Emergency Call out Fee as Real Estate Agent Couldn't Arrange for a Sparky on Time

CAPTCHHHA on 16/10/2018 - 14:31
Last edited 16/10/2018 - 15:21 by 1 other user

Real estate agent called me around 9 AM about an electrical issue with my investment property. Looks like there was a problem with the kitchen which had effectively knocked down the power of entire house.

I had a RACV home assist so I told them I will send someone there. The RACV guy reached the premises an hour later and safely switched off the mains but didn't repair anything and left the property. Called up real estate agents around 12:30 PM asking them to send their own electrician, they said it won't be an issue. Later around 5:30 PM they call me up saying there are no electricians around the suburb and they can only send someone around 8:30 PM, obviously with a massive call out fee. The tenants have a small kid and it was really cold so I asked them to waste no time and get the guy there as soon as possible.

Obviously, if they would have called me and let me know a lot sooner I would have gone on Hi Pages and arranged for my own electrician. The electrician went there around 8:30 PM as promised and rewired three power points in kitchen with new cabling which made most of the power points to work but it didn't completely fix the issue. He promised going back later and fixing the other stuff.

Sent an invoice of $700 for the job he did that night and another invoice of $7000 if I ask him to go there again and fix rest of the stuff. He says the house needs to be rewired (looks like previous owner assumed he was a sparky and was fixing everything himself).

There are a few things here -
Can I hold the real estate agents for the emergency call out charges?
Can a house rewiring be covered under house and content insurance?

Home & Garden

Comments

        • CAPTCHHHA on 18/10/2018 - 13:36

          In the long run there is nothing stopping from the property prices to explode,at least in big cities, specially given the influx of people on their permanent visas.

          • Trying2SaveABuck on 18/10/2018 - 13:42

            @CAPTCHHHA: It is a huge gamble and i guess it depends on the level of risk you're willing to take i think if properties were to rise it would be up until the 1st home buy grant level 600k because of stamp duty concessions i wouldnt bother investing in a property over that 600k mark

            but even that is a big gamble due to the exponential increase in-supply in 'new developments' likely rising interest rates and much tighter lending rules property has more going against it then it has ever had in the past 3 decades.

            • CAPTCHHHA on 18/10/2018 - 13:45

              @Trying2SaveABuck: I plan to invest only in significantly bigger blocks which are either corner or next to a corner block. Subdivision is always an option that way. With the new 600K push by the government it is easier to sell townhouses or villas on small lots.

    • CAPTCHHHA on 18/10/2018 - 13:34
      -1

      I am pretty sure RE gets a cut for every job order they send out

      • Trying2SaveABuck on 18/10/2018 - 13:35
        +2

        It is possible a'bet not legal? they would have to invoice you for the charges but it wouldn't surprise me if there 'preferred tradesmen' where giving them a cut of the costs.

        Commissions generally need to be disclosed

        • CAPTCHHHA on 18/10/2018 - 13:42
          +1

          Most of them work only with one or two tradesmen all the time. The quote through RE is always higher than others. Only connecting the dots here

          • Trying2SaveABuck on 18/10/2018 - 13:44

            @CAPTCHHHA: Wouldnt surprise me if it was my business i'd be expecting a cut off the cost even if it was highly unethical it would be really hard for an landlord to prove

            • CAPTCHHHA on 18/10/2018 - 13:47

              @Trying2SaveABuck: RE don't really care about ethics much when it comes to selling a house. They always tend to give an estimate 10% - 15% below what they think the actual going price of the house will be. I think the government made it illegal to do this but didn't stop them.

              • Trying2SaveABuck on 18/10/2018 - 13:50
                +1

                @CAPTCHHHA: See i always thought it was the other way they always estimated 10-15% more to get you signature then tried to talk you down

                that has been my experience

                • CAPTCHHHA on 18/10/2018 - 13:51

                  @Trying2SaveABuck: I am talking about before an auction when they advertise the property.

                  • Trying2SaveABuck on 18/10/2018 - 13:52

                    @CAPTCHHHA: You are talking as a buyer not a seller

                    then yes your 100% for auctioned properties this happens to generate interest

                    • CAPTCHHHA on 18/10/2018 - 13:54

                      @Trying2SaveABuck: I haven't yet sold anything so got no clue. Fairly new to the investment housing scene.

  • polishka on 18/10/2018 - 13:53

    This is why I manage my own properties and have contingencies in place if I’m unavailable.

    • CAPTCHHHA on 18/10/2018 - 13:57

      After so many negative experiences with my RE I have given a thought to this as well. I don't feel very confident doing it on my own. I am a very easy going guy who can't say no. I do not have any legal knowledge and I do not know any good lawyers. I have had no experiences with bad tenants.

  • duluxe2000 on 18/10/2018 - 16:33
    +1

    Why do you have to re-wire the whole house ? Did he check a single power point and told you that ? Did you get quotes from other sparkies ?

    • CAPTCHHHA on 20/10/2018 - 00:50

      I did, it’s an old house. Got 3 tradies inspect it and all of them came back with similar observations

  • prinsenhof on 18/10/2018 - 17:29
    -1

    Before getting quotes for a complete re-wire of the house, i suggest playing dumb and sending a different electrician out to inspect the condition of the house wiring and report back.

