On many occasions, a tenant would ring me and tell me that the water in their kitchen sink or laundry tub won't drain. The tenant would say that it would also overflow and smell bad "on the outside of the house". I can sense the frustration that the these tenants cannot give the exact word of the object being referred to but have a theory that they are referring to the "gully trap" defined as:

"...a basin in the ground which receives piped wastewater from your kitchen, bathroom and laundry before it is emptied into the sewer. The basin has a water seal to prevent foul odours of the sewer reaching the surface. The top or surround is raised above ground level to prevent stormwater and other foreign matter entering the sewer."  (Source of image and definition:  Waterline.  A Tauranga City Council Service.)

To solve the overflowing of water from the gully trap, one can contact a drain unblocker or a plumber who does drain unblocking.

Having your rental property’s hot water cylinder stolen is not only a traumatic experience, it costs a lot of money as well to replace the hot water cylinder, to repair the damages and to clean up.

Hot water cylinders are usually stolen from properties which are vacant for quite a while or seem to be vacant for a long time. 

You can try to prevent your hot water cylinder by doing the following:

1)      Install an alarm on your property.

2)      Install a fence and gate.

3)      Empty the letterbox as often as possible.

4)      Mow the lawn every fortnight.

5)      Ask a trustworthy neighbour to keep an eye on the property.

The photos above show parts of a house after the hot water cylinder is stolen.

Have you ever experienced a tenant ringing you and saying, “My stove/oven doesn’t work.”? When asked this question, a property manager or rental property owner should be ready to ask their tenant the following questions before contacting an electrician to go to the property and sort out stove problems:

Solution 1:  Ask the tenant: “Is the power switch on?”

Solution 2:  Ask the tenant: “Is the circuit board switch for the oven on?”

Solution 3:  Sometimes changing the settings will do the trick.  In the setting of the first photo, the stove will not work.  In the setting of the second photo, the stove will work. 

Asking these three questions may save you time and money.  You may no longer need to send an electrician to your property just because you asked your tenant three questions. 

1)  Read the landlord recommendations in the inspection reports given to you.
2)  Promptly email to your property manager the water rates invoices if these invoices directly go to you so we can charge the appropriate amounts to the tenants.
3)  Let your property manager know when you will be overseas.  This will help your property manager deal with emergency issues better.
4)  When you want us to send your funds/money to a new bank account number, do so in writing.
5)  To save your time, you may want to furnish us with your accountant's email address so we can cc your "landlord statements" to your accountant.

Tenants should remember to:

1)  Always have a spare key to the rental property.  If you only have one copy of your key and you lose it, you would need to ring your property manager or a locksmith.

2)  Inform your property manager if you change your phone number or if you have an additional number (e.g. landline or mobile number).  

3)  Answer your phone or reply to text messages.  Tradespeople are instructed to contact you to gain access to the property.  If you don't answer your phone or reply to text messages, then tradespeople cannot go to the property for repairs.

4)  Keep a copy of MDG Property Management Ltd.'s bank account number and remember to use your last name and tenant number as reference.  If there is no reference then the payment will not be credited as payment from you.

5)  Inform your property manager of maintenance issues.  If there are maintenance issues and you do not inform your property manager, then damages maybe be charged to you.

6)  Contact your property manager during business hours only unless it's a valid emergency.