Pets Abandoned As Rental Market Heats Up

[SnoPaws]

I hated renting with pets, finally I bought a house. I don't think it is right for people to buy investment properties and then put numerous exclusions on them and therefore preventing the property from being rented. I remember being told by an Agent that it was very hard to rent a 4 or 5 bedroom house to a couple without children but that was the requirement of the owner, no pets no children and it wasn't just one owner. If a person is renting out their own home while they live elsewhere I can understand a no pet rule but not for investments provided you can meet rental criteria set by the Agent and if extra bond is needed that should be accepted too. I have always got my bond back with my pets living in the house with me.

Wow, what a shocking attitude

And that's from a landlord who has a pet friendly 3 bedroom property (inside/outside dogs, cats and ................... kids welcome) who is doing it tough financially.

No 1 Most real estate agents and property managers have a blanket no pets rule. 99% of the time this isn't even discussed with the landlord. I had to really push the animal allowed point.

No 2 We had ONE application when we last rented the property out, a three bedroom, 2 louge room house, new kitchen, split system ac, coonara, new floors, inground pool and fully fenced backyard for $300 a week, 1 application not hundreds. Thankfully for us it was a lovely young family with 1 indoor and 1 outdoor dog. I advertised this property on dogzonline and didn't get one enquiry.

No 3 We as landlords after all our costs are out of pocket about $200 a week, my partner and I only earn an average wage, our cars are over 10 years old and we do it tough, we sure as hell can't afford to let our tennants do as they wish and if we wish to put 'numerous exclusions' on it so be it they are our houses, we are the ones drinking black and gold tea while our tennats are probably enjoying a cafe latte at the local cafe

[CrazyCresties]

I used to rent to a lady with a dog. The dog did WAY less damage to the place than her grandkids did

I've tried this a few times recently where the agent has said no pets - I say 'are kids allowed?' and when they say yes I say 'well I have none, but trust me my pets will make far less mess and damage than any kid' - hasn't worked yet but it's worth a try

After being home owners in the UK for 10 years, it's been a nightmare trying to find somewhere to rent in Perth and having to be at the mercy of agents and landlords again

[PaddyForever]

We have four children and three dogs, and were impacted by the Black Saturday bushfires. We were renting a rural property, and everything bar the house, burnt down, inc our kennels, runs, etc, and we had to move into town. We had 5 dogs at the time and had to place 2. One dog has come back to us and another has since passed away. We found rental that allowed the dogs, but it wasn't easy. I think a bit of sympathy for what had happened played a part. Once we had accomodation though, it was harder to be considered by other Real Estates. We have been looking for another child/pet friendly farmlet rental for the past year...

[raz]

I don't think it is right for people to buy investment properties and then put numerous exclusions on them and therefore preventing the property from being rented.

Why on earth not? It's their investment so ofcourse they can do whatever they want with it, even if they're stupid enough to have a 4-5 bedroom house an an investment property and exclude families, however I do feel for people trying to rent in this tough market.

[Guest Tess32]

I don't think it's that hard in Victoria. Most of the PMs were reasonably open to it and I wouldn't even allow pets in this house, but they do! I think I could only really tell that one agency in particular wouldn't even acknowledge pets, but they were also the type to send out brain dead, model wannabe agents to open inspections too, so no big loss.

[Debyork2]

We have been renters for quite some time and have never had any great difficulty finding a house. I think it is probably easier with small dogs, when we applied for this house we had to provide photos of the dogs with our application. Have been here nearly four years with no problems. I think it is easier when you have a previous record of no problems, 100% bond refunds etc., but there are sometimes problems thru no fault of the tenant-there are a lot of dodgy landlords and real estate agencies out there! It always makes me angry to see some dreadful old hovel advertised for rent and they say 'no pets'-they should be so lucky! I would NEVER give up the dogs for the sake of a house-I'd rather take the tent and live out in the bush somewhere!!

