Very tricky housing / rental situation

Pop over to the forums on LandlordZone.com, lots of very good, helpful and knowledgable people there are will be more than happy to help.
 
I'd check into that I have a managed property and the tenants gave notice 1 month after signing 12 months I'm pretty sure the fees are not a lot on their side (agent told me and I said let them off it was very low hundreds)..
 
Peerzy said:
Looking for some advice, I'll keep this as short as possible:

Last week three men dressed in black, armed with a very large knife, a hammer and baseball bat smashed into the property via a back glazed window and proceeded to assault my sister and her BF in a very violent manor (lots of blood, very serious). This was in the middle of the night, they stole some money and demanded things like car keys and watches but didn't get them.
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So your sister and her BF risked their lives against 3 guys with a machete, baseball bat and a hammer? I'm not being funny here but if you are outnumbered and outarmed and they are asking for car keys you hand them over. The car should be fully insured against this kind of thing and it's a legal requirement to have insurance.

I can't help but think you sister and her BF's actions albeit noble were very naive. It's also likely they wouldn't have been so badly hurt had they just said here's the car keys.

I also don't understand why they cannot go back to the property. If they owned the property would they instantly sell it? Why don't they invest in security or next time just let them take the car? All the stories of people who say they never leave their car keys downstairs. Well I leave both of mine downstairs for this reason. I couldn't give a toss if someone takes the cars. So long as they don't come looking upstairs for them with a machete. it's also why I keep a baseball bat and a lock knife (which I use for mainly opening parcels) next to the bed.
 
Johno please? said:
Or because criminals are scum and don't think like normal people, and they also know they will meet little to no resistance in this country.
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Quite possibly, maybe they were jacked up on drugs or something. I've seen on our local news quite a few cases of criminals threatening people in their homes but its usually to get the nice car sat outside or because someone has tipped them off about something valuable inside.
 
Johno please? said:
Or because criminals are scum and don't think like normal people, and they also know they will meet little to no resistance in this country.
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So you reckon they risk going to prison for a laugh?

They have pre-meditated this by the fact they are carrying a machete, hammer and a baseball bat. So that means some planning has went into it. It could be that they picked a random house on the night but they did plan something as you don't just carry those things for a laugh.
 
Psycho Sonny said:
I also don't understand why they cannot go back to the property. If they owned the property would they instantly sell it?
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The main problem most people have after being robbed, even when they weren't home at the time of the robbery, is a strong sense of insecurity. They feel violated and unsafe, it can be very difficult for people who have been through such an event to continue living at the address where something like that has happened. A lot of people who have been through this sort of thing absolutely have sold their properties and moved on, and while some might consider it irrational it's the only way they can get rid of the feelings of fear and anxiety. I don't blame the couple for wanting to leave whatsoever, it's very hard for people to understand unless they've been through the same sort of thing. It's not necessarily something you can magically fix by installing an alarm system and some cameras.
 
Gray2233 said:
The main problem most people have after being robbed, even when they weren't home at the time of the robbery, is a strong sense of insecurity. They feel violated and unsafe, it can be very difficult for people who have been through such an event to continue living at the address where something like that has happened. A lot of people who have been through this sort of thing absolutely have sold their properties and moved on, and while some might consider it irrational it's the only way they can get rid of the feelings of fear and anxiety. I don't blame the couple for wanting to leave whatsoever, it's very hard for people to understand unless they've been through the same sort of thing. It's not necessarily something you can magically fix by installing an alarm system and some cameras.
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Yeah but it could happen anywhere. I know people that have been robbed and none of them sold their homes.

Also by having an alarm and cameras your making yourself a harder target rather than an easy one. Yes I know they can wear balaclavas. The point is it's not very inconspicuous running around with balaclavas on. Someone would spot you and then you chance them reporting you and the police turning up.

Fair enough if they want to move out. However they should expect to pay the 2 months notice IMO or whatever the notice is.
 
The estate agent should not be asking you to pay the years rent, and then re-let the property. Scum bags!
By all means pay the rent until they re-let the property and even pay the estate agent costs, that's a fair amount so the estate agent and landlord are not out of pocket.
Do they have any way to track your sister if she just up sticks and leaves? Is there a guarantor?
 
