Tight rental market

Hi DK

I'm sensing you've had some bitter experiences as a tenant?
Everything you've said about landlords could just as easily apply to reckless tenants, who display total disregard for the property of others, either through neglect, damage or wilful vandalism. Wouldn't you agree that it's also up to tenants to take stock of their actions and ensure that they act responsibly when leasing the property of others?
I'm just not sure that your tirade here is achieving anything. I understand where you're coming from, but feel that your views are coming across as very one-sided.

 

Yes and I am far from alone.

Very true and I have been a victim of this in the past.

I guess my beef is the general tone of the first posts in this thread was - dare I say it - "greed" or at best "glee". What ever happened to good old fashioned decency and honesty on both sides?

Perhaps tenants and landlords will never see eye to eye. Particularily in a tight market.

 

DKbook - probably take your point as Sim's initial post used the term "Dungeon" to describe a property he offers someone as a home. However you are on InvestEd, and there a couple of points :

a. Look at the number of post on here Sim uses to help fledgling investors, or people seeking advice like yourself, I think you'd agree his overall motivations are far from selfish

b. Best not to take every post to heart, nor judge people by the odd comment, remembering it is best to leave emotion completely out of your investment management

Personally, having been a landlord for 5 years or so in the early 90's, having a long break and now being a landlord again for the last few years, the scales tip WAY in the tenant's favour when we are in a landlord/tenant relationship :

- We always present a property as though we would live it in ourselves, even if that means expenditure that isn't critical on a pure rental return basis
- We use a professional (and expensive) property manager who acts on EVERY little thing the tenant raises (and trust me they raise a lot of issues, most of which have little to do with the state of the property and more their inability to handle life's challenges)
- We seldom charge full market rental and usually allow them some discount at the beginning of the lease when they request it

Suffice to say in life there are good people and a***holes, and some of the a***holes will be either landlords or tenants. I think you'll find the vast majority of people on InvestEd are not the a***hole type, by pure virtue of the fact they have sought out a polite and educational forum in which to interact. I think inflaming a "tenant versus landlord" attitude is the thing newspapers do to sell papers, but I don't think its 'reality' for most people here.

Cheers
Carl

 

Perhaps a personal anecdote is appropriate here.

I recently relet one of my properties. The departing tenant had been very good but was moving back to live in her own rental property because some "bad" tenants had trashed it.

However, the property was relet quickly for $25pw more (perhaps that makes me a greedy landlord ) after half a dozen applications in the first few days of advertising.

The gratifying thing was that the property was let to a single mother with a young daughter who was embarrasingly grateful that someone was willing to "give her a go" because most landlords "won't look at a single mum with a kid" and estatic that the property was so "nice and clean and air-conditioned and just so clean!" .

The tenant in question has a job, was emphatic she could afford the property and the figures seemed to stack up based on her declared income. No doubt she receives some government rent assistance. But then where does that money come from? My taxes of yours of course...I'm happy to take some tax money back indirectly

So what point am I trying to make here? Yes I pushed up the rent, but only because that's what the market would bear. As it turns out I probably could have let it for more if I'd advertised it for longer, but I was able to provide housing for someone doing it a bit tough who couldn't afford to buy a property in this suburb (which is near her mum, work and childcare etc). Will it turn out well? Who knows, but it's a mutually satisfactory arrangement which provides a good standard of shelter for a little family in exchange for a market price...capitalism at its best. Warm inner glows all round.

 

Further to this thread, an article in today's SMH noted that:

See Reserve's warning: rents are too low - National - smh.com.au

 

I've recently bought a house in the Inner West of Sydney.

Interest rates are about 7.2% on 85% of property value.

House will be rented out at about 3% of 100% of property value.

Am I greedy for getting as much rent as the market can bear? Doesn't make sense when it's still costing me thousands a month to hold onto...

 

I think I have said all I am going to say on this thread. My apologies if anyone has taken offense.

 

I agree with you that one needs to remain ethical ie working dishwashers, aircon etc etc. But I reserve the right to charge as much as I can

 

I haven't been offended at all by your comments, DK- just curious as to why you have commented in such an "anti-landlord" stance to this thread.

Life experiences, however, have a way of cementing certain beliefs in our psyche and I can well understand where you're coming from. The way we've been treated in the past can often have an enormous impact on our opinions and beliefs overall- in any facet of life.

I hope that you continue to post and challenge us all here at InvestEd DK.