[Ashanali]

I would NEVER give up the dogs for the sake of a house-I'd rather take the tent and live out in the bush somewhere!!

Not an option for some people as nice as it sounds.

[Nekhbet]

yup I think we forget when you have a couple of kids or your health isnt good you cant just protest with a tent in a public park or live out bush. I feel sorry that we are pushing animals out of our lives even with rentals. People will be destructive ferals animals or not. Unfortunately to make life easier on themselves many owners and agents dont give a rats and say no pets. Some people have to move in a hurry and cannot find an affordable family rental in time. Our rent has gone up $25 a week in two years, but where are we going to go with our menagerie? Older houses too are now being cleared and turned into brand new units so the traditional old cheapies that allowed everything are dying out too.

[Elfin]

This place would be perfect, but the ad says "one small outside dogs allowed".

I have emailed to politely ask why only a small dog would be allowed.

http://www.realestate.com.au/property-hous...ville-404742117

Debyork, I have been living in a shed in the Victorian Alps since May to keep my dogs. It is certainly NO fun. I have learned a new level of "cold".

[Debyork2]

Australia is so behind in some ways-there must be thousands of dogs living happily in apartments in the US and Europe yet it seems rare that units here allow pets. And rents go up and up, ours has risen by $40 a week in 3 1/2 years. I think in a lot of cases renters are regarded as 'second class citizens', God knows why-I can afford to rent a much nicer house than I could buy, don't have the burden of a huge mortgage to pay, don't have to have a nervous breakdown every time something blows up (we've had dishwasher, air conditioner and plumbing repairs in the last six months and was very relieved not to be footing the bill!), never stuck in one place longer than the length of the lease, if a cyclone blows it off the face of the planet I don't care as long as we are all safe, so there are big advantages to renting as well as the obvious drawbacks.

[SnoPaws]

Australia is so behind in some ways-there must be thousands of dogs living happily in apartments in the US and Europe yet it seems rare that units here allow pets. And rents go up and up, ours has risen by $40 a week in 3 1/2 years. I think in a lot of cases renters are regarded as 'second class citizens', God knows why-I can afford to rent a much nicer house than I could buy, don't have the burden of a huge mortgage to pay, don't have to have a nervous breakdown every time something blows up (we've had dishwasher, air conditioner and plumbing repairs in the last six months and was very relieved not to be footing the bill!), never stuck in one place longer than the length of the lease, if a cyclone blows it off the face of the planet I don't care as long as we are all safe, so there are big advantages to renting as well as the obvious drawbacks.

Our mortage on our rental has gone up $400 a month in the last year, yet our rental income is exactly the same is it was a year ago and you whinge about $40 in 3 and half years

As for the second comment I am sure your landlord who has paid for your dishwasher, air conditioner and plumbing to be repaired and probably done it tough themselves to ensure the repairs were carried is probably esctatic you care so little about the home you rent.

Seriously after listening to all the landlord bashing going on, it makes me wonder why I bother going to the trouble of having PET FRIENDLY rentals, maybe that's why so few long term landlords bother

Edited August 23, 2010 by SnoPaws

[ravenau1]

I had no problem renting to someone with an inside dog, I just asked for a slightly larger bond than usual (I figured the carpets might need an extra clean, or there might be a little extra work needed doing in the yard etc). Luckily I did because the house was in terrible condition when the tenant moved out. Nothing to do with the dog though! The kitchen countertops were ruined, as were all the carpets and blinds. She had grandchildren that used toy metal cars to gouge most of the walls (this is what she told us) in some places like the toilet (?!) almost back to the brickwork, they also painted the carpet, which I also had replaced only two years before as it was the original carpet and not wearing well. Thank god the kids didn't live there full time or there would be no house left . When she moved out, I stood in the house and just cried. I had been a good landlord. Every little thing that was brought to my attention I had fixed, I even put in roller shutters because she complained that the building site across the road was getting noisy and disturbing her (the building had nothing to do with me!). she was a long term tenant so I kept the rent well under what the 'going rate' was, thinking that it was better to have a stable tenant. The bond nowhere near covered the amount of the damage.

