The 3 bedroom home is upstairs, double garage at the front with door into the garage and storage area below the stairs visible

• 3 bedroom home with double garage + workshop area and large deck.
• Basement studio in
• 1 Bedroom self-contained flat
• 2 Bedroom self-contained flat

3 Bedroom Home

• North facing with 180 degree views
• 3 double bedrooms with double wardrobes in all rooms
• Large, tiled bathroom with make-up station
• Big kitchen with breakfast bar and dining area
• F&P Dishwasher
• French “Classique” stove with 5 burner gas hob and electric oven.
• 2 Large pantries and ample cupboards
• Large 6m x 4.4m lounge with expansive views
• 8.5m x 5.9m concrete deck
• Two large storage spaces under stairs
• Mains pressure hot water

Studio 

• Internal access to garage and main house (can be closed off)
• Small kitchenette
• Bathroom with shower, wash basin and toilet
• Separate hot water cylinder with mains pressure
• External access
• Separate phone line

2 Bedroom Flat 

• Two double bedrooms with wardrobes
• Bathroom with shower, vanity and toilet
• Kitchen/Dining area
• Lounge with Sky wired in and separate phone line
• External access

1 Bedroom Flat 

• Double bedroom with wardrobe
• En-Suite bathroom with shower, vanity and toilet
• Kitchen/Dining area
• Spacious lounge with Sky wired in and separate phone line
• External access

For Property Investors

There are plenty of options with this property!

• Potential rental return of well over $900/week.
• Section could possibly be subdivided if access could be negotiated with neighbours.
• Home Business: We have lived here for the past 5 years and run a business from the studio flat.
• Live in the house and pay the mortgage from renting out the flats to doctors from the nearby hospital.
• Run the house as short term accommodation for people working or visiting at the local hospital. This could provide really amazing cashflow!!

Don't let your swimming pool get into this state before you repaint it!

I’m not a big fan of rental properties with swimming pools. They are something that many tenants love the idea of but don’t like to pay to maintain. Their is a cost to use professional painters but it’s well worth it if you’re not fully prepared to deal with the process I’m about to explain. Getting it wrong can mean an expensive waste of time and costly materials, not to mention the inconvenience to the tenant. This isn’t something I would want to do myself and I would use a professional swimming pool painter every time!

Firstly, we are talking about concrete pools. Don’t go painting your fibreglass pool because you don’t like the colour. It won’t work!

Painted concrete swimming pools will fade over time. If the problem is only fading and there is no bubbling, cracking or chalky surface, then you may want to try a light acid wash to brighten the paint up. You can enquire about this at your pool shop.

If you have either of these problems, you’ll need to consider repainting the pool;

Bubbling
Your painted surface has failed and water is getting behind the paint to form bubbles. This is often caused by poor preparation of the surface and is another reason to use a professional!

Crackling
Old paint will naturally flake away but if you have long cracks in your paint, you might have bigger problems with subsidence and cracking in the concrete. Check to make sure there is no movement in the ground or water table problems. No point in painting this pool until you’re sure it’s stable!

Chalking
Painted surfaces will degrade after some time. If you can rub your fingers over a dry surface and they come away dusty, the paint is nearing the end of it’s lifespan.

What sort of paint to use

There are three options for pool paint; Epoxy, Rubber Base and Acrylic. Expoxy is the only one you should consider. It’s the longest lasting at 7-8 years, more durable and stands up well to UV rays, pool cleaners and chemicals. Rubber base paint is cheaper but only lasts 3-5 years. Acrylic paint is really for commercial pools that will be regularly re-painted and lasts only 2-3 years. This is not a job you want to do that often!

How to paint your swimming pool

If you’re painting a new pool, the concrete must be left to cure for at least a month. The surface then needs to be cleaned of any residual chemicals, dust, grease and other traces that will undermine the paint’s adhesion to the concrete. A roof wash is suitable for this job.

If the surface is too smooth, the paint won’t adhere properly. Prepare if by lightly blasting or grinding to improve adhesion.

