?? for property managers??

[anney]

Hi there,
I think I have seen some property managers giving some good advice so I thought I would ask this question. We are in Victoria and I think these things vary from state to state.

18 months ago we rented out my home that I have lived in for 15 years. We are now going back there and went to do the final inspection after the tenants moved out, last Friday and were sooooo disappointed. Looked like they had swept and vacuumed before they left but that was it. shower has not been cleaned for 18 months and I doubt I will ever get it clean again. they cooked with oil and there is a yellow oil thinge to everything. the range hood has a coating of oil on it about 3mm thick. they have put hot pans on the laminex bench tops so they have bubbled and there is water damage to the cabinetry in the kitchen also so it has warped. basically the kitchen (which was completely renovated 7 years ago) and the bathroom will never be the same again. and the garden, which I has landscaped 8 years ago is basically now all weeds. the garden beds have completely disappeared!!
The property manager is one we had not met before as the usuals are on leave at present. she was very sympathetic and is getting quotes from gardeners, cleaners and handymen to take to VCAT to get the bond back and some compensation.
I doubt we will get anything apart from the bond as the tenants were overseas students so they can leave the country any time.
My questions are -

• Do we have to go to VCAT with any dispute over bond or does it go to vcat just because we want it all back?
• do we have any other options for getting any compensation? I have landlord insurance but not sure if it would cover "neglect"?

I am so disappointed in the property managers as they did a routine 6 month inspection 4 weeks ago, when they knew we were going to move back and none of this came up in the report. I feel like they have done nothing to protect our property and am going to find it difficult to deal with them to go to VCAT.
thanks in advance

[Bumperstump Cummerbund]

Anney.

I'm not a property manager - I was just going back through the threads and saw no-one had responded, was gonna bump it but I thought I'd say something as well

First off, I'd be complaining LOUDLY about your property manager - all that damage would've been there when they did their last inspection, and would've been fairly obvious as well. They must be somewhat liable I would think, KWIM??

With the benchtops and cabinetry, I work for a cabinetmaker and I can tell you, it would take a LOT of water to warp the kitchen cabinets, as they are generally made out of a fairly water resistant material, particularly if it was MR MDF. They do this because the cabinets are obviously going to get some water on them, and you don't want them warping straight away. Honestly, I don't know what kind of daily activity would cause cabinets to warp like you're describing, so I'd be asking what the hell they were doing!!

Also the benchtops should've withstood a certain amount of abuse, but if they're putting pots straight from the oven/stove on the tops and leaving them, and doing this consistently, then yes it'll cause the damage you described. I've said all this to show you that it must've been consistent, regular abuse, not just a one off, KWIM?

It might be an idea to find out where they go to school if they're overseas students - you'd be surprised how much influence some of the schools have. A lot of overseas students are on scholarships from their government to come over here, and any whiff of bad behaviour on their bad gets them in a LOT of trouble. I would be contacting the school and seeing if there's anything they can do, such as notifying the parents, if they think it will help.

PM me if I can help - I hope this has helped somewhat, and I hope there is a property manager on here!

[BeautifulMadness]

not beign a property manager either but having delt with them and am renter.

You'd get keep the bond as they as suppose to leave it in the condition it was in when they moved in.
Complain to the estate agent abotu the pm and ask them why you're hosue was left the way it was when they had done an inspection not a few weeks ago.

im not sure abt the insurence bit tho, might take some looking into

i wish u alot of luck

[anney]

thanks ladies. Having a negotiation session tomorrow as we have put in claim to VCAT for $8000 from them. Hope we get something. It is very annoying as I actually blame the agents as much as the tenants but we have to be nice to the agents

[Footsteps]

just wondering whats happened hun...im shocked xxx

[luna moth]

It is very annoying as I actually blame the agents as much as the tenants but we have to be nice to the agents

You don't *have* to be nice to the agents. You can change, or threaten to change. Last place we rented in Melbourne, the landlord changed agents; we hadn't been inspected for 18 months, we never returned the condition report (we thought we'd wait for a reminder call, but it never came) and they were charging waaay less than market value for our place - basically, they were terrible from a landlord's perspective. SO the landlord changed to a different one.

Good luck!!

[anney]

Hi ladies, thanks for all your advice. We got our bond back ($1500) and $2500 compensation so not enough to cover the damage but we decided just to settle for that. As for the agents - well that is a whole other story. My DH had been doing some work for them and then they decided not to pay him (as they felt they had done a great job getting the compensation for us). they are so dodgy and sadly are the type of people that give agents a bad name.