Replacing mattresses

Monife

newacc2015 wrote: »

IMO there is no point buying expensive mattresses for tenants. They soil them pretty regularly, even if you ask them to use mattress protectors. I see why tenants give out about bad mattresses. But I don't see why a landlord should spend €200-300 on something that may have to be dumped within 1/2 years.

€200-300... you consider this expensive? No wonder the quality of furnishings in rentals are abysmal these days. I spent €1,500 on my bed and mattress, best money I ever spent after years of sleeping on cr*ppy beds in rented properties which resulted in chronic back pain!

Pretty sweeping generalisation there too about tenants continuously soiling mattresses which is really unfair imo, I would always use a mattress protector (on my own or the landlord's bed). You make out all tenants are complete knackers!

Pawwed Rig

Monife wrote: »

€200-300... you consider this expensive? No wonder the quality of furnishings in rentals are abysmal these days. I spent €1,500 on my bed and mattress, best money I ever spent after years of sleeping on cr*ppy beds in rented properties which resulted in chronic back pain!

Question is would you pay €1,500 for a bed and mattress for a tenant?

Pawwed Rig

Monife wrote: »

No wonder the quality of furnishings in rentals are abysmal these days

Monife wrote: »

Pretty sweeping generalisation there too!

Speedwell

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

Question is would you pay €1,500 for a bed and mattress for a tenant?

Well, I would never pay that much on myself, because it's a complete waste of money. But if you buy cheap nasty stuff for the same money that would pay for affordable decent stuff, then you will have to come to terms with the fact that people are going to notice.

Monife

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

Ha, ya got me there.... But I would bet money that there are a higher percentage of rentals with cr*p furnishings than there are knacker-y tenants

No, I wouldn't spend €1,500 on a bed for a tenant, but I would buy a decent bed/mattress with a good warranty and would provide a new mattress protector with each new tenancy. It's a false economy buying low quality items when you have to continually replace them!

Monife

Speedwell wrote: »

Well, I would never pay that much on myself, because it's a complete waste of money. But if you buy cheap nasty stuff for the same money that would pay for affordable decent stuff, then you will have to come to terms with the fact that people are going to notice.

Complete waste of money? Are you serious? It's one of the most important investments you could make in yourself. You sleep for more hours in a day than you do anything else and good, quality sleep can make a major difference in your life.

Speedwell

Monife wrote: »

Complete waste of money? Are you serious? It's one of the most important investments you could make in yourself. You sleep for more hours in a day than you do anything else and good, quality sleep can make a major difference in your life.

Thanks, but I'm not in the market for a new mattress set at the moment. I don't intend to overpay for what is essentially a mid-range mattress with a memory foam pad on top.

yqtwqxqm

The apartment I just moved out of came with no mattress.
When I viewed it there were a couple of people who complained about this, but they still tried to get the apartment.
I have always brought my own mattress with me so didnt mind. I was delighted in fact.
I think the other viewers annoyed the LL with their complaining even though they still tried to gazump me, but it turned out good for me anyway.
I like having my own mattress that hasnt been used by others before me.

newacc2015

Monife wrote: »

€200-300... you consider this expensive? No wonder the quality of furnishings in rentals are abysmal these days. I spent €1,500 on my bed and mattress, best money I ever spent after years of sleeping on cr*ppy beds in rented properties which resulted in chronic back pain!

Pretty sweeping generalisation there too about tenants continuously soiling mattresses which is really unfair imo, I would always use a mattress protector (on my own or the landlord's bed). You make out all tenants are complete knackers!

Can I ask how many properties have you let to students? You dont really have an idea of how students actually treat rental properties. You can ask a student to use mattress protectors, but they rarely do. I know plenty of landlords who dump around 20-30% of mattresses every year. Do you serious expect a landlord to spend around €1,500 on a mattress and a bed he will probably replace in 3 years? BTW since when has quality equalled a high price. IKEA sells mattresses for €250 with a 20 year guarantee that would beat any €800 mattress in Arnotts

When you know the industry like I do ( I know dozens of landlords who have let to tens of thousands of tenants collectively for the last 50 years). My "sweeping generalisations" are based on my experiences and experiences of my friends in this industry. How much do you know about this industry and how most tenants actually are? It is well and good to think tenants will look after nice things. Some do, but a lot do. Considering a landlord has very little means of recovering damaged property ie the PRTB is too difficult to use for small amounts of damage say €1500. There is no way he is going to risk putting expensive furniture in his property

Monife

newacc2015 wrote: »

