Why do people do this sort of thing?

[Eastie]

The thought crossed my mind at the time that she was just giving the poor cat a toilet break - that's when I nearly died

[jackiew]

Jackie
where did he plug his dog hair clipper in?

He rocked up in a camper van ... parked across the only entry/exit road to the camping area and refused point blank to move so that campers could enter or exit ( most of them were in 4 wheel drives so went round him ... we had to leave our sedan parked elsewhere when we came back to the tent from a food run and couldn't get near it ). presumably the clippers were either battery charged or he plugged them into his cigarette lighter. After doing the dog hair cut and inconveniencing everyone else he then got back in the van with his tribe and departed. I do wonder if he'd made a special trip so that his dog could have a scenic view while getting a trim.

[craigb]

The thought crossed my mind at the time that she was just giving the poor cat a toilet break - that's when I nearly died

Did she not remonstrate with you? Or did she maybe think "mmm here's two rednecks, one of them's got a gun, maybe I'll just get back in the Range Rover and POQ" ?

[Markw]

Call me insensitive, but the best cat running around on the farm/bush/wildlife areas is a dead cat.
Our wildlife and our farm animals cannot tolerate these creatures and its a shame you didn't open up on the owner.

BTW - I have no time for cat owners who don't keep their cats either in an enclosure or their house 24/7. Shame you can't discharge a firearm within Sydney Met without copping a sentence. Maybe the courts could provide special dispensation for cat erradication, a dollar a tail - just to compensate for the waste of a perfectly good bullet.

[Bob Willson]

Did she not remonstrate with you?

Haven't you got that the wrong way round craigb? Didn't you remonstrate with and castigate her Eastie?

My wife and I had a house, brand new pink carpet and spotless throughout, that we rented out to a minister and his wife. They had a large dog that they told us about beforehand that they were going to keep in the garden shed. They also asked for a fence all round the property so that they could contain the dog. As we intended to do this sometime anyway, we put a chain wire fence up for them at a cost of about $3K.
The management company had apparently done regular inspections and were happy with the way things were looking.
Minister and wife left and we went to inspect the house. Opened the front door to find damage to all the walls and nasty stains around every area where they had stood furniture. They had apparently oiled their furniture so that it would stay nice looking. They must hve actually been using an oil bath I think. Same story in two of the bedrooms and the kitchen was a mess. Went into the third bedroom and literally ran from the house. The third bedroom was alive with thousands of fleas and the whole room stank of dogs pi$$. We then knew where they had kept their dog in the cruel winter months.
We complained to them and they weren't interested. We complained to the real estate people and they weren't interested. We complained to the cops and they weren't interested. Luckilly, the carpet and walls were covered by insurance as they are considered fixtures. the whole experience however put us right off the rental property idea and we later sold the property at the bottom of the market for a hefty loss just to get out of it all.

[craigb]

I guess it depends on why she was letting the cat out. If it was to dump it then she certainly did deserve castigating or worse

If however it was a family pet that she was letting out have a break from the box and it was sudenly blown away in fornt of her eyes, well that may be different.

[silentC]

My first experience as a tenant put me off real estate agents and cats for life. A mate and myself rented a 2 bedroom flat. We lived there for about a year and at the end of the lease, moved out. Because we'd moved in on a Wednesday, the lease ran out in the middle of the week but we moved out on the weekend before. I dropped the keys at the real estate agent's office on the Monday morning. When I went in to pick up the bond a week later, I was told I would not be getting it back. They told me that a cat had broken in though a window during the week and 'n' shat all over the place. They had to get the carpet steam cleaned and because it was still technically leased to me, I had to pay. Sounded like BS to me but I didn't think there was much I could do (no rental bond board or tenants advisory back then).

[craigb]

They told me that a cat had broken in though a window during the week and 'n' shat all over the place.

I have this vision of a cat with a jemmy going around breaking into unoccupied premises.

Sounds like BS to me too Darren.

I seem to remember that the reason that the rental bond board was established in the first place was to protect tennants from the exact ripoff you describe.

In Bob's case it seems they wen't too far in the tennant's favor

[jackiew]

in victoria now you commit to getting the carpets throughout steam cleaned regardless of how short a time you've been there ( and they insist that you provide a receipt from a Carpet Cleaning business, no hiring a steam cleaner and doing it yourself ).

i've seen the tenant bit from both sides. There was the house I rented where the heating packed in and the landlady insisted on using her "tame" plumber who wasn't available for weeks. In summer it was alive with cockroaches ( woke up with them in bed with me :eek: ) .. all the rental agency would say was "haven't you got a hammer". When I moved out I cleaned it from top to bottom .. finding at the back of a kitchen cupboard a grill pan still full of fat and mouldery meat from a previous tenant ... obviously rigourous inspection. They had me back to clean the backs of doors I'd already cleaned and all sorts of nonsense stuff in an attempt to hold back the bond. However I've also had some super landlords.