• For pre-painted concrete pools, firstly, you need to check what sort of paint the pool is already coated with. Epoxy paint will not cover a rubber based paint.
• Once the pool has been fully drained and cleaned of any debris, start to remove all loose paint with a high pressure water blaster. Don’t use the electric ones in a pool! A petrol powered water blaster with at least 2000 psi of pressure should do the job.
• Remove any loose concrete. If the concrete is cracked, you need to dig them out to at least 5mm and caulk cracks and holes with hydraulic cement.
• An acid wash will remove all the remaining material and kill off any biological contaminants. Use 50% water and 50% muriatic acid or a solution recommended by your pool shop. Scrub the walls and floor thoroughly. Make sure you wear protective clothing and a suitable mask. Rinse the entire pool area.
• Now clean the entire pool with trisodium-phosphate or suitable alternative. This is a detergent that will neutralize the acid and remove the glaze from any remaining paint. Rinse again with fresh water and allow to dry for 3-5 days. You can check if the concrete is dry by taping the edges of a square of transparent plastic to the base of the pool. If there is no condensation after 24 horus, you’re good to go.
• Before painting, double check your surface and remove any remaining loose material. The paint will need to be very well mixed – allow 5 mins or more using a power mixer. Apply the paint with a short pile, solvent-resistant roller starting at the deep end and work your way to the shallow end. Having to phone a friend for rescue from the deep end is embarassing! Apply a second coat after 4 hours. Avoid excessive rolling to prevent trapping bubbles in the paint.

Ideally, you want the paint the pool on a clear, fine day that is not too hot, too cold or too humid. Wait at least 4 days after completing for the paint to cure before filling the pool. If it rains during this time, you need to remove any standing water and add extra time for the paint to cure. After the paint has cured, fill the pool, restart the filter and add chemicals as required.

IMPORTANT: Make sure that you check with your pool shop and paint supplier for the best options. The above chemicals are only an indication of what can be used and are not necessarily going to be available in your area or what is best for your pool. Safety equipment is very important for this job, you’re working with solvents, acid and potentially dangerous old paint. Don’t take it lightly!

When I started in rental property investment, my reaction was to board up all the open fireplaces, regardless of their condition because I considered them to be unsafe. In hindsight, I think that damp issues caused by tenants using cheap, unvented gas heaters ended up causing more problems than an open fireplace ever would have. A gas bottle will expell a bucket of water into the air, creating mould and consequently, health problems.

If you have a serviceable open fireplace in an older rental, it would certainly be worth considering allowing the tenant to use it if modern quality heating is not available. Ensure that the chimney is properly checked and cleaned and the tenant has a safe fireguard to prevent any accidents or stray coals. Providing them with suitable fireplace tools would be a good idea too.

If you decide that an open fire is not suitable or that it’s not in good enough condition, you need to make some changes to ensure that the fireplace is not going to be a problem. Firstly, it pays to clearly change the visible use of the fire. I’ve tried leaving it open but painting the inside of it white. That was pretty clear to most people but even then, some half-wit tried to light a fire in it. It was the billowing smoke due to the total absence of a chimney that gave it away!

The best thing to do is to board over the front of the fireplace. This removes the temptation to light fires or flick cigarettes into it and also stops any draughts. If the chimney has no cap on it, you should also cover the hole to prevent rain, birds and possums from falling down it!

As mentioned earlier, unvented gas heaters can cause serious problems. Add a clause in your tenancy agreement forbidding the use of them and if the budget allows, look into alternative heating options such as air conditioning, storage heaters, vented gas heating, heat transfer systems or insulation. A vented gas heater may even fit into your old chimney.

As heating and insulation become more pressing issues for rental properties in New Zealand, it will be better to gradually improve heating in your properties to prevent being caught out by any legislation that may well go througb in the future. It will also make your property more attractive in comparison.

Assuming your runaway tenant is not cooperative and really doesn’t want to be found, your first step is to check what information you already have on them.

Prevention is better than cure!

