Sunday, August 3, 2008

The Pains of Renting

I just have a tenant move out leaving me only 1 day to clean up and repair before the next tenant moves in. I would normally expect some minor repairs to be done which is mainly due to wear and tear but when it is damage done deliberately it's something else. Starting with this remote control with the battery wires totally ripped out.


Next, I've got scratches and unremovable stains left on table tops....
Window handles were also ripped out and the problem is there is no spare parts for this type of window handle. It's already obsolete and the only solution would be to change all the window handles.
Some heavy material must have dropped on the floor. Dents on laminate flooring would be easier to fix but troublesome and expensive as you need to get the specialist to come.
There are also scratches on the wooden doors and walls. These were caused by someone with a sharp or hard material.

Apparently, one day my tenant came home without his keys and decided to hire a locksmith to break open the door. I was not informed about this until the day he moved out and imagine living for a few months without any locks! This is the main door!
Never leave any expensive and nice looking pieces of furniture in your rented house. This neo-antique table lamp is broken and missing the top silk lamp shade.

Besides the broken cabinet doors, one of them broken in half, of course the place was filthy. The kitchen tops and all utensils are covered in grease, maybe 1 year and 4 months old, bathroom molds and the dust revealed that the place has probably never been cleaned for the entire tenancy.

How did this happen? Well, this is to expect when you rent to a single guy. And the single guy met a woman who came in to stay with her 2 kids. All of them in this small 600sf 1 bedroom apartment. Anyway, I am not upset or disappointed... that's why we keep a deposit. I would advice all house owners to hold on to the deposit until the house been checked and repaired thoroughly before releasing the balance to the tenant. Many of the repairs cost a lot because they are small and petty and you have to pay a premium to get people to come and do the work at such a short notice. In all, in good faith, I am still grateful and thankful to the tenant for staying with me for 1 year and 4 months.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi thanks for sharing the pictures. Things break, and sometimes it is not easy to be a tenant either, because the quality of the interior, it breaks like wear and tear. Dont rent out the apartment with an antique lamp. The kids will play football and break it. And things will drop on the floor and the walls are very fragile. maybe it is better to just sell rather than rent out to.

Anonymous said...

wah... so easy for you to say... is it that easy to sell? i think sub-sale market now is tougher than ever

Anonymous said...

where is this unit by the way? how much the rental fetched in the market?

sinleong said...

Let's just say bukit bintang... rental is below RM2k. but what's the point?