    Make no mention of re-wiring the house, just that the house circuit breaker tripped and see what they come up with in their own opinion.

    • CAPTCHHHA on 18/10/2018 - 19:25

      Thanks for the suggestion mate. The other sparky that went to inspect the property sent me some pics from the roof, things look really bad so I guess I will go ahead with the rewiring thing.

  • bigticket on 19/10/2018 - 01:30

    I have personally seen gun ho tradies, when called out for a minor problem, specifically scout around so that they can inform you of non existing major defects costing thousands to secure extra work.

    Do your own research to ensure this is not the case. And don't call out electrians for a quote to rewire the house because that is what you will get whether you need it or not.

    • CAPTCHHHA on 20/10/2018 - 00:46
      +1

      Looks like I might have to do the rewiring. It’s a 1960’s house with black rubber insulations. The insulations are falling off when rubbed. The downlights that my tenant was using were halogen which were getting really hot and burned a hole in the wooden roof. The sparky sent me pics from up there and it looks really gross. I guess I will just get done with it, but thanks for your suggestion. That was my initial view as well.

  • Geryatric on 19/10/2018 - 04:19

    You needed someone same day… actually within a few hours. This is emergency call out

    • CAPTCHHHA on 20/10/2018 - 00:47

      Thanks, now I know.

  • ankor on 19/10/2018 - 14:16

    If it makes you feel any better, I think you're bloody awesome for responding so quickly after considering your tenant's child.

    Thanks heaps from all the tenants who've ever had a crap landlord.

    • CAPTCHHHA on 20/10/2018 - 00:49
      +1

      Thanks , I am sure all landlords consider their tenants situation if they want a long term working relationship.

  • Traveller107 on 19/10/2018 - 14:17
    +2

    Be wary of electrical quotes. Electricians are much easier to find than plumbers but in my experience they are also more likely to lie shamelessly.

    7k for a rewire seems very high. Just to give you an idea I've had a 5 bedroom 2 living, 3 bathroom, 2 garage big brick house rewired for 5k. The quotes I had for rewiring ranged from 4k to 15k. I'm currently getting a raised queenslander rewired (3 bed 1 bath small cottage). Quotes were from 2.5k to 9k. The same sparkie who did the previous property is doing it for 2.5k.

    There is no limit to tradies lying if they think you are clueless. For instance, I recently had a sparkie tell me I must update all the "decade old" smoke alarms at the property with new interconnected smoke alarms for $1400 (interconnected photoeletrics were already at the house and installed just 2 years ago to current code).I had had enough of this guys attitude so showed him the old safety certificate in my email from the previous sparkie and asked him for an explanation for his lies. Suddenly he was tongue tied and had to leave lol!
    Shop around or get another opinion if you have the time to save some money. Cheers!

    • CAPTCHHHA on 20/10/2018 - 00:42

      Thanks a lot mate, you have actually solved most of my concerns. The initial quote that I had was for 7.8k and finally getting it done for 2.5k. The electrician is also providing 12 led downlights.

      The only concern at the moment is the damage to the wallls and stuff. The sparky has mentioned he has to drill 3 holes minimum and that I need to arrange for a painter later. From your experience how much do you think it would cost me to get the house to condition after the rewiring is complete.

      • Traveller107 on 20/10/2018 - 15:46

        Hi Captchhha,I've always had my sparkies access everything through the roof void so have never had to get such damage fixed. There is always a manhole to access the roof for such works and they can access the wall cavities from the roof as well..
        I think your best option would be to get a plasterer in to either repair the damage or for a better finish replace the gyprock sheet if all the damage is on the same wall. Cost should be similar(couple of hundred). You could ask the plasterer to slap some paint on for a little extra. I would recommend against hiring a "handy man" to do plaster and paint (handymen are always slow, expensive and do a really compromised job- steer clear). Cheers!

  • garetz on 20/10/2018 - 09:43

    You can find a new real estate agent who can do their job.

    • CAPTCHHHA on 20/10/2018 - 12:02

      Sure, I will ask around in my suburb for better agents

  • myusername on 20/10/2018 - 11:01
    +1

    sounds like ray white

    we had a mains burst out the front on our side, not the councils, when we rang the real estate they property manager said she was on lunch and would arrange it when she finished lunch. come 5pm in the arvo i called for an update and she said she forgot. ray white took 2 days to get a handyman onsite who had no idea, he actually broke the pipe on the council side and made me call the council. when the council guy arrived they nearly got into a fist fight, the council guy was calling out the handyman on his dodgey work. i rang the real estate and asked why they didnt send a plumber and she said oh this is the best we can do on short notice, she then joked saying my water bill should be smaller. i was like wtf?
    ray white mount gravatt avoid at all costs

    • CAPTCHHHA on 20/10/2018 - 12:01

      Mine was barry plant inner city group Melbourne.

  • PAPower on 20/10/2018 - 12:44

    Best course of action you can do is to write to ScoMo and his mobs to get more sparkies down under. That'll solve all our problems and push electrical service and related prices down. OK it took someone 4 years to qualify as an electrician but earning 150-200k a year isn't quite how it works in other parts of the world.

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