Renting... tell me this is normal!

Ok, the longest rentals we've had have been privately rented. One we had the owners there every Saturday to collect the rent, & the other lived just up the road & didn't worry about inspections. The third was my parents.

All our other rentals have been around the 6 month mark. Not our choice, just one of the joys of renting.

So, we've been here for 2 years in June. I have no intentions of going anywhere any time soon. We've had our quaterly inspections like clockwork.

Our next inspection, the owner wants to come along with the RE... Tell me that its normal & its just coz they haven't seen the inside of the house for the past 2 years??? Not coz they wanna find an excuse to get rid of me!

Why now???

Nah, sounds about right. Not all the time, but I have had a couple of owners do this.
Don't stress.
They may also not trust their RE agent ;)

Don't say that! I love my RE!!! :lol:

Nah I've recently asked for a screen door on the front, coz DS keeps escaping (can unlock the wooden one too easily) & they said something about getting someone in to trim down the bushes out the back (which makes me worry someone nearby owns the house! :lol:), so I'm just guessing they want to check it all out. Might be a good time to bring up the expense of replacing light bulbs constantly at the back end of the house... Since both bathrooms, my room & the kitchen don't seem to like light... Hmm.

The RE has given me a bit of extra warning so I have time to deal with all the little jobs (any drawing on walls I've missed, etc) So I'm greatful for that.

I'm a bit scared of putting a face to the name though. I like not knowing if my owner is a local or not. Being a tiny town I'm worried they live just down the road & drive past the house every day! Coz I'm not the bestest lawn mower at the moment!

You can always not be there.
As for the light bulbs, do you use energy savers? They last sooo much longer than old-school bulbs.
Personally, if I had a property I hadn't seen for 2 years I would want to check it out too - especially if there were some bigger issues like the door and tree trimming that had been requested, I would need to see if there was anything else to be done etc.
Good on the RE for giving you some warning too! So many of them would jut not have bothered. Sounds like you have a good one there.

I was going to suggest not being there as well. The owner is possibly just as happy for you not to know who they are, either.
If its an old place, and thats happening a lot, I'd be asking about haing the wiring checked out, unless they have a cert. of electrical safety showing its already been done recent;y (in the past few years)

We rented an awesome place, landlord lived next door but it was a farm, so next door was close enough to see, but far enough not to hear, plus he had his farms hands do all the garden and general maintenance. If it wasnt for the gigantic spiders we might still be there.

:lol: I'm not a spider fan either ;)

I'm going to ask about the wiring. Its not normal lights blowing, its with in a few days of the bulb going in. & they are those silly down lights? I dunno, thats what the RE called them, but DH reckons they are only down light look alikes... what ever that means! They are still up in the ceiling!

I figured it was just a long term tennant thing. Not looking at the place for 2 or more years might be too much for them. I don't mind. Just panicking that something will go wrong & the place will be a pig sty! lol

Well. It was all about a rent increase :(
Another $15 a week that I can't afford with everything else going on right now. But I have to, because its a small town & if I don't I'll have to move away. Which would mean changing kids schools. With all the kids stuff & having to start weekly OT therapy for DD2 & possibly DS, which means petrol to get to town once or twice every week. I can only just afford petrol as it is :(
time to look at cheaper car insurance places, drop my internet allowance & cut back my hot water I guess. We couldn't afford any luxuries anyway, now there's no chance :(

Oh Clover that sucks :(

When was your last rent increase?
There's a maximum number of them they are allowed to do in set time periods.

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Nah, sounds about right. Not all the time, but I have had a couple of owners do this.
Don't stress.
They may also not trust their RE agent ;)

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Don't stress. Many LL's like to tag along for many different reasons. They may be checking up on their PM. Or they may just want to touch base and check out the state of the IP in case there is maintainence that needs doing and is going unnoticed (because it isn't actually a problem yet). Either DH or myself like to tag along when possible to inspections, just to make sure everyone is happy (ie, the tenant doesn't have any complaints about the pm) or things which need to be looked at aren't being overlooked because the tenant doesn't want to bother us with it.

Edited to add: Sorry just read the rest of the thread. Bugger about the rent increase.

I think this one will be around 12 months from the last one, coz it doesn't take effect til August. I've asked to sign another lease & they've not replied that I know of, so we are outside an agreement.

I've asked for a few things... would it be ok to not agree to the increase til those things are taken care of? My main thing is the front door. I have no screen door & a simple lock that turns in the handle. DS can unlock it & run off when ever he pleases & I've asked for something to be done. Even if I have to cover costs, to keep my son safe, but I haven't heard anything back. Of course I forgot to mention this when they were here :rolleyes:

With your rent increase...is that legal? When I was renting, (mind you that was 5or so years ago...) it was only allowed to be $5 every 3 months or so, or 4x a year..

I thought they could only increase it once every 6 months.
Not sure a >$60 a month increase is justified, it depends on the real estate in your area. Is the new rate comparable to similar properties in the area?
I'd definitely be responding with a list of things that need maintenance

Tenants NSW fact sheet on Rent Increase from reading that it would seem they are able to do it and the only way to avoid it happening again in the future would be to get them to sign a new lease with you. I hope it all works out for you!

Feels to me like thats why they were avoiding giving me a longer termed lease. I started on a 6 month agreement, even though I wanted 12 & that ran out 18 months ago.
I think I'll go talk to the RE & see what she has to say.

Yeah that increase is allowed. It can be lifted every 6 months (within reason).

I would definitely negotiate the terms etc. You are entitled to ask for things to be done. No, they don't have to agree by any means, but it's worth a try?

Well. I was just sent a notice of termination.
I have 3 months. I told the RE that I don't think its fair for me to pay the increased rent for a month, so she's going to the owners about it.

Why are they terminating your tenancy!?