Hopefully, when you selected the tenant, you collected some information that will assist in finding them. (See “How to choose a good tenant“) Getting their full legal name and date of birth is essential to help identify them through the court process but often the quickest way of finding them is by ringing their next of kin. Often they won’t be aware that their relatives have done a runner and will happily help you find them to “return some important paperwork”. If you’re really cunning, your application form will ask for next of kin as an alternate contact address, so that it can be easily used for collection purposes. Likewise, if you have their employment details, you could always wander down and see if they’re still working there. You can also check enrolment forms, the white pages, ask neighbours and even put something in your local investors group newsletter looking for your “missing friends”.

Chasing beneficiaries

If none of the details you already have helps you find them, Government departments will expect you to try other avenues before applying for address information from the Department of Building and Housing (who request address information from WINZ). This can be a frustratingly slow process but if at first you don’t succeed, try again every few months. If you know the tenant is a beneficiary and WINZ say that they do not have an address, write to WINZ and inform them that the tenant has moved. WINZ require the tenant to supply a current address, so eventually, they should be able to provide one to the DBH through your request for address application.

Should I use a debt collector?

Don’t waste your money! Debt collection agencies will only follow the same process as you would have through the courts and are not interested in representing you at tribunal hearings or examinations. If the debt is relatively small, they will put in very few resources to chase the tenant and once their fee is paid or initial enquiries produce no results, you’ll find they’re no longer interested.

However, one thing that is worth doing for a really hard to find tenant is lodging an address check with Veda. This is a cheap “set and forget” service that will email you the new address of a past tenant that has their credit checked for something like an HP or a loan. I have just had a notification for a tenant that left the country 5 years ago! She is about to get a visit from a court baliff.

Using the Privacy Act

Some landlords have also had success requesting address details from the IRD using the Privacy Act.

“Limits on disclosure of personal information (principle eleven)
An agency that holds personal information shall not disclose the information to a person or body or agency unless the agency believes, on reasonable grounds –
(iv) for the conduct of proceedings before any court or tribunal (being proceedings that have been commenced or are reasonably in contemplation); or”

Well, last week I was disturbed from a deep sleep by the telephone ringing. Knowing that some people like to listen to my answer phone or leave me loving messages, I always wait till it rings for the second time. I tumbled out to politely answer as if it was normal to be taking calls at midnight. On the end of the phone was one normally lovely tenant who had become hysterical. “I have water coming out of my light bulbs!”, she screamed.

Knowing that is an impossible thing to happen I took a deep breath and extracted a bit more information. “It is dangerous here!”, she wailed. I have rung an electrician and he says I need to get a plumber up in my ceiling right now. So I told her “What you need to do is turn the water off at the mains. The toby is right beside your front door. Lift the black lid and turn the knob clockwise”.

“No!”, she wailed. “The electrician said having water on the wires is dangerous. My son and I are going to be electrocuted. I need a plumber to crawl into my ceiling right now tonight to fix the problem. You are not an electrician he knows more than you!”.

I had to say “sorry lady but your understanding of such things is defective”. I said, “If you will not turn off the water, I will get dressed and drive across town to turn off the water for you”. And that is what I did, despite the ever increasing abuse continuing until I hung up. I probably could have fixed the plumbing problem myself but called the plumber in the morning. The strange thing is he could not find any sign of a water leak. I just wonder what the problem was?

Two days go by and another lady tenant rings. “We have an emergency. My husband was hosing down the house cleaning it before we left the tenancy and the water hit the mains lead in cable and lots of flames came out. You understand about houses. What should we do? I am worried that we might have a fire”.

I rushed down to the house, deduced that the pole fuse had blown, calmed the nerves of the great conscientious tenant, and arranged for the electrician to repair the cable. No big deal. These things happen.

Isn’t it sad? Here we have two normal intelligent people, two problems, neither of which were of my making and two outcomes. The first has destroyed a great relationship with a great tenant who has been in the house for the last three years. The second event has created good will and we have parted on the best of terms. I just wonder how someone else would have handled the problems. Could I have handled it some other way?

In our business it is inevitable that there will be some damaged houses and damaged relationships. There is no way to avoid these problems. What landlords need to do is to not be the one that gets hurt doing the correct thing.

