Life as a Landlord

[flyernzl]

Yet another good reason to get tenants to supply their own appliances.

[Perry]

Especially if the LL is supplying appliances gratis.
I dimly recall Glenn saying he rents appliances to
tenants, as well as tenancies. Different if there's
some hire fees involved.

[sidinz]

Yeah, I hear what you're saying, but this was a special situation. Any washing machine had to fit behind the bathroom door and the only space for a dryer was wall-mounted, again, behind the bathroom door.

It was simpler and a selling point to provide a washer/dryer that was the right size to fit into the space so that the bathroom door could open without too much danger of slamming back against the machine and getting damaged.

I left it behind when I moved out and bought a toploader for myself.

[mrsaneperson]

I supply the washing machine & all appliances for this particular situation as the house is rented out on a room by room basis.

[Anita]

Good reading, thanks for sharing those informative stories.

One of my tenants a solo mother signed in to a property, only few weeks back, was okay with her first few weeks rents however, found she ran behind wiht rents and issued 14 day letter A) to fix the arrears B) to set up rent redirection through winz as initially agreed as per TA

When I rang one day, her sister and also later her partner who picked the phone said that the tenant is at icu is on a coma.

Quite sensitive situation, however, we are running a business hence contacted her next point of contact, mother, who is the named party in her pre tenancy application to advise re arrears and needful. Got everything via 'texts' to enable some form of 'written communication' going, and mother confirmed the same that she is in icu. I asked via texts, as arrears are mounting that it may their best interest to terminate tenancy and shouldl they wish to continue the tenancy or so and reminded that the arrears need paid and she said that the tenants partner would pay the weekly rent and arrears as well.

Rent comes every other week at the moment and a text or two has been sent to tenant's mother - it's too much me to juggle and thought I might get a local mainstream agent to get this handled and notified both tenant and her mother ( named emergency contact) that some of our portfolio is now managed by so called PM few days back. I didn't see anything striking happened anyway, just waiting to see how it unfolds.

Any dos don't you see I need to be aware of /need to follow? How would you best deal a situation like this?

[flyernzl]

Which named tenants and how many are listed on the TA as being allowed to reside in the property?

How much is the arrears (more than or less than the bond?) and what attempts are being made to pay that down?

I sense thin ice here.

[mrsaneperson]

Thats a timely post Anita. I was also wondering what happens in the event of a tenant dying ?Out of graciousness does the landlord mostly opt out of pursuit of any arrears or lodge a claim with the guardian of the deceased or trust handling the financial affairs?

[flyernzl]

Ask Glenn.

He's been in that situation - including the tenant actually dying within the property.

[flyernzl]

Right now I am in one of those rare states where all my properties are tenanted. That’s not to say all is nice and sunny in the rose garden, but at least the problems are those of existing tenants not potential ones.

This has given me breathing space to consider the election and re-election of our Lords and Masters. I am in the unenviable position of living in one of those electorates where the incumbent party could put up Attila the Hun as their candidate and still get him in. At least this means I can be quite random in my own voting choice, happy in the knowledge that it will not make the slightest difference to the inevitable outcome. The Party Vote was a bit more difficult. Do I vote for the party I would like to see in The House, or do I vote against the party I don’t want to see there? Decisions, decisions. As it happens, the overall outcome was largely what I would have hoped for.

Now we are into the ranting and raving of the post-election scene. Those who have lost run around seeking someone to blame, anyone, as long as it is not themselves. I was interested to hear a comment from a lady on National Radio that she was absolutely stunned at the outcome. She was, she explained, a Green Party stalwart. All her family, friends and acquaintances were of similar political persuasion. They expected the Greens to do very well indeed, and simply could not understand why this had not happened. It bought her, she explained, to the realization that she actually lived in a bubble. Because she only related to those of similar beliefs and life-styles she had made the mistake of assuming that ‘everyone’ thought and voted along similar lines to herself. We used to call that ‘Group Think’.

The Labour Party is indulging in similar analysis. They are talking of spending money (which, apparently, they don’t have) on commissioning research to find out exactly what went wrong with their campaign. They can save their cash. I can tell them without them spending a cent.

Despite their name, the Labour Party activists today are almost entirely white-collar. Academics, school teachers, sociologists, public servants, do-gooders and Audi-driving lawyers. Most would give themselves a hernia if they tried to pick up a spade. As such, they entirely misconstrue what makes the country run and simply cannot understand that business in this country is overwhelmingly a Ma-and-Pa enterprise.