I will never be a landlord again . Or if I ever go crazy and am tempted then I will want to do house inspections myself, as we had a agent that did regular inspections and gave her GLOWING reports. I am convinced that they never set foot in the house.

Someone I know at the moment is renting and they have a Blue Heeler. It has destroyed the yard and done thousands of dollars worth of damage to the reticulation etc. They can't afford to fix it, so who foots the bill? The only reason they were allowed to have the dog is because they said it was old, and very well behaved. It isn't either of those things. You can bet that landlord will never rent to anyone with so much as a canary in future.

So I guess, there are bad landlords, yes, but there are bad tenants too. Tenants and Landlords each end up paying for the actions of the 'bad eggs' in both camps. And I guess every time a dog/kid/pet does damage to a rental property then it makes it harder for those tenants with dogs/kids/pets that are great.

Edited August 23, 2010 by ravenau1

[Debyork2]

Australia is so behind in some ways-there must be thousands of dogs living happily in apartments in the US and Europe yet it seems rare that units here allow pets. And rents go up and up, ours has risen by $40 a week in 3 1/2 years. I think in a lot of cases renters are regarded as 'second class citizens', God knows why-I can afford to rent a much nicer house than I could buy, don't have the burden of a huge mortgage to pay, don't have to have a nervous breakdown every time something blows up (we've had dishwasher, air conditioner and plumbing repairs in the last six months and was very relieved not to be footing the bill!), never stuck in one place longer than the length of the lease, if a cyclone blows it off the face of the planet I don't care as long as we are all safe, so there are big advantages to renting as well as the obvious drawbacks.

Our mortage on our rental has gone up $400 a month in the last year, yet our rental income is exactly the same is it was a year ago and you whinge about $40 in 3 and half years

As for the second comment I am sure your landlord who has paid for your dishwasher, air conditioner and plumbing to be repaired and probably done it tough themselves to ensure the repairs were carried is probably esctatic you care so little about the home you rent.

Seriously after listening to all the landlord bashing going on, it makes me wonder why I bother going to the trouble of having PET FRIENDLY rentals, maybe that's why so few long term landlords bother

So if it's such a burden...sell it! And I don't feel too bad about the landlord having to cough up for repairs, he's generated about 80,000 in rental income whilst we've been here, had the house perfectly cared for & never had to worry if the house was being kept up to his standards. I have no emotional investment in this house, and no, I don't care about it as such, I do however look after it very well, we ALWAYS get 100 % of our bond back, always pay the rent on time and are generally perfect tenants-what more could a landlord ask for? Don't expect me to get all misty eyed about a rental house!

[Nekhbet]

an investment property is a massive luxury item. It also comes with costs that shouldnt outweight the rent that is paid (otherwise they're pretty much not worth owning) but thats part and parcel of getting thousands of dollars a year from tenants. Whinging you're out of pocket on an investment property is like complaining your ferrarri needs new wheels that are gonna cost soooo much.

Problem is too that so many people are willing to buy investment properties as stupid prices and then slog the renters with the morgage increase they cant afford. If we stopped paying massive prices for houses they wouldnt be that expensive and more people would be out of rentals and back into houses they can actually afford.

[Debyork2]

an investment property is a massive luxury item. It also comes with costs that shouldnt outweight the rent that is paid (otherwise they're pretty much not worth owning) but thats part and parcel of getting thousands of dollars a year from tenants. Whinging you're out of pocket on an investment property is like complaining your ferrarri needs new wheels that are gonna cost soooo much.

Problem is too that so many people are willing to buy investment properties as stupid prices and then slog the renters with the morgage increase they cant afford. If we stopped paying massive prices for houses they wouldnt be that expensive and more people would be out of rentals and back into houses they can actually afford.

