In housing terms :-

Landlord is defined as a person who owns and leases a building or room

Tenant is defined as a person who pays rent to use a building or room which belongs to someone else

I became a landlord (or landlady, whatever!) at university.  My parents bought me a flat and I rented out the other two rooms.  Being a landlord is good because the rent paid by the tenant helps pay off your mortgage.

But choosing the right tenant can be difficult :-

1.  My first two tenants were friends I met at university.  I gave them discounted rates during summer break and didn’t even get them to sign a contract.  Whatever they wanted, I would try and get them it.  We were friendly and had parties.  But one day, both of them announced that they were leaving.  Turns out that they had found another place with another uni classmate.  They had plotted this behind my back and did not give a reason to why they left.  I was so upset.  I cried for days because I felt used and abused.

2.  My next two tenants were strangers to me, but they knew each other.  I learnt from my previous experience and got them to sign a contract.  I didn’t talk to them much because I didn’t want to get hurt again.  But they never did any housework, left the place in a mess, never bought any toilet roll and stole my food!  I didn’t renew their contract because my sisters were coming to stay with me.  When they left, they hadn’t paid their contribution towards electricity nor gas and one of them didn’t even pay for a month’s rent.  They ignored my phone calls.  And then I found out that they had stolen more stuff from me, e.g. expensive torch my Dad bought me.

These experiences taught me :-

1.  Never rent to friends because somehow, they become very demanding, don’t pay rent on time, stab you in the back, move out suddenly and you turn into frenemies.

2.  Written contracts don’t mean a thing unless you take it further.  But lawyer’s fees cost more than your loss, so you do the math!

I became a tenant when I landed in Sydney.

My landlord loves me because :-

1.  I pay the rent on time

2.  I gave him plenty of notice when I was moving out

3.  I never ask him for anything.  My room costs A$1200/month (= £660/month) but I had to buy my own duvet, pillows, lamps, bin, light bulbs, etc.

I have 6 flatmates.  One of them has been stealing from me :-

1.  Magazines – my boyfriend bought me a magazine subscription but someone has been stealing my weekly issues when I am away travelling!  One time, they opened it, read it and then slipped it back under my door!!

2.  My tomato ketchup – I don’t mind if they use some but they took the whole bottle!!

3.  My beer – I bought a bottle of beer.  Aussies love beer and I’m becoming Aussie-fied.

4.  My jar of protein shake mix – This stuff is not cheap!  I came home after a workout to discover it missing!  ARGH!

As a result of these findings, I have decided that the best solution is to get a job and buy your own place and live in it by yourself.

I miss my baby.  I miss my flat, Harbie!  Harbie named after the harbour view…white leather couches, black leather beanbag, white furry rug, beautiful bathroom, glass-top tables, flatscreen TV, black marbles tiles…

While I’m away, an agency is taking care of Harbie for me.  I could have rented it out to friends, but at the end of the day, it can get messy with friends and I know that it is much easier to deal with an agency who will deal with tenants.

Here are two photos of partying at Harbie (courtesy of my sibling Mr Gee) :-

Ling In The Wallpaper Coat And Her Scottish Pals

Harbie has a cute balcony for mini BBQ sessions

This post is dedicated to a stressed out “human” landlord/lady with a troublesome ex-tenant.  I feel ya!

I arrived in Sydney on Tuesday 13th October, but it took me a while to find a suitable place to live.

I actually put down a non-refundable deposit of $100 AUD on this place which I didn’t end up moving into as it did not have what I call the bare necessities :-  internet, television and space!

Thank God, after viewing umpteen places, I found this amazing place in the city which ticks all the right boxes.

Today, I received a text message from Mr XY (see description of him here) :-

“1 week now in d new place. Grats”

Woohoo! 7 days in my new place! But I haven’t even spent much time here as I have been really blessed and been really busy meeting people and going to lots of new places.

Anyway, to celebrate this great day, I have made a list of 7 random things about me which are all relevant to today :-

1. My new favourite song is First Love by Utadu Hikaru – I uploaded it to my iTunes last night.
2. I met an Irish guy today. He has nice blue eyes.
3. Someone complimented me on my accent “I love your accent!” - it was a girl
4. I bit my fingers repeatedly today to stop myself from cussing because I was so annoyed about not being able to find a suitable ATM cash machine – it took me 30 minutes…I was ready to explode!
5. I received a wedding invitation from a girl I have only seen twice in Australia!  (Maybe she read this blog post??)
6. I walked 20 minutes to the gym, in my gym gear, but in the end, I didn’t even go in to do exercise because I got hungry and went to the supermarket instead! LOL!
7. I received a movie invitation for a viewing of Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” for tonight, but I declined.  When I was younger, I wrote in my diary – “I wish Michael Jackson was my uncle because he treats children very well.”

And there you go – 7 random facts about my life…

So, I moved into this place in the city centre of Sydney!  Officially the BEST location ever!  Expensive too.

I have 2 male flatmates, 4 female flatmates and 5 chickens living in this house!! YES, for real!!

So, on my first day there, I had my TV on (yes, I have a TV in my bedroom).  I turned up the volume really loudly while I was vacuuming.

Sex And The City : The Movie was on.

I finished vacuuming and went downstairs to the kitchen to get some cleaning products.  I didn’t return immediately as I met another flatmate and we started chatting.

Ten minutes later, I head back upstairs but as I walk up the stairs, I hear the loudest sex noises EVER!!!

My immediate thought was, “Oh no, I’m living with a raging nymphomaniac!”

But…the noises were coming from my bedroom!!!

Yes, the movie’s raunchy sex scene was on at LOUD VOLUMES!!!!

I frantically looked for the remote control to turn down the volume.  I scrambled through the mess and turned the TV off!!!!

Felt so embarrassed…

People who may have heard will either think :-

1. I’m a raging nympho!
2. I watch porn at LOUD VOLUMES!
3. OR even worse, BOTH!!!

I would feel better if I was a true SATC fan at heart because true fans would sacrifice anything for SATC any day, but the fact is – I don’t really give a damn about Sarah Jessica Parker and her friends (no, I don’t even know their names!!!!)