Timber - What Can Go Wrong Next?

This week our Durban property had a large branch of a tree come down which landed on the boundary wall of which also has an electric fence. This could have been far worse and at least the wall is still intact.

I wish our tenant was more observant as getting a tree feller in for any dodgy trees is the obvious solution. I have not visited this property in a good few years as the truth is I was hoping to have sold this already. The good part is the property is fully paid off and very little needs to be spent on the property with regards to maintenance besides a new lick of paint.

The damages look superficial and are not that bad so this could have been far worse.

My other halves aunt stays on this property and with her being elderly and not well we are unfortunately stuck until she passes. When I agreed she could move in to the granny flat almost 20 years ago I never knew it would be permanent and even though over the years we have tried to entice her out to stay in a old age home nothing has worked. Her brothers agreed they would step in and get her sorted so she could be looked after and nothing ever materialised.

The fence has broken or bent brackets, but more importantly the wires are still intact.

Not much we can do and you cannot really force someone out especially when you know the end is in sight. One would be a proper shit to contemplate this and i have just sucked it up and gone with the flow.

In October we had an insurance claim for storm damage where the property was flooded internally from a severs storm with strong winds that forced water back up the roof so the water flowed under the roof tiles. The roof did it's job, but those are extreme conditions that is not meant to happen.

Since then we have a burst water pipe that was underground and the tenant did nothing even when he saw pools of water appearing in the garden. By the time we were notified this must have been going for a few days and took another 2 days to repair due to the tenant not being readily available. Every time he phones me I know there is a cost involved and why I hate having tenants.

Only this morning I was speaking with the insurance company because some of the repairs completed are questionable and they are having the quality of repairs reviewed. This latest damage will not be sent through to the insurance company because this is fixable for less than the excess and why it makes no sense. My tenant is an electrician by trade and I would like to see him come to the party but that may be asking too much as he is or seems quite lazy.

You know you have a problem if your tenant cannot even keep the swimming pool clean and asked if we could organize a pool cleaning service. Those who have swimming pools know pool maintenance is straight forward and only takes a few minutes each day. Having a pool becomes a way of life and is no different from cleaning your own home.

Posted Using INLEO