What foreigners really think

[fullom]

Worth a look at what other people think of our property investment.

http://www.expatexposed.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2656

[One]

Man, talk about bitter! I hope NZ's full of happy renters who don't bother posting to a forum like that.

[Perry]

What became of the broken xxxxxxxxxed?
For sure, we now know where they went.
"Bitter and twisted" doesn't do it justice.

[TheLiberalLeft]

I totally agree with his conclusions, and with everyone here being so by-the-book, I'm sure you all do too.

[gavinc]

The only bit he left out was how landlords impregnate teenage daughters and steal the wife

[TheLiberalLeft]

That'd be a good trick for a number of LL's around here. Donna, Lissie, etc.

[Wayne]

Isn't the Internet such a wonderful thing. A person can write such a general article for other to read - full of bulls**t from my perspective. I am not that landlord and never hope to be. Replaced a hob the other day because the original one went faulty 5 days earlier - takes a while to rebuild the bench top it goes in because the new one is slightly smaller, all at a distance of 130km.

I loved the bit where they thought they should be able to choose new carpet and curtains. Also liked the bit on having to clean the house at the end better than it was at the start - how do they think it got messy? Did the previous tennant clean it and the LL mess it up again just to piss them off? Some people have such a sad outlook on life.

[Wayne]

Just read the reason for the site
"Expat Exposed is an information and community site that lays out the downside of emigrating to New Zealand, and helps potential and current expats help themselves through networking and emotional support."

So I shouldn't have expected anything balanced or reasonable.

[TheLiberalLeft]

Wayne, it's an opinion piece based on the writers comparison between NZ and whatever/whereever he's used to before NZ. I'm sure the writer considers the content reasonable and factual.

[gavinc]

re changing carpets/curtains etc - This is the norm in many rentals in Holland. While I was there I was stunned to learn that many places you move into have no carpets, curtains and even light fittings have been removed. It is the norm for tenants to choose their own fittings and pay for them - they also remove them when they leave.

[lukasr]

Not sure what the big fuss is about... been living in a few countries over the last few years and everywhere you will find a variety of rental accommodation - the same goes for NZ. Although I do actually agree with most of what he's saying - average NZ rentals are in comparison to average European standards for example below par in my opinion (that is certainly an area of possible improvement AND OPPORTUNITY for landlords in NZ) - but we cannot tell whether he's comparing apples with bananas here.
Certainly in Auckland it can be laughable what you get for your rent (I know as I'm a recent new renter in Auckland) but that almost expected in a country's largest city where everyone wants to live. If you compare that to rentals in Sydney or London or Warsaw and you truly look at comparable rentals (in %value to incomes) you will find that they are even smaller, in worse condition and I guarantee you more expensive than in Auckland.

There is another side to this though. NZ does have an unnecessary pre-occupation with houses as opposed to flats though. As a potential tenant I would love to rent a nice, warm, inexpensive 2-3 bedroom apartment in a quiet location, further away from the city centre - but there are VERY VERY few of these in Auckland. Europe and North America are full of high-density, high-quality apartments - unfortunately we don't have anything comparable. Don't even mention the grotty, cold, 2-storey blocks of tiny units build in the 50's, 60's and 70's scattered all around Auckland. I'm looking forward to the super-city to get the re-zoning going so more of nice high quality apartments can be build.

[lukasr]

Replaced a hob the other day because the original one went faulty 5 days earlier

Wayne: why did it break down? Was it because it was 30 years old maybe and never replaced?

[Wayne]

Wayne: why did it break down? Was it because it was 30 years old maybe and never replaced?

I don't know how old it was as I didn't buy it - it certainly isn't as old as the house and I have only had the place 3 yrs. I am not in the habit of replacing perfectly good items - and this hob was (before it failed) working happily for the tennant. The PM wanted to lok for a second hand hob but that isn't the way I work. I would replace a working item if it didn't work properly and the tenant wasn't happy with it, and it made sence.

[TheLiberalLeft]

Not sure what the big fuss is about...

It's a kiwi trait not to like criticism and be inward-facing to all things NZ.

[TheLiberalLeft]

Which is closely followed by the phrase "if you don't like it why don't you bugger off then?"