Glenn Morris is the owner of Nelson property management company, “Glenn’s Vacancies”, managing residential and commercial investments. He is the current secretary of the Nelson Property Investors Association. He was active in the review of the RTA and is a well-known figure in the property investment community. He has a reputation for effectively managing difficult tenancies.”

Unlike some Government Departments, when introducing new ways of doing things, the DBH has at least asked for feedback. They do need to be applauded for this request. Personally I have found the changes challenging and difficult but some of the new processes are great.  The call centre phones must have been having a hammering because I frequently hear the message “due to overloading your call has been terminated”

Overview of Changes 

From 27 June, the Department of Building and Housing introduced a number of improvements to the way we provide services. These improvements have been designed to

• provide a faster dispute result for clients and
• have a higher percentage of disputes resolved at the first resolution attempt.

These improvements were highlighted in a review we conducted in 2010 that focused on how we can provide better, faster, smarter, more cost effective Residential Tenancy Services.

Some of the Improvements include:

• A single nationwide contact phone number 0800 TENANCY, so tenancy queries and requests get to the right place first time. If you are making contact with us call 0800 TENANCY (0800 83 62 62) or email info@dbh.govt.nz
  rather than contacting a local office directly
• New quality assurance checks, so applications for dispute resolution are processed correctly the first time
• Best fit resolution approach – based on your application type, we will assess what is the best resolution type (mediation or tribunal) for each application.
• Application types that are most often only resolved at tribunal will be scheduled directly to the tribunal hearing (unless requested otherwise by you on the application form).
• You can request on the application form for an application to go to mediation or to go straight to the tenancy tribunal. (i.e. waive mediation)
• National scheduling of applications will be performed by a centralised team for increased efficiency and consistency.
• Notification of scheduled appointments will be emailed to you
  • the day the application is scheduled for a mediation or tribunal hearing
  • 3 days prior to the appointment.
  • Notification of scheduled appointments are emailed with reminder texts sent to your tenants (including a reminder text sent the day of the appointment). Make sure you provide an up-to-date email and cellphone number for your tenant on your application
  • If your tenant does not attend a scheduled mediation the application will be referred for a Tribunal hearing that day.
  • If the applicant is not able to be reached at the time of a scheduled mediation the application may be withdrawn. If the application missed the scheduled appointment still call us on 0800TENANCY as we will try to reach your tenant to mediate during the day.

For more information on making an application to the Tenancy Tribunal see: http://www.dbh.govt.nz/tribunal-info-for-landlords

You can  subscribe to the Department’s free information services

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To see the full range of subscription services and register for any you would like to receive, click here.

Another unlikely story from Glenn

By popular demand here is another story. Last month’s story mysteriously was not appreciated by at least one person. This is the risk us writers take all the time. Anyone reading these words are asked to lighten up and laugh with me and you. The intention is not to hurt people’s feelings but share with fellow landlords the joys and heartaches that go with our sometimes unpleasant business. Of course people that are not landlords are expected to see things differently to us lot.

Hello Glenn this is your tenant from the four bedroom house in Richmond. My friend and I are the tenants with the fixed term tenancy. I have just found my house being advertised on Trademe and wondered why I was not informed.
Really I said. Your friend has written to me asking for the lease to be ended. Well surely I need to be informed first before that happens she yelled at me. Goodness I said how often do you see and talk to your friend in the house.
Surely she should have told you. No it is your responsibility to tell me the drone wailed. You are going to hear from my lawyer about this…

Glenn Morris is the owner of Nelson property management company, “Glenn’s Vacancies”, managing residential and commercial investments. He is the current secretary of the Nelson Property Investors Association. He was active in the review of the RTA and is a well-known figure in the property investment community. He has a reputation for effectively managing difficult tenancies.”

You can see here how bad the rust was under the eaves. This wasn't visible from above or in the roof space. The top end of the iron is almost entirely gone and was the source of a slow leak that was causing damage to the ceilings and damp problems.

It can be tempting to keep patching up old iron roofs. Replacing old lead-head nails, wire-brushing off any rust and rust-proofing patches. And if you’ve read Olly Newland’s books, even using a bit of canvas soaked in paint to plug holes! However, at some point, the risk of a major leak of a roof in the neighbour’s garden will become too great to ignore any longer and you’ll have to suck it up and get quotes to completely replace the whole thing.