Gray2233 said:
The main problem most people have after being robbed, even when they weren't home at the time of the robbery, is a strong sense of insecurity. They feel violated and unsafe, it can be very difficult for people who have been through such an event to continue living at the address where something like that has happened. A lot of people who have been through this sort of thing absolutely have sold their properties and moved on, and while some might consider it irrational it's the only way they can get rid of the feelings of fear and anxiety. I don't blame the couple for wanting to leave whatsoever, it's very hard for people to understand unless they've been through the same sort of thing. It's not necessarily something you can magically fix by installing an alarm system and some cameras.
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I was broken into twice at my old house and it has made me totally paranoid. The first time I was asleep upstairs, they came in, took my car keys, wallet, bike and left. The second time, I was out and they completely tore the house apart but as I have very few things that are worth anything and easy to steal, they actually took very little. The second time hit me much harder than the first even though they took less, and I although I feel much happier now I no longer live in that house, I'm still stupidly paranoid and OCD about everything. It's even affected things like my car choice so I won't have anything that stands out or is desirable to steal any more. Anything to make myself look less of a target compared to my neighbours.
 
Psycho Sonny said:
Yeah but it could happen anywhere. I know people that have been robbed and none of them sold their homes.
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Being robbed whilst you're not home and having your windows smashed in, a number of big blokes coming in and then being heavily beaten are two very different circumstances though. You can't even compare the two. I can completely see why someone wouldn't feel safe in that home anymore.
 
Street said:
I was broken into twice at my old house and it has made me totally paranoid. The first time I was asleep upstairs, they came in, took my car keys, wallet, bike and left. The second time, I was out and they completely tore the house apart but as I have very few things that are worth anything and easy to steal, they actually took very little. The second time hit me much harder than the first even though they took less, and I although I feel much happier now I no longer live in that house, I'm still stupidly paranoid and OCD about everything. It's even affected things like my car choice so I won't have anything that stands out or is desirable to steal any more. Anything to make myself look less of a target compared to my neighbours.
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I'm really sorry to hear that you've been through that, it's unfortunate that we have to share a world with some absolutely disgusting human beings.

Dealing with a break in can have long lasting consequences that a lot of people just do not understand.
 
Liquidfox said:
Being robbed whilst you're not home and having your windows smashed in, a number of big blokes coming in and then being heavily beaten are two very different circumstances though. You can't even compare the two. I can completely see why someone wouldn't feel safe in that home anymore.
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so it's basically the illusion of safety is more important than actual safety?

also these things hardly ever escalate to that level because people normally see 3 big blokes with machetes and say here you go here's the car keys. if you need help loading the car up with my tv's just let me know i'll give you a hand.

not antagonise them by refusing to hand over keys. yes it shouldn't have happened and it's horrible but you just have to give them the stuff and then call the police.

by them not getting the car keys it only escalated a bad situation into the horrible one they suffered. that wasn't the home's fault. I don't understand why they took a stand against them during the robbery but are now running away after the fact.

it could be mistaken identity or the boyfriend could owe a debt to someone he obviously isn't going to admit to if it's for drugs or what not. or a simple robbery which they didn't help matters in.
 
Psycho Sonny said:
So your sister and her BF risked their lives against 3 guys with a machete, baseball bat and a hammer? I'm not being funny here but if you are outnumbered and outarmed and they are asking for car keys you hand them over. The car should be fully insured against this kind of thing and it's a legal requirement to have insurance.
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Who said they put up a fight?
 
It's very easy to talk about the perfect way to act in an extremely stressful situation without ever having been in that situation. If your natural reaction when a bunch of uninvited thugs burst into your home is to just sit there and smile, I don't know what to tell you, the vast majority of people are going to act on instinct during the heat of the moment. People don't train for being robbed, it's not something they expect to happen and isn't something you can wholly prepare for.

As for the illusion of safety, the psychological impact of this sort of event can be massive. That should be obvious, it's something that has already been covered by a few people.
 
Psycho, you do talk some ****. If you're not sympathetic to the plight of this couple then I suggest you just stop posting in here.
 
Gray2233 said:
It's very easy to talk about the perfect way to act in an extremely stressful situation without ever having been in that situation. If your natural reaction when a bunch of uninvited thugs burst into your home is to just sit there and smile, I don't know what to tell you, the vast majority of people are going to act on instinct during the heat of the moment. People don't train for being robbed, it's not something they expect to happen and isn't something you can wholly prepare for.
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I wouldn't sit there and smile however I'm not going to see 3 guys with a machete, hammer and a bat and think "you know what they can take my car from my dead body".

You just try and get them out ASAP or stall them whilst you call the police or hide and call the police.

What you don't do is not give them what they want.
 
cadmunkey said:
Psycho, you do talk some ****. If you're not sympathetic to the plight of this couple then I suggest you just stop posting in here.
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Where have I not been sympathetic?

i said it was a horrible situation however it likely turned out worse than it could have been because they didn't exactly help things by witholding car keys from the robbers who were there to take said keys.

this isn't something you need military style training for. you see a guy with a machete you do as your told. unless of course you have a gun.
 
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