Owner Selling The Property I Am Renting

Ridiculous Panda on 11/01/2023 - 12:26

Hi..
We’ve been living in a-less-than-two-year-old apartment for the past 6 months and have another 6 months on the lease.

Real estate agent called me today to inform that the owner wants to sell the property and they need to come around to take photos for the ad.

Now, they have fairly new photos of the vacant apartment that is pretty much in the same condition that it is now.

I am not so keen in having our personal belongings advertised on the internet especially that they have photos of the vacant apartment they could use.

I had a quick search on google but couldn’t really find clear and straightforward information. I am also after opinions of what is reasonable in this situation. Is it reasonable to ask for rent reduction for the inconvenience of having the photos taken and upcoming inspections?

We have had a positive experience with the agent so far, so I don’t really want to make it difficult for them but at the same time, we don’t want to be pushovers.

Property is in Victoria and the weekly rent is $500.

Thank you.

Home & Garden

Comments

  • orangetrain on 11/01/2023 - 12:30

    What does your lease say?

    What does your tenants union say?

    • Ridiculous Panda on 11/01/2023 - 12:35
      +2

      There is no clause about taking photos of my personal belongings!
      As I said, I am after what is acceptable to do more than what the law says (in case the law is on my side) as I would like to be helpful without being a pushover. So wanted to know if asking for a small reduction for the inconvenience is something normal or will I sound like an opportunistic (profanity).
      I will get formal advice if I don’t find an answer here.
      Thanks for your time though.

  • Jimmytshirt on 11/01/2023 - 12:32
    +8

    Hey champ - have a start here - these laws changed in the (somewhat) recent reforms - fairly straightforward now re compensation etc etc - https://tenantsvic.org.au/advice/during-your-tenancy/your-la…

    • tallkid123 on 11/01/2023 - 12:35

      It's all about giving notice.

    • Ridiculous Panda on 11/01/2023 - 12:35

      Thanks heaps.. having a read now.

      • Gunnar on 11/01/2023 - 12:39
        +6

        The info in there is pretty self explanatory. If you guys are likely to need to rent in the future be helpful in this process as much as it is stressful for you. If the new owner wants you to vacate after your lease ends (or you wish to change residences), the agent can put you up for a place they have so you don’t have to compete with an open market.

        • Ridiculous Panda on 11/01/2023 - 13:25
          +5

          We are moving interstate two months after the end of the lease. Was hoping to extend the lease for a couple of months. Hopefully the new owner will be an investor and agree for us to stay there a bit longer.
          So I will play nice and be cooperative.

  • Drakesy on 11/01/2023 - 12:36
    +6

    Just wait till they start doing home opens while you're living there ;)

    I agree it does suck, they shouldn't really have offered 6 month leases if they were intending to sell it.
    And yeah the vacant photos should be more than enough (unless major changes have been made since then?

    My thought is they're going to be high and dry pretty soon due to the rate increases.

    • Ridiculous Panda on 11/01/2023 - 14:06

      Yeah no changes whatsoever. It is a new building.
      Lease is 12 months and we have about 6 remaining.

      Yeah opens twice a week will suck but we both work full time so shouldn’t really be that annoying especially that we will be saving about $70 a week for two inspections haha

      • Drakesy on 11/01/2023 - 14:43

        Spend it on beer and ciggies and just leave it strewn around the house on home open days

        will easily buy you 6 months.

      • trustnoone on 11/01/2023 - 15:20

        Some things to keep in mind:

        • some people may ask to take photos while they are there (and you not there) you may want to tell the agent ahead of time if you're okay with that
        • you may want to tell the agent if you're okay with shoes or not, otherwise some people will trek in with shoes
        • You may have a few loiters ocasionally, usually just people waiting 15 mins before its time to go in, but you may have the occasional few that will walk by at night just to see what the place is like (of course they shouldn't go near your property).
        • Keep in mind many people will check the sattelite view of the property to see what part is selling. Might want to check yourself that you aren't like sunbathing outside or something and you want removed. Or you have millions of cash in your backyard or something XD.
        • Also some people may be more "checky" then others, eg may want to test toilet, dishwasher, airconditioner etc. This usually doesn't happen until they're more sure they want the place. But good to know if you feel people are touching your stuff or you're worried with covid.
        • Ridiculous Panda on 11/01/2023 - 15:39
          +3

          Thanks for the helpful points.
          It is an apartment in a secure high rise so nobody is seeing the drug money or me naked via satellites.
          And I will definitely be there for the photoshoot as I imagine they might want to move or hide some stuff. I was talking about the inspections which I really go out of my way to avoid being home during those. Good point on mentioning no shoes policy on carpeted areas though.