The plumber who employs two or three staff and does his bookwork at the kitchen table at night after himself working hands-on for nine or ten hours during the day, the shopkeeper who attends the counter six days a week 52 weeks of the year without six weeks of annual holidays and, yes, the Landlord with a full-time day job as well as a couple of residential rental properties who spends his weekends repairing fences and mowing lawns. All these people, in the past, would have been natural Labour Party voters. Hard-working and aspirational. They are now turned off Labour by shrill ill-informed policies that denounce them as oppressors of the poor and also as high-living rip-off merchants, public enemies who must be hit with additional taxes to satisfy the demands of the idle, the incompetent and the casually fecund.

Unfortunately, the Left has now been captured by single-issue zealots. The Greens do actually have some sensible policies, but then make the mistake of harnessing those to their hatred of the USA and their love of tofu, dandelion tea and life as lived in the pre-industrial Middle Ages. Labour has now gone even further into La-La Land with their misandry, punitive taxation and compulsory asset acquisition. When these ideas are not vote-winners for those outside the chosen circle the cry goes up “People do not understand. We need to shout louder, harder, and re-educate the public into our way of thinking”. Guys, people understand all right, and 65% of those who voted did not like what you propose and those who could not even be bothered to vote don’t give a toss one way or the other. Changing the party leader is just changing the salesman. If no-one is buying you need to change the product, not just the sales pitch.

Of course, for most people, once the tub-thumping and the tears die down life goes on. Landlords and Tenants, good and bad, continue to co-exist. Gradually I am churning through my pile of bills. Over the last few months, as you know by reading this column, I have had one lot of tenants depart taking with them everything that was not nailed down and a few things that were, another lot depart with same-day notice leaving a substantial pile of repair work to be completed before the relet was possible, two hot-water cylinders to replace (and to mop up the consequential damage) along with the usual run-of-the mill blocked toilets, burnt-out stove elements, leaky roofs and broken windows. It then becomes a matter of shuffling the available money around the various rental accounts to make sure that there is sufficient on the day to meet the demands of the rates, the insurance premiums and the mortgage man.

Being a Landlord is a business like any other, from a cat-house to a computer company. Cash is king, and if the cash runs out you are in deep do-do. Reserves are vital. Like the storms of winter, adversity is inevitable and prior preparation essential. It is too late to try and arrange for resources when the axe is descending. Fortunately, so far, I have not had to dip into my reserve fund but at least it is some comfort to know it is there should the balancing act becomes unsustainable. This, in my opinion, is what separates the middle class from the working class – not income received, but the ability to weather the storm and not be hit right back to the start line by financial misfortune.

[artemis]

........ Despite their name, the Labour Party activists today are almost entirely white-collar. Academics, school teachers, sociologists, public servants, do-gooders and Audi-driving lawyers. Most would give themselves a hernia if they tried to pick up a spade. As such, they entirely misconstrue what makes the country run and simply cannot understand that business in this country is overwhelmingly a Ma-and-Pa enterprise....

Great post! I particularly liked the above. I live in Welly Central - full of left voters of course and many fit that profile perfectly. I was having a mild election conversation with a neighbour (retired public servant and academic, and wealthy) who to my astonishment exploded that she absolutely hates Mr Key. And yes she has met him. I get people don't want to vote for National but what's that personal vehemence about? Plenty of people clearly don't like Mr Cunliffe much, but we don't hear that level of hate about him. Well not outside caucus anyway.

[Wayne]

I get people don't want to vote for National but what's that personal vehemence about? Plenty of people clearly don't like Mr Cunliffe much, but we don't hear that level of hate about him. Well not outside caucus anyway.

JK made it about 'Team Key'.
He made it presidential so it does become about the Man.

[mrsaneperson]

I actually dislike Key moreso than Clark who i detested . As flyer points out, people are voting for "lesser evils". Wayne get with the plan.

[speights boy]

I get people don't want to vote for National but what's that personal vehemence about?

I actually dislike Key moreso than Clark who i detested .

NZ's Tea Party ?

[Wayne]

Wayne get with the plan.

What?
What the heck are you on about?

[Lovethiscountry]

IT WAS A STRANGE DAY YESTERDAY.

First up I went to check out why some lights worn't working as a tenant had emailed to advise they had replaced 8 light bulbs in a outdoor covered entranceway on Friday and now four had stopped working. Another stopped when I went to try them. Turned out that they were a batch of faulty bulbs and not a faulty circuit.

Next went to replace a leaking sink faucet in a town house which I bought new in 2004. Turned the stop cock off at the meter but the water kept flowing. Turned the neighbours stop cock off and presto no water flowing at my sink.
For the last ten years my tenant, who has been there since the place was built, has been paying the neighbours bill.

Left with the smart new methven faucet installed only to be rung half an hour later by my tenant saying they had no hot water.

Relieved when it turned out to be the power been turned off due to the Auckland power cable fire outage.

STRANGE DAY