What Rental Crisis…

I went to Sydney for work a month and bit ago, and got a phone call from my wife saying that she had received a letter from the landlord with the obligatory “You have been there 12 months let us screw you some more rent increase”™ letter.

Now if we were really happy with the place and increase of $25p/w may have been something we would have coped on the shoulder. But we are not, it is too small, the heating is so inefficient that the lounge room can be 30C whilst the kitchen wont get above 15c. It doesn’t have a dishwasher and the only reason that we can access the shed to put the car away is that we got in and did all the gardening that hadn’t been done. Finally the house seems to eat lightblubs as well, which makes me nervous about all my computer gear.

So after a weeks holiday with aircon and a dishwasher we decide it was time to move on. Very quickly we find a place 3k’s up the road in a good suburb that has more room, (3 bedrooms vs 1 bedroom and a hall cupboard that is the study), has central heating and the killer for me a dishwasher. The kicker is that it is what we are paying now, not the increase, not a bit more, but what we are paying now.

Once our application was all approved and what not we send our current landlord/agent a letter saying so long and thanks for all the fish. Yesterday arrives the “Now you are moving out can we bring people through email”™, fine I say and of to their website I go. Falling of my chair I slowly drag myself back up to the monitor, take off, put on, take off and put back on my glasses just to make sure what I have seen is correct and it is. Our place which is $330 p/w has suddenly become a fully renovated cute as button house for $400. Now it may take a few weeks, but I am sure that some sucker will pay to be “close to town”.

Given the hovels that we have seen when looking for a house it will be curious to watch this price increase with anticipation. If they can afford to rent the place out at what we were paying, why a 50p/w increase simply cause the property is vacant. Perhaps they will put in central heating, a dishwasher and fix the power, and fix the shower in the bathroom that is so small that when you lie in the bath your feet touch the toilet. Of course they will then this will be a $400p/w cute as a button house. I might even apply then.

2 Responses to “What Rental Crisis…”

  1. you think melbourne’s bad. sydney is crazy. in the uk house prices are dropping at the moment, but it’s probably just another bubble. beat the race and head out of town!

  2. […] well well…. you may all remember the reason that we moved a month ago was the rent was going up to a price that we felt was unreasonable for the property that […]

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