Free advice for Landlords - ask our property experts a question
Do you have a property investment question you want answered? The Ask an Expert section is a free service provided for property investors in conjunction with a panel of selected property experts.
Please note that questions should be of a general nature about property investing and your question and the subsequent answer may be published in the NZ Property Investor magazine. There is a limit of ONE question per submission. We will use our discretion whether questions are published and we reserve the right to paraphrase your comments for our experts.
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Property Management
Ask Bernard Parker from Quinovic Property Management questions relating to property panagement
Quinovic's outstanding people and systems provide the most professional, effective and reliable residential property management service in the NZ market for over 22 years.
Last answered question:
Rental arrears issues
Due to my garage flooding my landlord agreed to lowering my rent either until I move or until he fixes the garage. The flooding also damaged a lot of my property in the garage but my landlord has refused to pay for it.
There are a lot of problems so I have served him with a remedy. But now he is hiring property managers to deal with his properties. I am currently dealing with his second property manager and she is taking me to the Tenancy Tribunal for arrears. The arrears come from him changing his mind about lowering the rent to $400 per week until I move to only lowering it to that price for a month and then it goes back up.
Unfortunately, I do not have the texts where he agreed to lower rent until I move. I am livid that he may get away with putting me into significant rental arrears. What can I do in court?
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Finance & Strategy
Ask Kris Pederson, director of Kris Pederson Mortgages questions relating to Mortgages, Finance, and Strategy
Kris is a respected commentator on the property and finance markets in New Zealand and overseas. He spends his time working closely with his support team sourcing clients leading edge finance strategies.
Last answered question:
Retirement considerations
We are building a house and our existing freehold house is security in the mortgage. Once completed the mortgage will be $645,000 and we are planning to rent out the old house to help service the mortgage. However, would it be better to sell the house (estimated sale value of house approx $420,000), end up with a smaller mortgage and work at paying this off?
The reason I ask is that I'm wondering how long it would take to get the mortgage down to a point where selling the old house would clear the mortgage. I'm approaching 10 years to retirement age and don't really want a mortgage in my retirement years!
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More Questions & Answers about Finance & Strategy »
Apartments
Ask Krister Samuel of Ray White City - Britomart questions relating to apartments investing
Krister is ranked in the top 1% of all real estate agents nationwide and specialises in the high yielding Auckland apartment market. He is happy to share insights and information on any aspect from an extensive knowledge base built up over a decade.
Last answered question:
Apartment insulation requirements
We moved into an apartment.
Before we moved in we weren't able to check the garage as the tenant showed us through and he wasn't very forth coming.
We took the place and I asked the property manager if it was possible to get the place insulated, as upon flat inspection, I noticed it wasn't.
He said he'd get back to me. (I put it in writing too.)
When the key hand over happened I asked again and he said the house isn't that cold. He was wrong. On our first night there it was freezing cold.
Is there any way to ensure this gets done? Surely a landlord would want to do this as an investment on their property and to ensure long term great tenants?
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More Questions & Answers about Apartments »
Tax/GST/LTC
Ask Mark Withers, director of Withers Tsang & Co questions relating to Tax and Asset Structures
Mark Withers and his team at Withers Tsang & Co specialise in advising on property related transactions, valuation and restructure services and tax planning.
Last answered question:
Deductible skylight work
We have an 80's era rental. Our tenant alerted us that water was leaking into the bathroom around the skylight when it rained. They also noted the inside wood surrounding the skylight had bulging. Outside inspection showed old acrylic skylight was worn and cracked and the flashings needed replacing.
So we replaced the skylight with a double glazed glass one (as there was no choice to use an acrylic one as they are not installed in residential properties anymore). We replaced the flashings at the same time. Is this repairs and maintenance and thus a deductible expense?
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Tenancy
Ask Jennifer Sykes, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment questions relating to tenants and landlords
The Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment provides information and guidance on building law and compliance, services including weathertight homes, and advice for tenants and landlords.
Last answered question:
Failure to vacate
My tenants and I agreed on a date to end the tenancy early as they had failed to pay bond and had also stopped paying rent. One day before that agreed date they emailed me to say that they were extending their stay for another three weeks. They have still not paid any rent. I have not agreed to this new arrangement. What can I do?
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Property Advice
Ask Ron Hoy Fong, director of Ronovationz for questions relating to investment strategy and property advice
Ron loves to share his passion for property and his coaching course provides one-on-one mentoring and support that will empower you with tools, strategies and valuable insights so you can achieve investment success and become a property master.
Last answered question:
Better to build or rent?
I am planning to build a house in Auckland. I have got the pre-approval and have selected a few sections. Total EMI comes to 40% of our household income. With the talks of property crash, do you think we should go ahead with a new build or should we just continue renting?
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Insurance
Ask Myles Noble from Crombie Lockwood questions relating to insurance
Last answered question:
Spa damage liability
We believe our tenant forgot to close the locks on the cover of the spa pool and heavy wind blew it away leaving two of the locks broken. It was in good condition when the tenant moved in and she signed the landlord checklist to state that nothing was wrong. But now she is saying that it was broken because of its age, weight, and sun damage.
I don’t have a photo of the spa as it was when she moved in. But I do have the council’s periodic inspection reports and they ensured the spa cover is secure and that the spa poses no danger for children.
Our tenant does not want to repair it because of the current law stating that if a landlord has insurance, the tenant does not have to pay for repair of damage nor the excess of insurance. The house is insured but its contents are not insured which means that the spa is also not insured. So does my tenant have to pay for the cover repair?
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