*rant 1 over*
And rent, yes guess who got a call followed by a registered post letter about a rent increase of this crappy box thats 40years old?! With no renovations done (oh i forgot about the newly laid 2nd hand carpet they put in b4 we moved in) No backyard, No laundry, No room for anything to do laundry, the smallest hot water system i ever did see (fits in the kitchen cupboard!), the place were we had to deal with the prostitute next door, the weed dealers further up, constant bombardment of real estate letters 'sell now', 'such and such just listed', 'such and such just sold need more sellers', 'auction coming soon need more sellers', 'such and such saw such a place and wasnt what they wanted looking for more sellers' (i can live with that bit lol).
Rent has always been paid in advance, never been behind. So a rent increase, is great coz we have been trying on and off to get out of here for ages now! I know next door has been sold, new paint, new wooden floor in the living/dining area its going for $165 a week, just listed last week.
Ours will go from $130-$150 a week in 60days time.
"taking into account, factors such as increases in the landlords costs over the year, the current demand for rental accomodation in the area and the length of time you have lived in the property, we believe the increased rent to be in line with the current rental market value and fair to both parties"
Fair to both parties? I'm lost how any of those things make it fair to me? Are being penalized for being good tennants, not breaking the lease and staying for almost a year? (the only fixed thing i got them to do was the toilet as it was constantly running and we dont pay the water bill!)
Ive often thought of a bureaucratic red tape affair of the government valuing houses that they have to have certain standards like a good renovation or being less than 20yrs old stuff like that to moderate house prices, to throw a huge spanner into the market.. of course its not going to happen.. but seriously the crappy places that are listed at such prices is pretty insane. I guess there are alot of people waiting for the housing bubble to burst.. just how much longer can it go? How long will home-occupied owners be pushed out of the market coz of investors spending their equity paying off their mortages by pushing up rents that are 'fair to both parties'.
Is it fair to push up the prices because its harder to get a new place?
I seriously can't wait to get out of here and see how long it takes for someone to see this place and say 'yeah this crap box is worth $150a wk'..
I'm getting my saving boots on and we are going to save extra cash up so we can get the next good place i see with a laundry, a backyard, a fence and actually close to a school! ^^ We save up the extra to sweeten the deal with the agent by being able to pay more weeks in advance when we apply.
"please contact us if you would like to sign another tenancy agreement for the above property"NO WAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYY in HELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!