Do not leave your precious investments with this company
I have owned investment properties for the past 20 years and I have never had a more traumatic experience or poor performing Property Manager than Karin MacLean. From the moment she signed up a tenant, she established a rapport with the tenant whereby the tenants needs, wants and opinions were more important than mine as a Landlord who was actually paying her for her management.
On being informed that the tenant was intending to vacate recently, Karin did not list my apartment for rent until 2 days before the tenant left. Her reason for this was “the tenant didn’t want anyone coming through.” I complained about this to the owner of the company who then lied to me and said “ tenants can refuse to allow prospective tenants into the property” which is ludicrous and absolutely false. As soon as I questioned Karin about her poor property management, she took my (empty) apartment offline and didn’t want to represent me anymore. After scrambling to then try and get a new Property Manager to represent me, she then refused to give my new management the apartments keys. In addition, Melb is in current lockdown so I now have a vacant apartment and no access to it. I now cannot move forward from this horrendous experience with this company. Just nasty. Do not deal with these people, they will lie, they only care about tenants and will not have you in their best interests, and unfortunately will turn on you when criticised. Just a horrendous experience.
Antwoord van Cayzer Real Estate
We are sorry to hear that your experience was as described and that you felt your business was not valued. We value all of our clients, regardless if they are landlords or tenants and engage with them with professionalism and honesty.
The tenant who occupied the property for 5 years was one that would be envied by other landlords. Rent was always paid on time, the property was cared for and kept in excellent condition, and there was no rent reduction request made by this tenant as was the case for many properties during the 2020 COVID lockdowns.
The 120 changes to the Residential Tenancies Act can be found on the website of Consumer Affairs and they do indeed provide tenants with more protection. Property managers are legally bound to comply, whether we agree or not.
The offer was made to send the keys to you by secure and registered post, but you declined. The office is closed by another round of COVID restrictions which in turn, hinder the ability to hand over the keys to whoever you designate to collect them. We have no interest in retaining the keys to your property nor would ever delay handing them over to the next property manager you appoint.
The well-being of our hard-working and dedicated team is a priority. The exchange of emails was reviewed and when unrealistic demands and false accusations are directed at them, it’s clear that ending the business relationship is the most appropriate action to take.
One only has to read previous rave reviews from landlords who have had their properties managed by Karin McLean to know that she is an exemplary property manager who treats landlords and tenants alike with respect and care. There are no perfect landlords, tenants or property managers but we know Karin is incredibly professional and respected from the feedback we’ve received over the years from landlords.