Real Estate THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2020 FROM COAST TO
COUNTRY
WWW.TWEEDVALLEYWEEKLY.NET.AU
Owners helping tenants through housing crisis
By Jo Kennett WITH NO relief in sight for the housing crisis, local residents have been buoyed to hear of homeowners who have resisted calls to increase rent to help stop local tenants being forced out of the area. The crisis has seen hundreds of locals, many of them who have spent their entire lives in the Tweed Shire, evicted or forced to leave the area by rent increases they can’t afford. The story of one owner bucking the trend and going against advice to increase rent “substantially”, saying interest rates were low and tenant’s wages hadn’t increased, drew hundreds of positive responses from locals, either caught in the crisis themselves or having to watch lifelong friends leave the area. Erin Wass owns a property she rents out at Tweed Heads and said she hadn’t increased the rent because she “didn’t believe in greed at this time.” “My tenant is a good tenant and I’ve been flexible with him,” she said. “I actually can’t believe some of the jumps some landlords have made though; I have rented before and I think that
changes your attitude to being a landlord.” However Erin acknowledged that every owner’s situation was different. “It’s a fine line when you drop too far behind the market medium though so it’s really up to the individual owners,” she said. A Pottsville homeowner The Weekly spoke to said she owned a home in Brisbane and a house in Pottsville they bought in the 1990s “when prices were very low.” “So while we are landlords we are actually not at all wealthywe are actually finding things quite difficult at present,” the woman, who preferred not to be named, said. “Six years ago when we moved down here we had the rental value of our Brisbane house assessed at $450. “Each year they suggest we increase it by $10 but we never have, although we may do that at the end of the year. “My son’s colleagues say that we are mad, that we could be getting $540 according to the market but I am more comfortable resisting the outrageous upward pressure
Open homes
LOCAL SUPPORT: Locals have been buoyed by some homeowners opting to keep rents at current rates to aid in the housing crisis
being put upon owners and sellers by real estate agents. “They are contributing significantly to much of the misery being inflicted upon those at the other end.” Mount Burrell resident Fiona Bryce said she chose not to increase their tenant’s rent “because they were good tenants who looked after our property.” “I also told the agent I did not require photos of the property in their reports as I have been a tenant and know how intrusive that process is. “We pay our agent to manage the property and we trust they
will let us know if there is a problem. “Our tenants were awesome and we wanted to keep them. “I have been a tenant myself and I wanted to treat my tenants better than I was treated.” Fiona said that when her tenants moved they adjusted the rent according to the market “but even then we went to the low end so it was affordable for the right tenant.” A tenant The Weekly spoke to said she got very upset when she saw property owners saying they had worked really hard to buy their property. “That makes me really angry because I’ve worked really hard
1/1 Stonehaven Way (aka 41 Clonakilty Cl), Banora Point, 10am-11am 1/11 Boyd Street, Tweed Heads, 9am-9.30am 3/100 Kennedy Dr, Tweed Heads Wst, 10am-10.30am 19/24 Seaview Rd, Banora Point, 11am-11.30am
Saturday, May 15 DJ Stringer Property Services 404/106 Pacific Parade, Bilinga, 10am-10.30am 1/1 Stonehaven Way (aka 41 Clonakilty Cl), Banora Point, 10am-10.30am 8/187 Kennedy Drv, Tweed Heads West, 11am11.30am 10/174 Pacific Parade, Bilinga, 11am-11.30am 1002/37 Bay St `Harbourside’, Tweed Heads, 12pm12.30pm
Raine & Horne Ocean Shores/Brunswick Heads/Murwillumbah: 1 Eloura Ave, Ocean Shores, 8am-8.30am 1 Eloura Ave, Ocean Shores, (action) from 8.30am 20 Natan Court, Ocean Shores, 10am-10.30am 126 Balemo Drive, Ocean Shores, 10am-11am 9 Flinders Way, Ocean Shores, 12pm-12.30pm 19 McCallum Place, Dum Dum, 12pm-1pm 751 Commissioners Crk Rd, Commissioners Crk
since I was 16 but I was not on a big wage,” she said. “I was a single Mum and it’s hard bringing up kids on one wage. “I’ve been single for a long time and it’s really hard to save for a deposit without a good wage. “Some people just haven’t been fortunate enough to get into the property market or to own an investment property. “I wish people would be more sensitive to those who are genuinely struggling and can’t afford to own their own property.” The woman said she thought the number of Airbnb’s was a big part of the problem.
2pm-3pm 8 Mimosa Ave, Cabarita Beach, 2pm-2.30pm
Tate Brownlee Real Estate 11 Russell Way, Tweed Heads South, 9.30am-10am 138/2 Falcon Way, Tweed Heads South, 10:30-11am 45 Laura Street, Banora Point, 11.30am-12pm 12 Martinelli Avenue, Banora Point, 12.30pm-1pm 15/1a Pioneer Parade, Banora Point, 1.30pm-2pm 248 Old Bogangar Road, Kings Forest, 2.30pm-3pm
Schmith Estate Agents 1 Wilpark Crescent, Currumbin Waters, 9am-9.30am 3/603-615 Casuarina Way, Casuarina, 10.30am-11am
First National Real Estate Murwillumbah 13 Myall Street, Murwillumbah, 10am-10.30am
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