unpaid water bill

[flyernzl]

As I have already said, elsewhere:

All of the above is really just fiddling with the problem.
You'd really need to be an accountant to enjoy fiddling around with Watercare's invoices, paying bits and sending other bits through to the tenant and then chasing up when the tenant is a slow payer.
Who needs that waste of time and effort?

What we really need is a change to the Act so that:
- all water, wastewater and water-related fixed charges are fully the tenants responsibility (as they are with electricity and telephone services).
- either legislation to compel the water supply authority (Watercare in this case) to accept a residential tenant as a full and sole customer for the water supply or set up a competitive water supply market where the customer has the freedom to chose from alternative suppliers.

Anything else is just pissing in the soup.

We need to get enough Landlords sufficiently wound up about this to act together to get the RTA changed.

[NomoneyNotalk]

hi ,

the tenant just got back to me saying that she just went to watercare and she cannot afford to pay it in full, and she is planning to pay on weekly basis, so needs my authorization in order to do that.

I think she knows that i am overseas so trying to complicate things, and she is now blaming me for the penalty charges as it is my fault not giving her authorization to pay.

But i said, hey i gave you another option to transfer the money to my account and i would forward the payment to watercare online. Now she agreed to let me forward the payment. But don't know when is that gonna happen.

As my understanding, we can pay anything under anyone's name like if we deposit money into other's bank account.

I also informed the tenant that water supply will be restricted and finally turned off after few days of final notice.

[wayneneill]

I'm just getting in to proeprty investing- sounds like there is a lot to learn!

[PC]

The law is an ass (Donkeys are probably more sensible) - is one of the first lessons.
Perhaps if enough LLs start taking this approach to water - ie tenant no pay - it gets turned off (like any other service)
Then maybe things might change.
Tui's anyone?

[Meehole]

You are probably right PC, if enough LL's take this approach then it will become commonplace.
When I spoke to Watercare they told me that are not charging overdue fees, that in lieu they are not giving a discount for paying on time.
With my tenants in Whangarei I pay the 6 monthly water account and send the tenants a copy as an invoice. One lot haven't paid at all so that comes out of their bond, the other lot are paying it off fortnightly.
Some LL's don't collect from the tenant at all and just pay the water and when the tenant vacates it is squared up then.
NomoneyNotalk, if you are living overseas then you are legally obligated to have a Property Manager looking after your rental. In fact often the tenant will listen and respect the PM more than the owner if they are managing the property themselves.

[flyernzl]

One lot haven't paid at all so that comes out of their bond,

So effectively you are extending those tenants an interest-free unsecured loan for the duration of their tenancy.

Come vacating time, if they owe rent of have damage that chews up the bond anyway, what happens then? More grief, of course.

[Meehole]

So effectively you are extending those tenants an interest-free unsecured loan for the duration of their tenancy.

Come vacating time, if they owe rent of have damage that chews up the bond anyway, what happens then? More grief, of course.

Hey they are paying my mortgage for me, interest and principal so a lttle give and take there??

As far as outstanding debt goes once I have sorted out the total of what is owed I am placing it with a debt collection company. In signing the addendum on my TA they have given me the authourity to do this. I already have 100% of the bond.

[NomoneyNotalk]

i Have a property manager, but he charge for the water bill collection, so i am debt collecting it from my tenant by phone and emails. The water was free in the first month as the old vendor's lawyer was slow to change it to my name. So i have been trying to collect water bill for 3 months now. Maybe i should let the PM to do it?

I didn't think it was this hard to make them pay for their own water use. Now i understand the frustration of other LLs and PMs.

So how do we put pressure on the policy to change?

[flyernzl]

We:
1 - All join the local Property Investors group.
2 - All go to the National PIF conference.
3 - Get NZPIF to form a subcommittee dedicated to political action in this matter.
4 - Hassle our own MPs to get the RTA changed.

[NomoneyNotalk]

I just got my first water payment from the tenant. It was my wife's email that helped. She advised me that the wordings on my previous emails were not good enough , so the tenant replied with excuses after excuses. So i wrote an email this morning supervised by my wife, and this afternoon tenant apologized and paid.

[Meehole]

Behind every good man there's usually a woman, loading the shotgun!

[BerkeleyCapital]

Best of luck getting it solved. Completely unfair.

[NomoneyNotalk]

Yes very unfair, takes a lot of my time emailing and calling and forwarding the payment, checking the payment, etc. But that's all i can do until there is a change like power bill.

[NomoneyNotalk]

Behind every good man there's usually a woman, loading the shotgun!

Very nice . She used to manage residential buildings in the city. The skill is becoming handy when we do property investing now. Oh, this would answer the other guy who asked about which job is good for property investment knowledge.

[house_dweller]

Do your tenants pay the waste water charges in the bill too?? my tenant won't pay it no matter what I do and have requested I pay her back the previous months wastewater charges she paid....
If I do send her a seperate water bill she really just might pay everything but the wastewater(fixed charges)...any ideas??