Happy Valentines Day.
Time is flying by. I've been back in the UK now for 2 weeks. My husband travels back to Dubai this afternoon and I'm returning the car hire and getting home by train. Our local station is a 10 minute walk from our house, one of the reasons we first moved here back in 2002.
I've had a house full of family, which has been lovely but also quite tiring and emotional considering this is now my home and I'm on my own in a 6 bed house, with the furniture from a 1 bed flat and the cat and dog.
After 9 years of tenants we've had to do a lot of renovations, so far mainly repairs and fresh white paintwork, walls, doors and ceilings, giving us a blank canvas to work from. I'm back in Dubai in March and will be sorting out what furniture is being packed into our container and what stays in Dubai when we rent an apartment in the Marina.
Until we decide if we're staying here or going to move on once my husband retires in 2-3 years, we're not doing any more work to the house. The kitchen and bathrooms will eventually need updating, but for now some minor fixes, like a new bath panel will suffice.
What have you been up to this week? Both Stephanie and I would love to hear from you.
Showing posts with label repairs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label repairs. Show all posts
Friday, 14 February 2020
Monday, 11 December 2017
Moving Home in Dubai Part 4 - Snag List and Repairs
Giving notice, finding a new house, choosing a removal firm and moving in has gone smoothly.
There were a few minor hiccups that caused major, short term panic.
Notice to old landlord should've been given in writing, but they accepted the WhatsApp message.
We were unable to secure a new property to move into until 2-3 weeks prior before we actually wanted to move in and as I had to return from the UK, we only had 2 and a half weeks in which to find somewhere and sign, before I returned. The contract for the new place stated we had to sign the contract and pay the rent 7 days before we moved in to allow the company to prepare the house, but that we also had to provide proof of DEWA (Dubai Electricity and Water Authority) deposit 3 days prior to collecting the keys. As I'd flown back to the UK after finding a property and with Peter having to work abroad the week prior to moving, we weren't sure until the day before we actually moved if we'd be able to get in the following day or not.
Thankfully our date didn't change, but with a public 4 day public holiday weekend the week we were moving and needing to hand the keys back to the old place the day after, we would've been cutting it fine.
On the day of the actual move, I was greeted on the drive by a gardener, asking for a job, this continued throughout the day, with maids turning up also. My patience wore thin. 'We're moving in' I'm was tempted to yell 'Go away' to each and every caller.
Then the gas man turned up, the water cooler bottle delivery guy, then the building firm to fix the electrics for the gas cooker.
Whilst English is widely spoken here, it is often quite difficult to understand what people are saying, which company they are from and what they want from you, usually money. I let all sorts of people in and out the house. Tradesmen often ring the bell, stand there and you have to guess which company they are from and what job they have come to do. My phone rang from TV and internet providers where the rental agent had passed our details on. It all got a bit much to be honest.
I did also meet a few of the neighbours who came round to introduce themselves, I was a bit frazzled, I fear I may have scared them off. Seriously, when you're moving into a new house you really don't have time on Day 1 to stop and sort out all this nonsense and socialise.
The house we've moved into is a new build, it is immaculate and is owned by the construction company with a dedicated 24 hour maintenance line to report faults and people qualified to do each job turn up with the equipment they need, on time and do the job. This is not something we're used to.
In the past we had 5 guys turn up to sort out a leak in the swimming pool in South Africa, they dug a trench with whatever they found in the garden, including an old spoon to get to the pipes.
In the last house in Dubai, the odd job man who resealed the toilet needed a cloth, before we'd moved in and actually helped himself to a spare t shirt out of my beach bag to wipe his hands and round the toilet bowl with.
Sadly though cleaning up after themselves isn't a given, there's an assumption we have a maid, so after a flood when the bath the first morning and they removed all the rubble from the drain they just left it on the floor.
We were still waiting for a drain to be emptied of rubble from the laundry room (we mopped up the flood) and in the the main bathroom, the cooker hood isn't working, the outside tap has no water and there's some sealant that needs replacing in the bathroom and we need some instructions to operate the aircon.
Our wheelie bin hasn't been delivered yet. At the moment all the rubbish we're putting outside is in cardboard boxes, I'm trying to separate the actual waste from stuff that can be recycled as the maids and gardeners will rifle through and help themselves to anything that can be re used.
As we're in a new build it's our responsibility to sort the garden out, at the moment the dog is bringing sand into the house, I have a stack of business cards from landscape companies that have been left on the door step, but I'll be talking to the neighbours to see who they recommend. We'll block path and grass half and half with a flower bed, there are shrubs planted outside the boundary that will grow in time and we'll erect a fence for a bit more privacy like the neighbours have.
