24ththJan Oct - 30 Oct 2014 2017 27 3rdthFeb
FIRST ON THE STREET
No No 434 623
LAKES WEEKLY BULLETIN
1 J 4 IN O 2 SI BS D E
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The dream of a quarter acre plot is changing. Buying a house is not the smart investment it once was, nor is it what everyone wants. For some, myself included, there are better ways to invest our hard-earned dollars and there’s a growing number of people who choose to rent, rather than buy property. Unfortunately, attitudes towards renting are slower to change and in transient Queenstown, there are some who are abusing the system for their own personal gain. I’m lucky enough to live in a rental property with great landlords who understand that all I want is a decent, quiet place to live. But in my quest to find a long-term home, I’ve had issues with lease holders, rental agencies and home owners alike. Though I’ve been repeatedly told “tenancy rules favour the tenant,” this only seems to be the case once something goes terribly wrong. Though there are some rouge tenants out there, most would rather enjoy a peaceful tenancy over turmoil and legal clashes. What we need is a better understanding of renting etiquette which balances the landlord’s desire to make money from and protect their asset and the tenant’s need to live in a decent home. Renting out a house may be a cash cow right now, but it comes with responsibilities.
Fan Tan’s Operations Manager Karen Wake with owner Sir Micheal Hill and Jo Brown from the Queenstown Chamber at the Chamber hosted soft opening of Fan Tan in Arrowtown last Thursday
(Photo: Jodi Walters)
If you have personal prejudices against the colourful, interesting and vibrant variations of the human race, don’t rent out your house. Saying you ‘don’t feel right’ about a tenant because they are foreign, look foreign, are female, gay or under the age of 30 is not an excuse to ‘protect your property’ by increasing the bond or refusing to accept such tenants. Similarly, tenants are for the life of the contract, not just for the off-season. Booting out tenants citing a family emergency so you can Air B and B your property for Christmas is not cool. We’re not stupid and we have Google. A long-term rental agreement should mean long-term.
Phở /Fuh/
noun 1. a magical soup made of beef, broth and rice noodle 2. heralded as the best hangover cure known to mankind ~ caveday.com
If you’re a letting agent charging $1,000 + for a letting fee, we expect you to answer your phone and do what’s best for the property, the landlord and the tenant – not just your annual turnover. Then there’s the lease holders who think signing a few forms and paying the letting fee is the equivalent to buying the property, giving them free reign to live rent-free, sub-letting each room for twice its value. The world is changing and renting is fast becoming the new norm. Though the rental market may be a cash cow for some, this is not an excuse to throw humanity out of the window and abuse the system (and the community) to make a fast buck from a dilapidated, over-priced asset. It’s time to grow up.
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RENTAL PROPERTIES
See inside back cover for our full list
TUES
WED
THUR
FRI
SAT
SUN
MON
Fine apart from morning cloud
Partly cloudy with a few showers
A few early showers
Partly cloudy. Light winds
Mainly fine. Light winds
Fine with some high cloud
Partly cloudy. Northerlies