I was recently faced with this dilemma and so with great trepidation, I climbed up into the roof space to see how bad the damage was. To my great relief, there was hardly any rust at all, just one or two pieces that could use replacing. Great, I thought! However, when I got a roofer to come and quote on the repair, he took one look from the street and said “That’ll need replacing”. “Suuure”, I thought. However, when I explained how good it looked from underneath, he showed me a few ways to check if my old iron roof needed replacing.

While most of a roof can look ok from on top and even underneath, these visible areas aren’t the most vulnerable parts. The ends of the iron and where it’s pierced with nails are what you need to check And these aren’t visible without close inspection.

Hidden Roof Damage

• When on top of your roof, hold the head of your hammer in your hand and bang along the ridges with the rubber handle. If a cascade of rust falls out (Like it did on my roof!), then you have rust under the ridges that is not visible from inside the roof because it’s hidden behind the supporting timber.
• From on the ground, shine a strong torch (Not one of the crappy $10 ones from the DIY shops) up between the guttering and the fascia. This will show up any rust on the ends of the iron that won’t be visible from on top of the roof.
• Walk along the nail lines and check how secure the nails are. If you have a roof like I had, lead head nails will roll down into the gutter exposing rusting nail holes and giving away where the previous owner had siliconed the lead heads in place where nails had already rusted out. Don’t do dodgy silicone repairs!
• If you have a chimney, check the back flashing. That’s the flashing on the uphill side of the roof where rain may pool and debris tends to get stuck. There may be hidden rust here too.
• If you have an older roof that doesn’t use the full-length long run iron, check where the top sheet overlaps with the bottom sheet. Wind can drive water up into the gap and rust out both sheets, creating a nice soft rusty patch that will absorb and slowly leech moisture into your roof space.

When a roof is on it's last legs, the rust can run along the entirely length of the eaves while still looking in good shape from inside the roof.

Other things to check on your roof

• Check all the lead seals on the ridges, vent pipes from the hot water cylinder and toilet. These can get torn by people walking on the roof or just fall apart from old-age.
• Lead will also react with Zincalume roofs, so make sure that they’re not in contact if replacing a roof. Use coloursteel.
• You should also make sure that your hot water cylinder isn’t overflowing. Not only will this cost money but copper will react with a zincalume roof, causing further damage.\
• Painted iron should not overlap unpainted iron as water flowing off the painted surface to the unpainted creates a reaction causing corrosion.

In short, sometimes it’s better to bite the bullet and replace the whole thign rather than to try and repair damage that is hidden and througout the roof. The risk of greater damage to the roof structure or internal walls and ceilings of the house is significant. The cost would also be considerable. Not just in repair but in possible lost rent from the tenant leaving!

Thanks to John Duff Roofing Whangarei for help with my re-roof and this article.

Older aluminium louvres often break at the hinge

I recently had to replace three sets of aluminium window louvres because the original 1960′s rivets in the hinge had finally broken. Initially, I thought of replacing the rivet by drilling out the old one, but the amount of force on the hinge would probably be too much for a standard rivet. It’s much easier to just buy replacement cooper louvres from one of the major hardware stores.

I used Trimline louvres from Ullrich Aluminium that I bought from Bunnings for about $30 a pair. They also offer another option called Blade Lok which secure the glass in the holders but these are more troublesome if replacing louvres, as they take up more width due to the plastic locking strip. For most old louvres, this will mean cutting an extra few mm off the glass to fit. If your windows are on the second story like mine are, you’re probably not too concerned about securing the glass permanently.

What ever brand you use, check the spacing for the glass to make sure the old panes will fit ok.