Two weeks later we ran out of water, can you believe it? The tank under the drive didn't refill and the ball cock was broken, this in turn broke the pump. But in fairness it was fixed the same day that I reported the matter, even if it did mean isolating the cat and dog for several hours while men traipsed in and out the house to turn taps on and off to check the pressure was working.
During all of this, the neighbours managed to lock themselves out. If you go out the front door without a key and it closes behind you, you're locked out. There's no catch to put in place, so we've swopped spare keys for future use. Thankfully as we're on a building site, there were plenty of men around with ladders to help her onto the roof and in through the balcony doors.
There were a few minor hiccups that caused major, short term panic.
Notice to old landlord should've been given in writing, but they accepted the WhatsApp message.
We were unable to secure a new property to move into until 2-3 weeks prior before we actually wanted to move in and as I had to return from the UK, we only had 2 and a half weeks in which to find somewhere and sign, before I returned. The contract for the new place stated we had to sign the contract and pay the rent 7 days before we moved in to allow the company to prepare the house, but that we also had to provide proof of DEWA (Dubai Electricity and Water Authority) deposit 3 days prior to collecting the keys. As I'd flown back to the UK after finding a property and with Peter having to work abroad the week prior to moving, we weren't sure until the day before we actually moved if we'd be able to get in the following day or not.
Thankfully our date didn't change, but with a public 4 day public holiday weekend the week we were moving and needing to hand the keys back to the old place the day after, we would've been cutting it fine.
On the day of the actual move, I was greeted on the drive by a gardener, asking for a job, this continued throughout the day, with maids turning up also. My patience wore thin. 'We're moving in' I'm was tempted to yell 'Go away' to each and every caller.
Then the gas man turned up, the water cooler bottle delivery guy, then the building firm to fix the electrics for the gas cooker.
Whilst English is widely spoken here, it is often quite difficult to understand what people are saying, which company they are from and what they want from you, usually money. I let all sorts of people in and out the house. Tradesmen often ring the bell, stand there and you have to guess which company they are from and what job they have come to do. My phone rang from TV and internet providers where the rental agent had passed our details on. It all got a bit much to be honest.
I did also meet a few of the neighbours who came round to introduce themselves, I was a bit frazzled, I fear I may have scared them off. Seriously, when you're moving into a new house you really don't have time on Day 1 to stop and sort out all this nonsense and socialise.
The house we've moved into is a new build, it is immaculate and is owned by the construction company with a dedicated 24 hour maintenance line to report faults and people qualified to do each job turn up with the equipment they need, on time and do the job. This is not something we're used to.
In the past we had 5 guys turn up to sort out a leak in the swimming pool in South Africa, they dug a trench with whatever they found in the garden, including an old spoon to get to the pipes.
In the last house in Dubai, the odd job man who resealed the toilet needed a cloth, before we'd moved in and actually helped himself to a spare t shirt out of my beach bag to wipe his hands and round the toilet bowl with.
Sadly though cleaning up after themselves isn't a given, there's an assumption we have a maid, so after a flood when the bath the first morning and they removed all the rubble from the drain they just left it on the floor.
We were still waiting for a drain to be emptied of rubble from the laundry room (we mopped up the flood) and in the the main bathroom, the cooker hood isn't working, the outside tap has no water and there's some sealant that needs replacing in the bathroom and we need some instructions to operate the aircon.
Our wheelie bin hasn't been delivered yet. At the moment all the rubbish we're putting outside is in cardboard boxes, I'm trying to separate the actual waste from stuff that can be recycled as the maids and gardeners will rifle through and help themselves to anything that can be re used.
As we're in a new build it's our responsibility to sort the garden out, at the moment the dog is bringing sand into the house, I have a stack of business cards from landscape companies that have been left on the door step, but I'll be talking to the neighbours to see who they recommend. We'll block path and grass half and half with a flower bed, there are shrubs planted outside the boundary that will grow in time and we'll erect a fence for a bit more privacy like the neighbours have.
Two weeks later we ran out of water, can you believe it? The tank under the drive didn't refill and the ball cock was broken, this in turn broke the pump. But in fairness it was fixed the same day that I reported the matter, even if it did mean isolating the cat and dog for several hours while men traipsed in and out the house to turn taps on and off to check the pressure was working.
During all of this, the neighbours managed to lock themselves out. If you go out the front door without a key and it closes behind you, you're locked out. There's no catch to put in place, so we've swopped spare keys for future use. Thankfully as we're on a building site, there were plenty of men around with ladders to help her onto the roof and in through the balcony doors.
Friday, 27 March 2015
Landlord/ladies, rental agents and tenants
I'm not generalising, I'm speaking from experience and I'm fed up of being led a merry dance by all three.
We are landlords, we are tenants and our middle child is now embarking on the world of work as a rental agent.