  • Nugs on 11/01/2023 - 12:37
    +1

    drape sheets over all your belonging
    .

    • jellykingdom on 11/01/2023 - 13:13
      +1

      Throw all of your belongings into the wardrobes, then take them out after afterwards

  • cookietime on 11/01/2023 - 12:44

    Re previous photos, their advertising contract may say something like the photos belong to the rental agency and cannot be used for other purposes. Strange considering the owner paid for those photos to be taken but it happened to us.

    • Ridiculous Panda on 11/01/2023 - 12:47
      +3

      It is the same agency selling it, so can’t really see why not. Except they liked our furniture during the inspection and thought it would make the ad look better.

      • dmac80 on 11/01/2023 - 14:56
        +4

        It doesn't necessarily mean they can use the same photo's. I rented and then sold my property previously throught he same agent - had to get new photo's for each (even though I would rather have used the previous photo's to save costs) as the photographer they used would only licence the photo's to the agent for a set period of time. Frustrating but how it works.

    • MrBear on 12/01/2023 - 21:08

      You paid for the real estate's marketing and photographer's time plus domain/re.com.au listings, not the actual content.

  • JIMB0 on 11/01/2023 - 12:46
    +7

    Tell them you'll take some photos, then send the ones they used previously.

  • jellykingdom on 11/01/2023 - 13:15
    +3

    Your possessions are going to be on show when potential new owners come to the open inspections. Not sure why you mind about the photos comparatively

    • Ridiculous Panda on 11/01/2023 - 13:23
      +1

      Just feels a bit uneasy having the photos displayed to anyone on the internet with the address as opposed to registered potential buyers having a quick walk around.
      Having read the replies though, I guess I’ll just suck it up and be a nice tenant.

  • elgrande on 11/01/2023 - 13:54
    +8

    Make it an absolute mess for the photo's and they will revert back to the rental ones..

    • jjjaar on 11/01/2023 - 13:57

      Hahaha good call. Hey OP did the request to take photos also ask you to tidy up?

      Also actually if it did, ask them to pay for a cleaner and home organiser…

      • Ridiculous Panda on 11/01/2023 - 14:02

        No he didn’t specifically ask for that, but I think they expect it to be tidy.
        Not really going to go out of my way to make it harder for them though. At the same time, I am not going to make it extremely tidy for the photos. It will just be a good incentive to clean up a bit :)

        • sjj89 on 11/01/2023 - 15:15
          +1

          Would recommend making the place as good looking as possible for both photos and inspection.
          You are essentially advertising yourself to your potential new landlord.
          I dare say you’d prefer they offer to extend the lease in 6 months

    • qwijibo on 11/01/2023 - 17:50
      +1

      Or just print out some hardcore porn and post it up on every single wall/ceiling/floor.

  • JimB on 11/01/2023 - 14:25
    +4

    The rental provider must pay you compensation equal to half a day’s rent or $30, whichever is greater, for every sales inspection held when your rental property is being sold.

  • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 11/01/2023 - 14:43
    +4

    FYI - check the advert once it is advertised. If it mentions "urgent sale" "must sell before /" then start packing your bags and finding another place. Might soon be a mortgagee repossession. Bound to be plenty of these occurring this year.

    • Yola on 12/01/2023 - 10:23

      It does not matter. Whoever buys may be an investor and glad to have the place rented already.

      • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 12/01/2023 - 12:58

        Politely disagree. Mortgagee has the unique ability to terminate a lease, properties generally sell for more and with less headaches when vacant. Opens the property up to all potential buyers and not just investors and.

        • Yola on 12/01/2023 - 16:43
          +2

          I appreciate you being polite. I am also a polite person. I am sure this all depends on the situation. I purchased a property for investment and was very happy that there was a tenant in place. That was just money in the bank. By the time you find a PM, maybe make repairs, take pics, advertise, have open inspections, check references, and often people do not want to move in straight away. In my experience, it takes well over a month plus around 1.5 weeks of rent as a leasing fee and $100 for advertising fees. You can see it's a big saving to just start collecting rent as soon as you take possession. And as you stated the purchaser can terminate a lease if they wish to live there.

          • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 13/01/2023 - 10:06

            @Yola: I don't think a bank cares about any of that if they repossess a property. They just want to sell it off quickly. Vacant possession = more potential purchasers. Full stop.

            Also a purchaser cannot terminate a fixed term lease until after it expires. ie. like OP, but a mortgagee can.

    • cookie2 on 11/01/2023 - 17:03
      +3

      Photos of your possessions. To be used to market the property and get the most $ as possible while still in a contracted lease period? Yes.
      Well if they need to clean specifically for inspections specifically then I'd also say yes, compensation for cleaning.
      I think your reaction is a little dramatic.

      • tsunamisurfer on 12/01/2023 - 00:59
        -2

        Photos of your possessions.

        The primary goal is to take photos of the house NOT the contents.

        Well if they need to clean specifically for inspections specifically then I'd also say yes, compensation for cleaning.

        Umm, it should be clean already. No one is asking for a vacate clean, just that it is presentable.

        I think your reaction is a little dramatic.

        So is the sense of entitlement.

    • brendanm on 11/01/2023 - 17:26
      +3

      How much do people normally pay for house staging when selling?

  • Iwantthebestprice on 11/01/2023 - 16:50
    +5

    For each open for inspection if you really don’t want people trolling through your stuff just say you have COVID, then the following week your partner got COVID, if you had kids even easier you can go an entire month I reckon. Where I was renting a while back and had 2 weeks left they wanted to do 4 opens and I got out of all of them, and was able to vacate without 1 open house.. my landlord was a scumbag so I got a lot of pleasure out screwing him over, but if you have a good landlord I could understand why you wouldn’t want to do this to them..

    • Some Human on 11/01/2023 - 17:39

      Damn that's good. Wish covid was a thing when my landlord was holding opens for 6 months straight…

  • Tomcruise on 11/01/2023 - 17:44

    Play nice, the agent may help you find another place.
    Otherwise you could be homeless.

  • Sydneygirl22 on 12/01/2023 - 08:40
    +1

    We always had rent reduction in these circumstances

  • Mugsy on 12/01/2023 - 08:44
    +2

    I'd be more concerned about all the open for inspections and finding a new place to rent to be honest.

    • Ridiculous Panda on 12/01/2023 - 10:05

      Is that actually a valid reason to break the lease?
      Either way, for us, the inconvenience of moving house will outweigh the inconvenience of those inspections while we are at work.

  • 2esc on 12/01/2023 - 11:57
    +1

    Are you serious? I would go out of my way to make it neat and tidy so the new owner will keep me on as a tenant or are you happy to find a new place in the current market. Though your most likely going to have to vacant if the new owner wants to live there. They may also say that to move you out then rent it out at a higher price. Whatever you do keep a excellent relationship with the real estate agent. Why not buy it yourself?

  • tabitha731 on 12/01/2023 - 13:08
    -2

    Dont flatter yourself… nobody is going to even notice ur furniture. People will want to view the property and how they can imagine how they can place their furniture in there. Besides u rent.. wat makes u think ur entitled to so much privilege?

  • timmypete on 13/01/2023 - 16:24
    +2

    Some good advice in this thread, and it sounds like you've had a reasonable start with the agents.

    I've previously written about a torrid five months dealing with LJ Hooker Gunghalin in Canberra (Naish Stormon in particular) in similar circumstances here.

    My two suggestions are:

    • Keep a log and running tally of all requests and the time frames associated, even if things are civil. It can be extremely helpful if things go pear shaped later, both in showing you've let breaches on their side slip (eg. >24 hours, bringing a dozen estate agents but no buyers through), or to demonstrate patterns of behaviour (advertising in windows you'd asked to not occur, retaining keys, contact before 7am).
    • Understand the Victoria-specific compensation arrangements and weekly limits for entry. Don't ask for a rent reduction, but make it clear you want this provision paid correctly and promptly.

    "The rental provider or their agent may show the property to prospective renters no more than twice a week, and for no longer than one hour each time. However, they can ask the current renter to agree to different arrangements."

    In Victoria its 48 hours notice for" Showing the property to renters, buyers or lenders" and seven days for most other sales things.

  • Campbellske on 15/01/2023 - 00:30

    Leave a giant buttplug in the bathroom or something. Like with suction maybe stuck to the shower wall? And post pics for the lols

    • Ridiculous Panda on 15/01/2023 - 00:56

      There is one already on there. I was going to remove it for inspections though. It will just encourage people to come again for the next inspection with their friends.

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