Tools for the job

• Hammer
• Screwdriver
• Power drill and drill bit

You may also need

• Primer undercoat
• Sandpaper
• Paint brush
• Paint for a top coat
• Wood clamp

Removing the old louvres

First, remove the glass. Trying to do anything else first is just asking for trouble! The old louvres will probably have a thin piece of aluminium bent over the end of the glass pane to hold it in place. You should be able to bend this back by hand or you can use a pair of pliers. This will allow the glass to slide out easily. Be wary of splinters from the old glass but I don’t suggest using gloves without non-slip grips as the whole pane is more likely to slip out of your hands.

Once you’re removed the glass, you’ll find the mullion (the upright bit that screws onto the window frame) is attached to the frame with screws. These may well be seized-up, so grab your screwdriver and placing it on the screw, give it a short, sharp tap wth your hammer. This should loosen the screw. If pieces of broken plastic tinkle to the floor from your screwdriver handle, go buy a better quality one!

After removing the screws, don’t assume that the mullion will come directly off the frame. It could well be stuck with paint and may also be set into a routered groove. In my case, the mullion had to be tapped outward. If you need to use a hammer to remove the mullions, use it lightly and watch for splitting in the timber frame around any groove. If this is a problem, a clamp could be used to prevent splitting.

Preparing the window frame

Depending on the type of louvres you’re replacing, preparation may include priming and painting the timber window frames to cover areas that were hidden by the old louvres but aren’t covered by the new ones.

The new mullions are unlikely to have exactly the same profile as the old ones, so there may be some exposed, unpainted timber. Before painting this, put the new mullions in place, check for fit and drill screw holes. When checking for fit, pay attention to the spacing when the glass holders are in the closed position. Too tight and the glass will break. Too loose and you’ll get drafts.

When you’re sure the fit is right, start preparing the frame. First, using a damp cloth, remove any grime or your paint won’t stick.  The old mullions will likely have a paint edge that needs to be sanded down to avoid an unsightly, lumpy line. When you’ve smoothed that down, put on some primer undercoat. Once this is dry, you need a couple of top coats to match the old paint. Lightly sand with fine sandpaper between coats to get the best finish. It’s not a good idea to try and do this after fitting because the locking handle and hinge makes it difficult to paint.

Fitting the louvres

Like most DIY jobs, the preparation is the time-consuming part! Once the paint is dry, all you need to do is position the mullions and screw them to the frame using the pre-drilled holes from earlier. Then, all you need to do is slide the glass panes back in and check the fit is right when the louvres are closed.

If the glass is a tight fit, you can use the heel of your hand or the rubber handle of a hammer to gently tap the pane into place. Be sure to keep it straight so that it doesn’t jam.

This is where your preparation proves it’s worth. If you rushed and drilled the holes in the wrong place, it can be very difficult to shift the mullion slightly and re-drill. It may be easier to drill new holes through the mullion instead. Just remember to punch the aluminium to create a recess for the screw-head.

By popular demand here is another story…

I was lining up an eviction last week. The tiny flat looked cold, lonely and uninhabited. I stood outside hopping from foot to foot trying to keep warm and trying to make up my mind. Do I wait till Friday and get the bailiff or have the tenants already run off? Banging loudly on the front and back doors produced no response.

The shivering neighbours said they had not seen the young couple for a few days. I unlocked the back door for a quick peek only to discover the young lovers in bed. Oh dear, that is not the way the DBH guide book says to do it!

So come Friday, it was off to the court house for an eviction and Order for Examination warrant.

On Saturday night a loud knocking was heard at my door. I opened it to find a police officer who said the young couple had accused me of unlawfully entering their property. This is civil matter officer I said in my best authoritative voice. Not necessarily so echoed the refrain. Wait out here in the cold officer whilst I fetch my letter from the court house. I showed him the official letter saying the warrants were being served and subjected him to a long complex description of the court process for evictions. The officer took a couple of steps back took a deep breath and said; “You will not be hearing again from us about this matter”. We then chatted about the block of flats and how much work it created for both of us and that was that.

On Monday the Eviction Day the smooth talking lout almost convinced the bailiff they could stay for a few more days. When I recounted the police story to madam bailiff her resolve was rekindled. So it was off onto the street with them where they deserved to be!