My uk tenants let the garden turn into a jungle, filled the sheds with broken furniture, let their toddler scribble on every wall in the house, didn't vacuum for 3 years as far as i could tell, stole the curtains I'd deliberately chosen as too hideous to steal, left the grill pan with an inch of grease and every surface in the kitchen was coated so heavily with grease that I had to scrape it off with a knife. It took a week of hard work to bring it up to acceptable standards. In some ways I don't blame them 100% because the rental agent (CP Walker of Beeston, Nottinghamshire, England...you are on my "do not recommend" list, take a bow ) had failed to carry out maintenance work that I'd authorised. The agent had also not taken photos of the condition of the house when it was let out as they'd promised ( fortunately I had ) so they had no idea of its original condition and had lost documents relating to the house. I find it hard to believe that they were doing the 6 monthly checks and hadn't realised that something was seriously wrong. I got to keep the deposit ( which the tenants, unbelievably, kicked up a fuss about) but it went nowhere near the cost of sorting the mess out ... not to mention spending a week of my precious holiday with rubber gloves and bleach and taking trips to the tip, organising worken and stuff. ... very cathartic getting that off my chest

[q9]

My favourite whinge - bagging real estate agents.

Look, I hate real estate agents. All of them. If you are one, then that means you. I have found that the sooner you treat them like the bottom dwelling scum that they are, the better.

Only once have I had an agent refund my bond in full without an argument. Every other time I got it back, but it took some "negotiating". They nearly always try and claim between $50 - $100 for "cleaning". Everyone I have spoken to has had the same thing. Except they pay it (fools) and I don't. I have also refused each and every increase in rent, no matter how many times they try.

The tide has been turning the last few years, and with record numbers of investment units/houses relying on tenant income, we tenants actually have quite a bit of power these days. All that power, such responsibility...

[Caliban]

Power to the people?
You'll probably get cnsored for such a strong view.
There must be some real estate agents who aren't scum. Just because I haven't met any doesn't mean they don't exist.

[Justin]

Gotta agree with the sentiment on estate agents. They should have the title "Professional Parasite" printed on their business cards, because all they do is attach themselves to a host (vendor, buyer, landlord or tenant) and suck out what they need to grow.

Thank god we're paying off our own house now.


Justin.

[Bob Willson]

Thank god we're paying off our own house now.

Just the blood sucking, parasitical banks that you need to worry about for the next 30 years now eh?

[Marc]

q9, I find your post rather amusing, and must assume it is said in jest, just like most of the other post.

I have been involved in RE for a few decades and have half a dozen RE agent working for me, plus a daughter who has a RE agency.

An agent, according to the law is someone who represents you, that is, the agent represents and defends the rights of the owner of the property you rent, in exchange for a fee, that goes from 5 to 9% according to areas and type of property.

Agents come in all shape and form and some are better than others, meaning ... some do their due diligence in selecting the appropriate tenant, and following up that the property is looked after, others don't bother (I suppose the tenant would probably think they are "good" during this time)

When the tenant leaves, unless there has been a close scrutiny of what needs to be done and determining who needs to do it if the owner or the tenant, invariably there will be problems at final inspection. That is what the bond is for, since the parting tenant usually is not inclined to recognise that nailing or screwing the plasterboard to hang that shelf he is now taking away, will need to be repaired, just like the broken glass the missing tile or the filthy stove.

Considering that 95% of "investors" in re, are mums and dads who own just one investment property, unfortunately there is a large amount of amateur owners around, and low interest rates keeps interest in re high even when returns are lousy not more than 3 or 5 % in the city and 7 to 9% in regional areas.

The thought that the "Owner" is the greedy ogre that is squeezing the life out of the tenant and that any damage the tenant can inflict onto the owner is well deserved, is total rubbish. To think that leaving behind mountains of garbage or vandalising the property, not paying the rent or other nice gestures is something to be supported , something like a hero's attitude, some Robin Hood concept, does not wash.

"Rich is bad, poor is virtuous" theory of life is absurd and is good just for a laugh.

[silentC]

I rented a 2 bed flat in Sydney a few years ago. The owner had just bought the place, repainted it and put in new carpet. I moved in and lived there for a year and a half. When I moved out, the agent told me that I had to pay to have the carpet cleaned and the walls repainted. I refused on the grounds that it was brand new when I moved in and you cannot expect it to stay that way for a year and a half. I think there is a tendency to try it on and I have absolutely no doubt that the agent was behind it. When I jacked up about it, he backed right off. They even let me stay for another 2 weeks when the purchase of my new place took a bit longer than planned.

With the last place we rented in Sydney after we sold our house, there was a clause in the lease that required us to pay for carpet cleaning. We thought that was fair enough given the state of it after living there a year with two little kids.

On the other hand, when we sold our house in Sydney a couple of years ago, the agent got us much more than we expected (probably more than it was worth). Of course we were happy. The agent we chose was the second one who looked at the property. The reason we didn't go with the first guy was because he wanted to put it up for auction. During the course of his pitch he told us that he would be providing a couple of bidders to 'keep up momentum' although they would not be allowed to bid above the reserve. That sounded dodgey to me and made me wonder what tricks he would be playing on us. I gather that practice has been outlawed now.

Just as a final point, we have friends who own a rental property here. They live in Perth. The local agent who manages it put tenants in for $50 a week less than what was agreed when they took it on. Since then, they have authorised and billed my friends for numerous 'improvements' around the house without first seeking permission. Glass breakages have occured and my friends have been billed for it. Doesn't sound like they're doing a very good job of protecting the owners from the tenants there.