Exactly-well said Nekhbet There are many people in this country who would be thrilled to own a house of their own, and there is no doubt that the 'investment' buyers have made it a lot less affordable to do so-I just try to look on the positive side of renting. Beats me why people take on these huge mortgages that must be a constant worry-I'd rather rent thanks!!

[ravenau1]

an investment property is a massive luxury item. It also comes with costs that shouldnt outweight the rent that is paid (otherwise they're pretty much not worth owning) but thats part and parcel of getting thousands of dollars a year from tenants. Whinging you're out of pocket on an investment property is like complaining your ferrarri needs new wheels that are gonna cost soooo much.

Problem is too that so many people are willing to buy investment properties as stupid prices and then slog the renters with the morgage increase they cant afford. If we stopped paying massive prices for houses they wouldnt be that expensive and more people would be out of rentals and back into houses they can actually afford.

I can see that. In my case however, it was the house I intended to eventually live in. I Live in it now, and am still fixing things up. I left it empty after the tenant moved out, and if I had my time again I would leave it empty all the way along! I guess it's easier and less personal if it's another property you own and not your home

However, that said I have never rented (apart from a share house at Uni lol) so my perspective is a bit skewed I think, never really having experienced that side of things.

[WreckitWhippet]

If people don't put their money into investment properties because the returns are not good and they are frequently damaged, then you won't have anywhere to rent.

I'd thought about retaining the current house as a rental property but it's much easier just to sell it, then deal with tenants who don't give a toss.

[SnoPaws]

$80,000 in rental income wow how do you know that are you their accountant

If you are you aren't a very good one, because an investment property should be negatively geared not positively. They should run at a loss. The return comes in capital gains not income

And sorry that was mean, yes I have my bitch hat on today

My investment property isn't a luxury it is an investment in my childrens future. Take your average house worth $350,000, house prices double every ten years on average so when they are ready to buy a home in 20 years it will cost them about 1.4 million and there isn't a hope in hell they will be able to afford one then. I suppose I could take my $200 a week and put it in a savings account for 20 years and hand them $250 grand in 20 years. Or a 1.4 million dollar house, ummm hard decison to ensure my kids have a future. I suppose I was raised that you always pay yourself first, which means money into the bank or an investment for the future first, then bills and neccessities second, then luxuries last.

Just because someone has an investment does not mean they are loaded and can afford to throw money around nor can they afford for their tennants to not pay the rent or trash the house just like because someone chooses to rent means they have are broke, on welfare or destitute.

Seriously though I am just a little fish investor and you will find it is your little fish investor like myself that is willing to have pets and not your big fish investor. Your big fish couldn't give a toss about you and your animals they only see the bottom line whereas a little fish has a big interest in their rental home, we want our tennants to be happy, look after the house and pay the rent on time. Problem is houses get trashed and rent doesn't get paid, the big investors can afford it, the little ones can't so we sell up to the big investors and another house because No Pets Allowed.

So you (in general not you personally) slag us off and lump landlords in the same category as car salesman, don't pay the rent on time, trash our hosues and then can't understand why we won't allow pets.

But then again my house was advertised on here for two months, $300 a week for 3 bedrooms, two lounges, brand new kitchen, coonara, new reverse cycle split system air conditioning, new flooring, freshly painted, in ground pool, great undercover entertaining area, full fenced back years, 2 minutes walk to local shops, kindy, primary school, public transport, walking trail and pet friendly, happy to have up to 4 indoor/outdoor dogs and two cats, oh and only 45 ks from the Melbourne cbd about a 50 minute drive along Eastlink and I got ..................................... not one enquiry

[raz]

an investment property is a massive luxury item.

Unreal. An investment is a luxury is it?

[SnoPaws]

an investment property is a massive luxury item.

Unreal. An investment is a luxury is it?

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