Glenn Morris is the owner of Nelson property management company, “Glenn’s Vacancies”, managing residential and commercial investments. He is the current secretary of the Nelson Property Investors Association. He was active in the review of the RTA and is a well-known figure in the property investment community. He has a reputation for effectively managing difficult tenancies.”

The National government ministers are still chanting the mantra that they think too many people have been investing in property and think more people should be investing in productive industries. Goodness knows what particular industries they have in mind. Are they thinking of the big F’s of fishing, farming or forestry? Those of us who dabble in the share market know it is not a bed of roses at the moment.

Then just when it can not get much colder and miserable, I poke my head out from under the blankets to discover we have a general election looming and the Labour party announce their policy of a capital gains tax on all investment property sales and capital gains on shares sales too. I did not even bother to read what the Labour hopefuls had in mind doing this. They obviously want to lower investment in both housing and industry. Perhaps they want to encourage more spending in social housing and welfare?

Has Labour not heard the saying when in a hole the first thing you do is stop digging? Not that I, nor lots of other Kiwis, think that Labour has much chance of getting into power but surprisingly the media has given their ideas lots of exposure and some of the ideas have stuck firmly in the minds of many people.

All these stinking thoughts are influencing what good decent hard working people like you and me are doing. Here we are in a trough between housing price peaks. The number of new home starts is at an all time low, meaning the supply of competing rentals is down. Immigration surprisingly is still in our favour which means the demand should be tracking up. The Christchurch earthquake has taken out thousands of dwellings and a significant number of people have moved to Nelson with more to follow. Interest rates are at an all time low and have been down for a longer period than I can ever recall. A gradual tsunami of rent increases is swirling in a muddy stream out of Auckland and I guess this will spread out into the other growth areas of the country when the conditions are right. Goodness gracious the fundamentals all point to good times yet we are still stuck down here in the mire. What is going on?

My theory is the bulk of residential investors do not buy when the numbers stack up.

They buy when the feel good factors are there. They look for those little yellow fluffy ducks to see if they are all lined up. With a bit of luck, lots of you have completed the annual ANZ NZPIF survey of property investors. This survey will no doubt repeat the findings of many earlier surveys. That is those investors owning one or two residential rental properties make up the vast majority of investors. Those owning more than five rapidly recede and those owning over ten are like white bait when I go fishing.

I and other writers keep telling investors do your sums before buying but almost no one ever listens. People want to listen to good real estate sales persons telling them such and such a property will make a great investment. “There is always plenty of demand for family homes in Stoke. You will never lose money if you buy my hot listing right now. If you invest in local Bad Street where the returns are higher you will have all sorts of troubles. Only buy there at your peril.”

Sure some beginners know better, buy their one or two in bad alley then quickly sell off when the experience is none to wonderful. Rarely does one hear in the media about lovely old investors helping out young families by housing them. Who cares if Glenn spends his weekends and every bit of time between Sundays fixing blocked drains, delivering old beds to the down and out, and picking up rubbish departing tenants have left behind. Such actions must surely be related to making more money and have nothing to do with helping people.

There is no widespread appreciation of what landlords do. Sure the socialists, when they get into power, think that civil servants are the best people to be landlords. Have you ever heard of a tenant saying their civil servant landlord is far more considerate and caring than their old private landlord? With the ongoing news releases from the current Minister of Housing continually patting himself on the back I am yet to read any good positive news about private landlords housing someone that others would not help. Well I can tell you just because politicians and economists do not place value on what we do many tenants have other thoughts. There are few investments in the world more worthy than residential homes. Children grow up in them, old people cherish their homes and young people make love in them. These things far out-class offices that are full of accountants and commodity traders. Who on earth lovingly cares for their industrial workshop?

No folks, as usual the people in power in Wellington have stinking thinking. I am pulling my warm hat on and heading off into my own world where I can do some good for others in spite of what others think.
I will do my own thinking. I smell roses when others smell rubbish.

Glenn Morris is the owner of Nelson property management company, “Glenn’s Vacancies”, managing residential and commercial investments. He is the current secretary of the Nelson Property Investors Association. He was active in the review of the RTA and is a well-known figure in the property investment community. He has a reputation for effectively managing difficult tenancies.”