Tenants & Property Managers

Fellas i need help eh.

background info:

my dad owns 3 properties, out in east auckland, so pretty good tenants high standard of livings blah blah blah.

tenants are mainly family type

any how onto the issues:

1. one stupid tenanent, was a poor bastard, who obviously couldnt afford to live in the home. he owned a florist shop that obviously wasnt bringing in the dough. he sent us cheques. of which would bounce back. most of the time he didnt pay on time. we had to chase him up!

result - he got booted out, found another tenant for us, and coughed up the difference in the rent for the remainder of the lease.


background on my father - soffffffffftie!! thinks long term goals, short term speed bumps doesnt matter about it. he just worries that no ones renting the house etc. = loss income.

2. so we just signed a 2 year lease on another fresh new house/property. couple with young child. knew not to have dogs..
well guess what..... my dad was walking by one day...... and there u have it.... hes got a dog now..

he not only breached the contract, BUT he didnt even inform us!!

so im wondering
if he is stubborn and doesnt let the dog go, am i able to evict him and ask him to cough up the 2 years rent aswell?

what avenues can i use to get the dog away!!!!!

i mean whats up with tenants and their dogs man!!
just cause it aint their house doenst mean they can do jack with it eh.


3. another house. because of previous experience, my dads like screw this, i dun need this stress, so has hired a property manager.
HOWEVER THE IDIOT HAS BEEN ON HOLIDAY AND HASNT GOT BACK TO US ETC ETC.

because on this othe other property that this manager looks afta us, well the old tenants have moved out on 24th october to be exact.

which in my books, he should have had 4 WEEKS ALREADY to locate and find a new tenant.

yet the bastard has been on holiday etc. he says he mite have someone move in on friday, ie 2 weeks vacant property.

so my dad has got other agents to place ads to find tenants.

then we got letter today from the manager of house #3, saying that he is in the process of finding another tenant blah blah the sweet talk, then comes back to say that we shouldnt have asked other agents to find us tenants etc.

that because he is the appointed manger of the property, that if another agent rents the property without referring it to him, then it is illegal.


in dad's books, he reackons that the agent is only the manager to the previous tenant, if hes too lazy and unorganised and with 1 months notice cant find another tenant, then what da hell is he doing???

so rightly so, because the house is empty, there are no tenants, and he has yet to find us another tenant,

legally, is my dad right to ask other agents to find us tenants?

ps, i offered to be dads property manager.

cause hes too busy with his roast takeaway business, and his english aint to swell .

but yeah damn fustrated at my dads short sighted weakness!

a previous house that we sold, got screwed cause the 2 dogs ****ted and peed on the carpets, made a mess argggggggggggh


so anti-dogs for tenants at the moment!

Well Dazza, I feel for you and your Dad. I used to have rental properties in Tauranga in the mid nineties but because of my moving around from city to city with my work, I sold the rentals.

Note: my partner and I did the management of these properties.

Ten years later I am on my own. Have some equity in my home which I bought in Auckland about 4 years ago.

I have so many people tell me that I should use that equity to get into rental properties again. But I work long hours each week, have family commitments with an elderly Mum and at the end of the day don't need the sort of issues that your Dad has to deal with.

My choice is to buy a few shares with my spare cash, spend a bit of time trying to study up on the sharemarket, follow the progress (or otherwise) on my shares on a daily basis and feel that at the end of the day, when the market closes, I can sleep soundly, and know that I won't get a call from a tenant in the early evening telling me that the stove isn't working.

Probably not the recipe to making mega-bucks in the short term but each to his / her own.

I know there is money to be made in property. My daughter and son-in-law are proof of that and are doing very nicely thank you very much. But really you have to think what your own capabilities and time constraints allow you to do.

Maybe you need to get your Dad into some other kind of Investment, one that doesn't tend to frazzle all your nerve ends on a daily basis....

:)

Dazza,

I'd strongly recommend that you don't manage the properties yourselves.

I'd suggest you find a good property manager and get them to manage all three of your father's investment properties.

The 7.5% or so of the rent that they earn isn't much compared to what they do and they deal with the tenants and do inspections etc. They also screen the prospective tenants and are set up with all the legal forms etc etc. Also, when the property is empty they will have a better chance of finding another tenant than you will, and with much less hassle, coz guess what sort of people come through their door every day - prospective tenants!

Ask other property investors for recommendations on a good property management company. Obviously one criteria is that its not a one-man band, but a business with several property managers so that you have someone else to help you in the event your usual manager is away.

Sorry I can't help you with any of the legalities, other than there's probably some kind of form for you to fill in to give the current property manager notice that you're changing property manager.

I have two investment properties and they are both with the same property management company, and I don't begrudge them whatsoever for the % of rent that they earn. They make my life much easier!

Well said wns.

Dazza, if you're doing this yourself or your Dad still has properties, I hope things are better now.

This is an old thread but I'd like to answer some of the remaining questions for Dazza and anyone reading in the future.

When selecting a property manager it is worthwhile meeting with a couple different property managers that you have read about online (company website, etc).
Preferably meet at one of your rentals and discuss a bit of background, exactly what you want and where you are headed. This gives the property manager a chance to understand your situation and tailor service to suit you. Different investors have different questions and needs so you should state yours (no dogs!).
If you don't click with the property manager then keep looking!

Regarding dogs, the current 2010 amended Tenancies Act dictates that if the tenancy agreement specifies no pets and the tenant has a pet then they are in breach if the tenancy agreement.
Then you can issue a 14 day breach notice to the tenant requesting they remove the pet. There are example letters online at www.tenancy.govt.nz, APIA.org.nz, etc.
If the tenant doesn't comply then you can then apply to the Tenancy Tribunal for termination of the tenancy (if that is what you want).
You will need to submit your tenancy agreement, proof of the dogs (photos/etc) and any correspondence with the tenant about the dogs, including any 14 day notices.
When the Tribunal adjudicator terminates a tenancy the final day is the final day.
For example, if the termination date is the 1st of July but the tenant was on a fixed term until the 1st of August, the tenant will NOT be liable for rent up to the 1st of August.

Next, property management contracts should have a clause stating what notice periods must be given to terminate management.
Ours state 1 months notice so we can wrap up any accounts or matters that are currently under way, however owners can discuss this with our property managers or me(manager) if a shorter period is required.


Some management authorities (contracts) specify longer periods like 3, 6 or even 12 months. Plus when terminated, the fees on rent that would have been incurred up until the end of the management period must be paid. Ouch.
I've also seen fees for placing properties on the market, moving back in, renewing fixed terms etc. Check carefully!