I was looking forward to the day we finally got the keys to my first apartment. I bought the apartment from Melcorp two months prior and was waiting patiently for the end of the tenants' contract to move in. I was assured very confidently by the real estate agents at Melcorp upon settlement that I would receive the keys on the Tuesday after the tenants vacated, with the apartment professionally cleaned. I had it all planned out. I had requested several days off from work so I could get someone in to do a measure and quote for the blinds, do a bit of cleaning (de-sanitising!), do measurements for new furniture and maybe move a few things in before the big move in two weeks.
Maybe it was me being naive, maybe I had too high expectations... I didn't bother calling the agent the week before to remind him of the professional clean as I was assured multiple times by two agents that this would already be done on the day I received the keys.
Boy, was I so wrong.
We had looked at blinds in Hawthorn over the weekend, and the saleslady there had very efficiently called me back the Tuesday, asking if the blinds consultant could come on the Wednesday to do a measure and quote. (We wanted to get it done asap as we were told it sometimes takes 4 weeks for the blinds to be done.) It was only for that reason that I called Melcorp, asking if the professional clean had been done.
Imagine my surprise, when I was told by the rental agent that the professional clean would not be done until Friday! That was THREE whole days from when the tenants returned the keys. Appalled, I asked why the professional clean was going to be done that late. Apparently, the rental agent had only recently found out that the tenants were planning to do the cleaning by themselves (hello, "PROFESSIONAL clean" anyone???) and by then it was too late and the earliest pro clean they could book was on Friday. This was absurd - I asked if we could please have the clean done today or tomorrow! I was told by the agent that he would try to get pro cleaners in tomorrow, and get back to me in 5 minutes.
Guess what. I didn't hear back from him and it took two separate phone calls two hours later to finally get through to him. The agent said the best he could do was the professional clean on Wednesday although he could not tell me when during the day and when it would be finished. Great. That's one day wasted of my requested days off that I would not be able to do anything.
After thinking this over, I got more annoyed over this. It was ridiculous. I have rented and vacated apartments before, and with my previous experiences with Poole & Levy and IEC Real Estate, they were very efficient and specific about having to arrange our professional clean on the day BEFORE or ON the day we handed over the keys so the next person could move in without delay. So I asked Melcorp about this policy, since technically, if the apartment is not cleaned, no one else could move in and wouldn't this still be considered "occupied by the tenants"? (maybe not by the people, but their germs!) So shouldn't they be liable for another day's rent? The agent was very adamant that nope, they had no policy for when the professional clean needed to be done and they would only pay until the day of return of keys. (So... if I rented with Melcorp, I could hightail it out of there and stuff it, wait till the last minute and get the cleaners in the week after???) I asked since the tenants were planning to arrange the pro clean on Friday (3 days later) you would have let them without paying me 3 days rent for 3 days? (seriously, what can you do in a dirty apartment???) BTW he played dumb and just replied "as far as I know, the tenants are only paying rent till Tuesday."
I asked him so who's responsibility was in the first place to ensure the tenants understood and knew they were supposed to get the apartment PROFESSIONALLY cleaned rather than home cleaning? And the rental agent very forcefully replied "it's no one's responsibility!" Wrong answer! Aren't we paying you a fee every month to "manage" our property on our behalf? Isn't it YOUR job to ensure the tenants are aware of their responsibilities prior to vacating? And he very stubbornly insisted "there IS no problem." No apology, no nothing. Yeah. I told him "Yeah, there's a problem for me. I've taken two days off and I can't do anything now so this is just wasting my time. You said the apartment was going to be professionally cleaned and it isn't." Know what his answer was? "The apartment is clean, but not PROFESSIONALLY clean!"
Am I expecting too much? I thought this was standard! I'm comparing this to the efficiency and diligence of IEC Real Estate, where I am currently renting. When I went to sign my end of lease contract, the director of the agency told me very specifically what I had to do and when, as well as recommended me people they trusted for pro cleaning. Not only that, but a week later, when the property manager came for a vacating inspection of the apartment, he personally brought a printed letter with instructions on what needed to be done and checked again that we knew we had to arrange a pro clean as well as recommended people the agency usually used. Now is this just incredibly efficient, or standard??? ( I know now which real estate agency I would use if I ever want to rent out our apartment next time!)
Anyway, the problem did not end here. The nightmare was only just beginning as we collected our keys and headed up to our apartment on Wednesday....
Continue to Part II
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