Hello OzB,
A bit of a long story, and just after some advice. Apologies if this isn't the correct forum sub section.
~11 years ago, I bought/built my first house on my own. 5-6 years later after being in a long term relationship, my partner and I bought another house together, while renting mine out, up until now.
During the period that the tenants were there, I only increased rent twice during the 5 year period, and kept the rent lower than market value, because initially the kept the house nice and clean and I wanted them to be happy, while still being relatively comfortable myself. Every time they went to the agent with an issue, (hot water stopped working, ducted heater stopped working, front door lock and handle fell apart so replaced that and all the locks around the house so they only had to use the same key) and a few other things, I would simply tell the agent to get it fixed asap, no questions asked.
I tagged along for the yearly inspections only 2 or 3 times, and then put my trust in the agent, and the report always came back that all was well.
You can't plan life, and now my wife and I have separated, it may not be permanent but we're taking time apart. I'm moving back into my house and we are getting advice wether to rent or sell our jointly owned house.
I got the tenants to agree to break their lease early, in exchange for a months free rent, my agent said I really had no choice in the current climate, but I needed a place to live.
Last week, I went to do the inspection with the agent for the first time in a few years. I was very disappointed.
The crim safe security door locks are jammed closed, there is solid dust caked onto the skirting boards, every wall has marks and gouges that have been painted over in a similar but different coloured paint, there is mold growing on the INSIDE of the main bedroom windows, all the sliding door and window rails are full of not just dust, but in some cases piled high with dirt, the rear bedrooms have MOSS growing on the inside window seals, both showers in the house have a fair amount of missing grout and black mouldy grout and silicone, the freestanding cooker, the stove top works but the oven itself doesn't, the range hood canopy is caked in so much grease that the some of the buttons don't stay activated, the kitchen tap has taken a hard knock at some point as is kind of hanging loose, and has been leaking water into the below cabinets, swelling and bubbling the laminate shelves, big stains on 2 sections of carpet, the outdoor speakers I had attached to the alfresco roof, they took them, the old but nice Samsung monitor I had for the CCTV system has been replaced with some shitty looking no name brand monitor. A foxtel satellite was installed on the roof that I don't want either. No hard surface has been wiped down, bench top, kitchen cupboards, bedroom doors are grimy and sticky. It looks like every wall has had liquid spilled on it at some stage and not cleaned properly.
I definitely know that some of these issues are related to wear and tear/age, however they never notified the agent or myself. I handed over a relatively new house, everything in perfect working order, everything clean, and I walked back into people who don't understand cleanliness or preventative maintenance. I'm thinking a lot of these things would be fine if preventative maintenance would have been carried out (like when you live in a house). I would have had these kind of things fixed or replaced immediately like I have in the past.
I'm pissed at the agent as well for not really inspecting the property to a decent standard. The agent has been in touch with the ex tenant, and the the ex tenant will be returning the speakers and monitor, I'm baffled why the thought they could take them in the first place. However for all the other things, the agent has asked me for a dollar value of compensation that will be negotiated.
If you were back to living in your house that you had rented out, would you find this kind of thing acceptable? Would you ask for compensation? I am pissed that the house is in the state that it's in, and I'm not sure if me being upset is making me think I'm justified in expecting compensation. So I'm just after opinions on if you would, and how much do you think you'd request?
I don't know if it would make any difference on a personal level to anyone else, but it was my house that I built on my own and worked hard for and to keep, not just purchased as an investment, it really was upsetting to walk back in and see how filthy it all is.
Thanks for reading, looking forward to any opinions or advice.
Landlord insurance.