Breath control, and other subjects...

[alexpgp]

It was a good thing I switched Microsoft Update to manual mode, because when I checked to see if there were any updates available, it turned out there were, and the files weighed in at almost 300 MB. As I was hooked into the coffee shop's network at the time (and the only computer user in the room that I could see), I went ahead and downloaded the updates.

Had I not made the switch, a successful attempt by Microsoft Update to download the files would have put me just about over the top of my 2-GB limit on my iPhone's Personal Hotspot.

Then came a rather stressful conversation with the outfit managing our house here in Pagosa, the one with the six-month lease that runs out at the end of April. It turns out—according to the property manager—that the tenant feels the time remaining in the lease is not sufficient to go find another place to live, and thus wants to stay on in the house.

Besides the tenant's obvious assumption of facts not in evidence, I am reminded of the phrase "poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part." And despite the fact that I'm calm about this now, my mellow does get somewhat lumpy if I dwell on this issue for very long, with the result being having to sit down and take deep breaths.

In other news, there is still work to do, so I better get to it.

Cheers...

Comments

[velvet-granat.livejournal.com]

I am constantly amazed with the difference in rental laws between the US and Australia. I guess the laws over in your neck of the woods are more geared towards being nice to the tenant, whereas here the owners win every time. If our lease was ending and the owner wanted to move after the end day (as was the case late last year), we would be given 4 weeks notice and that's that. And if we didn't move out on the agreed date (i.e. by the last day of our lease contract), the owner has 7 days before they can bring in police to physically evict us and our furniture out onto the sidewalk. It's his house, after all, we are just renting it...

Month and a half is very generous period for finding another place to live.

[alexpgp.livejournal.com]

Well, none of the jurisdictions I'm familiar with (and as you know, I move around a lot) will let you physically evict a tenant after 7 days. I was told that if it came to it here, the process would take 2-3 months and involve a lot of paperwork and court appearances.

Even Texas—which tends to be at the opposite end of the scale from places like New York—won't let you evict without everyone having jumped through the appropriate hoops.

In New York, on the other hand, getting rid of a tenant who knows the legal ropes can take a couple of years (and that's even if said tenant refuses to pay rent).

Cheers...

[velvet-granat.livejournal.com]

As far as Aussie legislation goes, if the tenant "overstays" after the contract (rental lease) is finished, then, as they have no right to possession of the house while simply renting, they are basically trespassing on someone else's property and can be evicted.

But if you just wanted to evict a tenant here, it's a different story. The tenants can be evicted for non-payment of rent - we usually pay rent 2 weeks in advance and if by the end of the fortnight the tenant hasn't fixed the issue, they can get booted out with 2 weeks' notice. Or if they have severely damaged the house - holes in the walls etc. But it has to be really quite bad for this to happen, usually if the tenant is paying rent it's quite hard to dislodge them while the lease if valid. And either way, it has to go through the Tribunal court.

For better or worse, the argument "I've lived here for years and I have no other home" just doesn't cut it - the courts respond with "deal with it, it's NOT your house, you don't own it, buy your own place or find some other rental". It's harsh, but true.

Possibly this is because, historically, Australians have been able to buy their own house/apartment quite early in life, unlike NY where the prices are too prohibitive for most. In fact, it was expected for a couple to buy their own place within the first few years of marriage and renting was something you did only until you saved up for a deposit. The house prices have sky-rocketed here about 10 years ago, but before then an average family could comfortably pay off an average mortgage in 5-10 years.

Even now, with high rents, the rental market is barely 10% of the total property market, and there is something like 1% vacancy rate, especially in the central suburbs in cities. Very hard to find something nice for a reasonable price, and competition is fierce.