Each day started at 5:45 a.m. when I had to force myself out of bed. My iPhone’s world clock had the times of Auckland, Manila and Linz. I had to remind myself that I was in Linz and not in Auckland. If my body is not ready, at least my brain should be. Breakfast started at 6:30 a.m. and I would see FISA Council members, FISA Jury Members, FISA Commission Members and media bustling about the hotel’s restaurant.

At various stages of my stay in Austria, I had to stop and make myself realize that I was in another country. It was surreal. Every morning as I entered the regatta venue, muscular Austrian security officers would utter, “Morgen,” (short for Guten Morgen or Good Morning) while checking the accreditation hanging on my neck. It was just one reminder that I was not in New Zealand at that time. It was strange that at several points during the regatta, the temperature would soar up to 35 degrees Celsius, when, back in Auckland, it was winter. It felt more like being in the Philippines and not in Austria. It was amusing that there was no air conditioning unit in my hotel room. There was only a heater.

The Umpiring Commission of FISA (Fédération Internationale des Sociétés d’Aviron in French or the English equivalent International Federation of Rowing Associations) chooses which umpires nominated by their national federations go to which FISA regatta. I was blessed to have been nominated by the national federation of the Philippines and then chosen by the Umpiring Commission to umpire (be a Jury Member) in the World Rowing Under 23 Championships in Linz-Ottensheim, Austria last July 2013. In this regatta where athletes from 52 countries participated, there were Jury Members from the following countries: France, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, Great Britain, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Norway, Poland, South Africa, Slovenia and Serbia. Add to this, the Philippines, which I represented.

Trips to Europe fascinate me because it is a combination of the old and the new. There is so much history and culture in Europe, yet it also boasts of technology and modernity. It was unbelievable. The hotel room they assigned to me looked over the Danube River and had the Ars Electronica Center Museum der Zukunft within its sights. This museum had changing lights at night, much like the SkyTower in Auckland.

My favorite part of going to Europe is when I sit on a cobble-stoned walk sitting by a café or restaurant while drinking or eating. The sound of an accordion really seals the deal! Hearing people speak in a foreign language intrigues and excites me as well.

For the duration of this regatta, I was able to try most of the assignments a Jury Member could be assigned to. It was exciting and challenging. One had to stay alert for every umpiring role. The athletes train for months or even years, so the umpires are expected to officiate to a level commensurate to the dedication and training of the athletes.

The gracious hosts of this regatta had prepared and treated us well. At one of the rooftops of the low-lying buildings of the regatta venue, there was a bar where one can drink all the beer you want for free! We would only drink here at the end of each day, though, as we needed to stay alert.

We were treated to a “Nations Dinner” which was held in a rural area which reminded me of the movie, “The Sound of Music”. As usual, wine was served all around before the sumptuous dinner.

My favorite meal was when the organizing committee hosted the members of the Jury and the media to a “roast pork” dinner. The roast pork was actually a variation of the Philippine lechon (roasted pork). Unlike the Philippine version, this pork’s skin was sliced but still crunchy. The Austrian version of the roast pork had a dark skin color and the sauce served was sour and more liquid. The meat part was tasty and its tenderness surprised me.

One of the moments I look forward to is when the Jury Members start arriving and meet at the hotel lobby. What amuses me is that the Jury Members introduce themselves saying their name and country. In my case, I mention two countries. I say, “Mark Dizon, from the Philippines but now living in New Zealand.” This is quite amusing to most people. Some Jury Members are old friends. Some will have just met for the first time.

The umpiring stints in the regattas are an opportunity for me to travel, meet new and old friends, try different drinks and food, learn different cultures and represent two countries. It is a chance to learn so much from people from different countries and, also, share what I know about the Philippines and New Zealand, two countries close to my heart.

One of the things I remind tenants is to have spare keys to the house.  If a tenant has only one key to the house and loses this, he/she will ring the property manager to borrow the property manager's key, have it cut and return it.  

What if the tenant loses the key outside office hours or on a weekend and the property manager cannot be reached?  The tenant will need to ring a locksmith and pay the necessary fee to the locksmith.  

It would have been much simpler to have had the key cut in the first place and have a spare key.

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 may be charged to you.

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