Our previous agents in the UK were on the side of the tenants, as in they was frightened of them and blatantly lied to us. Our current UK agent is fantastic.
Our previous tenants in the UK were 'tenants fro hell' our current UK tenants are fantastic.
Our rental agent in South Africa was fantastic for the first property, but on leaving the 2nd property she sided with the landlord.
Our first landlord in South Africa was also fantastic, our second landlord just didn't care about the property but cared enough to deduct cleaning charges for a room that according to the rental agent 'stank of dog' although the rental agent didn't mention that or even wrinkle her nose up during the exit inspection or even challenge the team of cleaners she had recommend to clean the house for the exit inspection who were still on site. The landlord also charged us for garden maintenance and we see he's had the front re landscaped which would explain the high costs. When we complained he also added that he carried out unnecessary repairs to the pool after we moved in and that we owed him R2,800, he failed to acknowledge the amount of money we spent topping up his leaking pool, which never leaked after he paid to have it repaired.
The current house we are in needs a lot of work doing to it, but we knew that when we rented it, we wanted a property near the beach and with character and room for the dog, plus visitors. The agent has disappeared, in fact he disappeared as soon as he got his money and once the relocation firm disappeared we were able to deal directly with the landlady and the house is being sorted slowly.
But I really resent the amount of time I have to spend supervising workmen, we don't speak each others languages, these men turn up unannounced, I'm a women on my own, it's not fair. I have to keep the dog locked away from them, I have to tidy and clean up after them and it costs us money in the form of electricity (currently fixing the air con) water (to fill the pool) my time (someone has to be at home to let them in)
Every time we've rented out our property and every time we've rented a property, I've taken detailed photos of before and after, sent the landlord a list of snags for fixing, or been sent one and in our case as landlords rectified each and every matter asap. As tenants though it appears we always get the rough end of the stick. Although after a long battle we did finally get some money back from our 'tenants from hell'
The house we have rented should've been ready when we moved in, cleaned and the air con working, not 6 weeks down the line.
Now excuse me while I remove a layer of clothing as I need to cover up while the men were in the house and clean up after them.
We are landlords, we are tenants and our middle child is now embarking on the world of work as a rental agent.
Our previous agents in the UK were on the side of the tenants, as in they was frightened of them and blatantly lied to us. Our current UK agent is fantastic.
Our previous tenants in the UK were 'tenants fro hell' our current UK tenants are fantastic.
Our rental agent in South Africa was fantastic for the first property, but on leaving the 2nd property she sided with the landlord.
Our first landlord in South Africa was also fantastic, our second landlord just didn't care about the property but cared enough to deduct cleaning charges for a room that according to the rental agent 'stank of dog' although the rental agent didn't mention that or even wrinkle her nose up during the exit inspection or even challenge the team of cleaners she had recommend to clean the house for the exit inspection who were still on site. The landlord also charged us for garden maintenance and we see he's had the front re landscaped which would explain the high costs. When we complained he also added that he carried out unnecessary repairs to the pool after we moved in and that we owed him R2,800, he failed to acknowledge the amount of money we spent topping up his leaking pool, which never leaked after he paid to have it repaired.
The current house we are in needs a lot of work doing to it, but we knew that when we rented it, we wanted a property near the beach and with character and room for the dog, plus visitors. The agent has disappeared, in fact he disappeared as soon as he got his money and once the relocation firm disappeared we were able to deal directly with the landlady and the house is being sorted slowly.
But I really resent the amount of time I have to spend supervising workmen, we don't speak each others languages, these men turn up unannounced, I'm a women on my own, it's not fair. I have to keep the dog locked away from them, I have to tidy and clean up after them and it costs us money in the form of electricity (currently fixing the air con) water (to fill the pool) my time (someone has to be at home to let them in)
Every time we've rented out our property and every time we've rented a property, I've taken detailed photos of before and after, sent the landlord a list of snags for fixing, or been sent one and in our case as landlords rectified each and every matter asap. As tenants though it appears we always get the rough end of the stick. Although after a long battle we did finally get some money back from our 'tenants from hell'
The house we have rented should've been ready when we moved in, cleaned and the air con working, not 6 weeks down the line.
Now excuse me while I remove a layer of clothing as I need to cover up while the men were in the house and clean up after them.
Wednesday, 14 January 2015
Landlords v Tenants
We are both.
We are good landlords.
We are good tenants.
But we are fed up of people taking the piss with our homes.
We rent 2 properties. We own one, we rent it out. We redecorated and had the house professionally cleaned prior to our tenants moving in. They trashed our house. We redecorated and had it professionally cleaned. We have new tenants.
We're moving into our 3rd rented property as tenants. All 4 properties have been dirty and in need of repair, we've battled with each and every landlord and had to do the cleaning ourselves, we've waited months for repairs to be carried out. On vacating the properties we've been informed that unless it's professionally cleaned we won't get our deposit back.
