a mattress protector (which to my knowledge didn't exist and if it was the same quality of the rest of the furnishing, was only fit for the bin), left the kitchen dirty, the windows unclean and the balcony had leaves on it. Perhaps because it was a month before they got round to doing the exit inspection... To her credit the agent said we'd left it looking beautiful but she was bound by what the owner wanted. He tried to charge us $500 for the 3 chairs (which was funny as the same ones from Fantastic Furniture were about $50 each). We said we wanted to see the receipt if he'd bought new ones and to know they were the same ones. Strangely he backed down on that... They still kept a huge part of our $4k bond because we weren't prepared properly. The next agent we had treated us like dirt - completely condescending. (Well, until she found out where my oh was working and who with and where my kids were going to school!) She was foul. When we moved in the place was filthy - grill pan with fat and bits of bacon still in it, pubes and scum in the shower, mould everywhere, something beyond description on the windowsills, floors, carpets. I went straight to the office and refused to move until she came to have a look/ arranged for it to be cleaned (it was less than a km away). She refused to look saying she had the whole office to run, so I said I'd sit and wait. In the end she phoned the owner, started speaking to him in English then, when she didn't want me know what she was saying spoke in Chinese, all the time huffing and puffing about how unreasonable I was being. I asked if I could wash the net curtains as I felt they weren't hygienic only to be sneered at with "Well I don't know what you do in England, but we don't wash net curtains in Australia"!! Very funny - I don't think she was used to someone standing up to her. Outcome was two girls arriving in the afternoon to clean. I took nearly 200 photos and sent them to the agent just in case they tried to keep our bond again (they did - almost all of it, until I reminded her of all the pics when she backed down and we got all but $200 which was fair enough as my oh hadn't had time to arrange someone to clean the carpets). If/when you do find somewhere, note everything down and take lots and lots of pictures, outside and inside - weeds, mould in bathrooms, marks on the walls, carpets etc, oven, everything and keep copies which are dated (email them to the agent so they can't dispute the date). It feels petty, but you have to protect yourself. Don't think that they'll be reasonable. I don't know anyone personally who hasn't had agents, or owners trying to rip them off. There must be some out there somewhere.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quinkla Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Getting bonds back is an issue. My agent made a shopping list of spurious claims some of which I was able to negotiate away but still left a charge of $100 for lawn mowing (bartered down from $250 for lawn mowing). I told them they were being dishonest and they said that I could take them to VCAT but I would have to take time off work and since I had provided them with a statement of income they knew how much a day off work was worth - and so it would be cheaper for me to pay up than fight them. They also told me not to take it personally, it was just the way the business worked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pipey Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Good advice Caramac, but how depressing that people should have to actually do that, to be adversarial before they even start the relationship! Its a sorry statement about the rental market here in Australia, and the way things are allowed to be done. Basically, you are a low down scumball in the eyes of both the real estate agents, the landlords, and the law, if you rent here..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaIan Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Yep agents are just useless here. I'm currently vacating a property in Sydney and the agents are just crap! Firstly they tried to show it before the last 14 days of tenancy which they cant do. Then they book an open house for Saturday, we get everything ready, make ourselves scarce (saw lots of people waiting outside) only to get a call the following Tuesday (next open house for Wednesday morning) at 4pm asking for a set of keys to the property as they don't have one! Wtf?! So all those people that turned up just wasted god knows how much time! And then why didn't they call us on the Saturday or at least the Monday? They even asked if I could drop the keys into them overnight!!! Ha! They're having a laugh! On top of that it took 3 days just to get the contact details of their recommended cleaners! Crap experience all round. Oh and the place is up for rent for $40 more per week than we currently pay! Think they'll really struggle to rent it at that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quinkla Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Firstly they tried to show it before the last 14 days of tenancy which they cant do. Then they book an open house for Saturday, we get everything ready, make ourselves scarce...Where would the law stand if you decided to remain unclothed in bed during the open house? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaIan Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Where would the law stand if you decided to remain unclothed in bed during the open house? I did suggest to my partner that he should stay in bed with his arse hanging out snoring his head off! He wasn't game lol He suggested I should do the same......i don't snore :nah: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockDr Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Been pleasantly surprised with our current agent. Actually seems to have her head screwed on, and responds to issues pretty quickly. Unlike the last place where it took over a year to finally get me added to the lease. In terms of bond, it's a good idea to try and not have anything taken from it, as it can cause issues with getting your next rental, since all the forms ask if you've ever had bond witheld. We get professional cleaners in, who guarantee their work, such that if it's not up to the standard required by the agent/landlord, they'll pay the fee. If there's anything else they want to claim from the bond, pay them separately, then get the bond back in full. Costs the same to you, but keeps your bond record clean. Oh and always document the entire place when you move in with either video or still photos. Be really picky with the entry report, since they'll be really picky with the exit report... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quinkla Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 In terms of bond, it's a good idea to try and not have anything taken from it, as it can cause issues with getting your next rental, since all the forms ask if you've ever had bond witheld. We get professional cleaners in, who guarantee their work, such that if it's not up to the standard required by the agent/landlord, they'll pay the fee. If there's anything else they want to claim from the bond, pay them separately, then get the bond back in full. Costs the same to you, but keeps your bond record clean. Hereabouts if you haven't had bond withheld it just shows you haven't ever rented. My agents tried to sting me for: gardening work - which is subjective leaving rubbish - actually garden furniture which was there when I arrived leaving hard rubbish in the communal bins area - which I had actually paid someone to remove leaving a small bag of rubbish in the garage - left by the cleaner that the agency told me I had to employ (the expensive one they said was the only one they would accept) They also insisted I employ a professional steam cleaner to "clean" the carpets which were permanently stained when I moved in. They said that it was a requirement to clean the carpet even though the landlord said it was just going to be ripped up when I left. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pipey Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Do not get me started!. Paid $280 to their approved steam cleaning agency to clean two 9x 12 rooms, two ratty mattresses and a broken couch! And it was all in spare rooms that were never used, and it was just done two months earlier cause it was a break lease. The carpet cleaners were there for 45 minutes in total. So they get paid over 300 dollars an hour for running a steam cleaner??? Im in the wrong business! ha I cant help but feel there is a kickback going on there.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 I think, like others, that you might be better off a little way out- often the shops are cheaper too, making up for transport costs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreatToBeBritish Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 When we came to Melbourne in 2007 the same thing applied. About 20 people were rushing in within a 10 minute allocated timeframe. The rent was hideous then for a run down very basic 3 bedroomed house. Then they had an auction on the rent! Bewildered, we ''won'' the rental auction and as they were dithering offered to pay 6 months in advance. The agents really have you by the ''short and curlies''. I wish you were in melbourne I would quite happily put you up! Good Luck x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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