Can I ask how many properties have you let to students? You dont really have an idea of how students actually treat rental properties. You can ask a student to use mattress protectors, but they rarely do. I know plenty of landlords who dump around 20-30% of mattresses every year. Do you serious expect a landlord to spend around €1,500 on a mattress and a bed he will probably replace in 3 years? BTW since when has quality equalled a high price. IKEA sells mattresses for €250 with a 20 year guarantee that would beat any €800 mattress in Arnotts

Don't rent to students then. Plenty of professional couples or families looking to rent. Oh, I forgot, landlords make more money off students by renting rooms out separately at extortionate prices that you would never get if you rented the whole house to a couple/family. And, I never suggested paying €1,500 for a mattress and bed, that is what I paid for one for myself. But if I was a landlord, I wouldn't buy a mattress for €80, that is just cheap and nasty and you will have to throw it out in less than a year.

newacc2015 wrote: »

When you know the industry like I do ( I know dozens of landlords who have let to tens of thousands of tenants collectively for the last 50 years). My "sweeping generalisations" are based on my experiences and experiences of my friends in this industry. How much do you know about this industry and how most tenants actually are? It is well and good to think tenants will look after nice things. Some do, but a lot do. Considering a landlord has very little means of recovering damaged property ie the PRTB is too difficult to use for small amounts of damage say €1500. There is no way he is going to risk putting expensive furniture in his property

You have the security deposit to fall back on if furniture is damaged.

My experiences (of myself, friends and people I know that rent) is that the majority of tenants are good tenants and really look after the place and do things the landlord should be doing like giving the place a lick of paint after a number of years etc.

You're obviously renting to the wrong people.

borderlinemeath

Monife wrote: »

Don't rent to students then. Plenty of professional couples or families looking to rent. Oh, I forgot, landlords make more money off students by renting rooms out separately at extortionate prices that you would never get if you rented the whole house to a couple/family.

Right now, no landlord in their right mind would let to students over professionals. Back in 09/10, it might have been the only tenant you could get, there were that many properties for tenants to choose from.

And, I never suggested paying €1,500 for a mattress and bed, that is what I paid for one for myself. But if I was a landlord, I wouldn't buy a mattress for €80, that is just cheap and nasty and you will have to throw it out in less than a year.

But you're not a landlord. Honestly, if you were on the other side of the fence, with people thinking it's their entitlement to treat landlords furnishings like dirt because they pay the rent, you might see things differently.

You have the security deposit to fall back on if furniture is damaged.

It's becoming a lot more common for landlords to charge multiple months rent, ie 2 or 3 months, because it doesn't go far at all. The type of tenant that would leave stained mattresses behind them, are the same type that try to not pay the last months rent so you're at a loss before you take breakages into account.

My experiences (of myself, friends and people I know that rent) is that the majority of tenants are good tenants and really look after the place and do things the landlord should be doing like giving the place a lick of paint after a number of years etc.

You're obviously renting to the wrong people.

The majority of tenants are good. But there's a lot that aren't so good, and there's a portion that are hell on earth to deal with.

So far between myself and my husband we have had to deal with:

A rat infestation caused by build up of rubbish when tenant refused to buy bin tags.
Holes in walls and doors after a tenancy that was "managed" by a letting agent.
Every stick of furniture and soft furnishing had to be skipped after a 3 year tenancy to a family. If the furniture wasn't broken, it was drawn on with pens/paint. Children are ultra destructive and landlords are meant to suck it up. Oh and they stole the tumble dryer when they left.
A house set on fire due to a raging drunk having a row with his wife. Perfectly normal and capable of holding down a job to pay rent when sober, yet he was arrested twice while drunk for his behaviour.
House let to family friends of ours. Again a mountain of bags of rubbish left in the back garden at the end of the tenancy. End of friendship, no deposit because they were "friends".
The tenant that refused to put oil heating into the system, used nothing but a super ser heater and started screaming blue murder when the bedrooms got mould in corners and claimed it was making herself and her daughter ill. Got the council in for an inspection who told her she needed to heat and ventilate the house using the heating system provided, and throw out the super ser death trap heater. :rolleyes:

And we're lucky. We've never had to deal with a squatting tenant that won't leave and can accrue tens of thousands in unpaid rent and damage. We personally know people that have been unlucky enough to be in that situation.

None of the tenancies have been students. Some have been RA tenants. Some have been professionals. Even some friends. But there's plenty of problem tenants out there masquerading as great tenants with great references and plenty of money to pay the deposit so it's not so obvious as just "letting to the wrong people"

athtrasna

Please remember the thread is about replacing mattresses!