It would seem that as soon as some landlords get your money and you've signed the contract, that's it. Put up and shut up. It makes no difference arguing.
We've just received our deposit back from the landlord in South Africa, minus carpet cleaning and tidying of the garden. Despite pointing out that NO cleaning was done prior to us moving in, and that we had the house cleaned on our departure, it doesn't seem to matter. We also handed the keys back to the agent on December 15th, our contract didn't expire until December 31st. The landlord has new tenants and as it is summer and the rainy season, the garden has grown since then and as he had to make it right for the new tenants he charged us for us. I've sent a strongly worded email, but I'm certain it'll just go unanswered.
No wonder landlords in general have such a bad name, but so should tenants.
In my experience it's the tenants that have caused the damage, the tenants that have lived in sheer utter filth, the tenants that have left their crap behind, the landlord may keep the deposit but they certainly haven't carried out any of the fundamental work required to make the house habitable.
The house we are renting has been repainted throughout, including paint on the windows and the tiles. But the house hadn't been cleaned and was in need of some basic repairs.
We choose to rent an older property because of it's location and individuality, the bathrooms are very dated as is the kitchen and in all honestly if we were purchasing the property we'd just rip them out and install new. I can see past the age and the colour. The kitchen cupboards are pink and the bathrooms are avocado, with white tiles and random patterns.
The rental agent, the landlord and the relocation company keep telling me I can't expect anyone to replace them, I know that, that is not my issue. All I want is for what is in the house to work and to be clean.
It's rather simple actually. I expect a light to work when I flick the switch, yes I've changed the globe, that's not the problem. I expect doors to open and close, after all that is their purpose, the same with the aluminium windows. I don't expect to be able to eat my meal off the kitchen floor, but I do expect it to be cleaner than this.
The relocation company used an agent to help with assisting us with finding a house, it was rented on December 7th 2014. A year's rent was paid in advance, the agent took their cut, then everyone apart from the landlord disappeared over christmas. We battled daily to get someone in to do the work and finally it was all completed last week, although the cleaning was of a poor standard but they'd tackled the grime, we were just left to finish it off.
Yesterday the landlord phoned, he is replacing the kitchen doors, no more Hello kitty Kitchen for me.
We are good landlords.
We are good tenants.
But we are fed up of people taking the piss with our homes.
We rent 2 properties. We own one, we rent it out. We redecorated and had the house professionally cleaned prior to our tenants moving in. They trashed our house. We redecorated and had it professionally cleaned. We have new tenants.
We're moving into our 3rd rented property as tenants. All 4 properties have been dirty and in need of repair, we've battled with each and every landlord and had to do the cleaning ourselves, we've waited months for repairs to be carried out. On vacating the properties we've been informed that unless it's professionally cleaned we won't get our deposit back.
It would seem that as soon as some landlords get your money and you've signed the contract, that's it. Put up and shut up. It makes no difference arguing.
We've just received our deposit back from the landlord in South Africa, minus carpet cleaning and tidying of the garden. Despite pointing out that NO cleaning was done prior to us moving in, and that we had the house cleaned on our departure, it doesn't seem to matter. We also handed the keys back to the agent on December 15th, our contract didn't expire until December 31st. The landlord has new tenants and as it is summer and the rainy season, the garden has grown since then and as he had to make it right for the new tenants he charged us for us. I've sent a strongly worded email, but I'm certain it'll just go unanswered.
No wonder landlords in general have such a bad name, but so should tenants.
In my experience it's the tenants that have caused the damage, the tenants that have lived in sheer utter filth, the tenants that have left their crap behind, the landlord may keep the deposit but they certainly haven't carried out any of the fundamental work required to make the house habitable.
The house we are renting has been repainted throughout, including paint on the windows and the tiles. But the house hadn't been cleaned and was in need of some basic repairs.
We choose to rent an older property because of it's location and individuality, the bathrooms are very dated as is the kitchen and in all honestly if we were purchasing the property we'd just rip them out and install new. I can see past the age and the colour. The kitchen cupboards are pink and the bathrooms are avocado, with white tiles and random patterns.
The rental agent, the landlord and the relocation company keep telling me I can't expect anyone to replace them, I know that, that is not my issue. All I want is for what is in the house to work and to be clean.
It's rather simple actually. I expect a light to work when I flick the switch, yes I've changed the globe, that's not the problem. I expect doors to open and close, after all that is their purpose, the same with the aluminium windows. I don't expect to be able to eat my meal off the kitchen floor, but I do expect it to be cleaner than this.
Yesterday the landlord phoned, he is replacing the kitchen doors, no more Hello kitty Kitchen for me.
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