I am currently renting through an agency I used to work for.  I managed a complex of 27 units & got to know the owner quite well.  When I needed to move, I decided to move into the complex – - it was a bit concerning as all the tenants knew me & I dreaded being stopped in the carpark or stairwell to answer maintenance questions etc when all I wanted to do was run out for bread & milk!  As circumstance has it, I stopped working for the agency just before I moved in & have just signed my second 12 month lease.  It’s great knowing my property managers & landlord personally & I’ve become friends with some of those people who were previously my tenants.

I found a house with a great real estate agent and am now living in an awesome house with the same real estate agent.( two different houses) Through talking to the agent we established a connection and now i work at the real estate agency. I have completed my required courses and am enjoying the work and the ever changing pace of a real estate agency. Margaret, who i work with, is awesome…no question is too silly or unanswerable.

A chance connection opened a new direction for me and i love the house we live in.

A little bit off topic here Jessica but like Melanie, one of my best friends I met when the business I was working with leased a property to her and she made a complaint!

I rent and LOVE IT! I pay a fixed amount every week and I never see bills for rates, body corp, insurance, repairs etc. I’d be paying over $1000 per week to mortgage the property.

With the savings made I can hold investment properties in other areas with better growth prospects and better yields.

I agree with you Ross – there are definately perks to renting!! It means that I’m able to live on my own, whereas I would need to have a housemate to cover mortgage payments.

While it doesnt bother me as I know my property manager, I think it would be frustrating as a tenant to have an agent inspecting your home every 4 or so months, particularly after you have lived there for several years.  Tenants often outlast property managers so constantly having a different person through your home would be annoying. 
I also feel very sorry for those tenants with slack property managers who have maintenance issues which remain outstanding for a long time :(

When I moved back from Central Queensland a few years ago I rented a terrace house in a new estate. The I rented through knew full well that I was a licensee of another agency but still let the owners take the keys from the agents office, enter my property without any prior knowledge or Form 9 to conduct maintenance, mind you using my brand new dining table and chairs as ladders to fix my clothesline.

Another instance was when the garage door (a panel door) came apart when opening it one morning on top of my car and when I phoned informing them what happened they said “we will organise someone to come out in the next few days…” well you can imagine my response considering a panel of the garage door was sitting on my car roof!!

Certainly can say it was an experience. For personal reasons, I was forced to break  my lease 4 months down the track and they tried advertising the property for $40 a week more than what I was paying and certainly above what was deemed to be market value at the time, a fine way to end a tenancy!

Nick, that is crazy! I wonder if you recieved any compensation for the damage to your car?

I have to admit that when I know a tenant is a property manager or in the real estate industry, I do tend to pay even just a little bit more attention in ensuring that absolutely everything is done correctly!!

The interesting thing was when I made a formal complaint to the agency they were more worried about me taking the matter further rather than resolving the issue itself. The licensee of the branch that I rented through, said of all people, it had to be another licensee. My response to that comment was that regardless of my career no tenant should be treated any differently. I was not offered any form of compensation but I negotiated at a later stage to not have to pay a break lease fee which they were more than happy to waive considering what had eventuated throughout the tenancy.

The irony is that the staff member who allowed the lessor to take out the keys on the Saturday was the Agency Owners daughter…!!

In saying this, I have rented through a number of different agencies over previous years and can say that I have had some fantastic experiences with other property managers and agencies, this one just sticks out like a sore thumb. I am sure we could all relate to similar instances where lessors dont understand the importance and the legislative requirement of giving notice of entry to a tenanted property.

We have a policy in our business, that we will not allow staff members to rent trough our agency.

Jason Rose

www.rentalexpress.com.au