If I had a dollar for every time I heard this, followed with ‘they are behind on the rent’, I’d have enough to clear some of those rent arrears.
There have been some tragic cases.
Try this one. The social worker: This landlord took pity on someone who suffered a tragedy in Christchurch earthquakes and put her in his property. She never paid rent, and after six months, the landlord finally kicked her out. She then disputed the amount of the rent, claiming it was $100 per week less than he had signed her up. It’s still going through the Tribunal, causing the landlord considerable emotional and financial stress.
Or this one. The automatic payment: The landlord checked the rent came in every week for about 8 weeks for their new tenant. At this point they relaxed, knowing the tenant had it sorted. Three months later, their bank rings, their mortgage is in default. The tenants seemed to have stopped paying the moment they stopped checking. Tears all round, and no, they never recovered the debt owed.
Or the one where the landlord can’t afford property management. I call them the Conflict Avoider: That’s because his tenant had racked up close to $50,000 over a five year period. That’s about three years of rent. They also hadn’t inspected during that time, because, well, they’d need to discuss the rent arrears then. So they had no idea what state the property was in. On the plus side, they’d spent nothing on maintenance either. Somehow, I think this will simply cost them more due to problems being left unattended. Yep, can’t afford property management. More like, can’t afford not to have it.
So, if you find yourself identifying too closely with these real life landlords, get help! Call us now on 04 4711880, we can save you from the rent arrears blues.
