Caveat Emptor

This particular place which I have been renting for the last 2 years is a complete rip-off. My instincts had told me something was off. I bumped into her when I came to view the property. She had come by to pick up a few more things and I asked why she wanted to move out only after 4 months of renting the place. She exchanged glances with the real-estate agent and owner and then kept mum. They had spent a significant amount renovating the place and yet decided to leave it.

Since it was my first time doing business, I was a little naive. Being a schoolteacher, I am certain real-estate agents prey on such naivete. I came from a background that believed in the virtues of honour, truth and transparancy. I had no idea that people can outright lie to your face and agents do not have your interest at heart, no matter how friendly and amicable they appear.

In my two years here, I've had endless problems with the place. The heat from the afternoon sun made the whole place unbearable, even with air-conds on full blast. To keep this place even tolerable, your electricity bill would have to be over RM500 per month. The water pressure is low. Water seeps in through the walls during heavy dowpour causing mold to form behind the walls and ceiling plaster. This causes allergic reactions like itchy eyes and sneezing.

Either side of the unit faces the afternoon sun until dusk. Best of all, there is the view of the Mt.Erskine cemetery. A perfect view of broken tombs and overgrown grass. Directly below the unit is an old, dirty market with an even older, dirtier dilapidated house on the grounds. The market is a breeding ground for rats and the rat population outnumber the cat population!

I keep two cats to keep at bay the roaches and lizards that seem to crawl in for shelter during rainstorms. My cats are not only excellent hunters but they never make a mess themselves! People should consider the fact that when renting near any market or food outlets, there is a very high chance of rodent or other infestations unless they maintain world-class hygiene and waste disposal operation standards.

The lift is broken and the staircase is littered with cigarette butts and bird droppings. The banister is covered with rust and bird droppings as well.

The worst part is, there are break-ins within this building every year. I'm pretty worried it's just a matter of time before I'm hit. Just this Chinese New Year, the unit upstairs was broken into and their safe carted down halfway before the weight of the thing made them abandon the loot!

No, actually, that isnt' the worst part. The worst part is there are beggars or 'thief-agents' who knock violently on your door until you open it. They pretend to ask what business you're doing but actually scouting to see whether your business carries cash and how many people work there. This makes it extremely difficult for other businesses which depend frequently on walk-ins unless they have a team of 6-8 people who are always indoors. For sales and marketing companies where their executives frequently are in the field, leaving only one or two office girls behind, this can be dangerous.

If I had insisted on talking to the previous tenant privately, I would have found all this out. Unfortunately, I gave the landlady and the agents the benefit of the doubt. Managament of the building is almost non-existent. Parking spaces are frequently taken up by non-tenants who go to the market or are clients who refuse to pay for an hour's parking on the municipal lot.

When visiting tenants ask me about the place, I just share my experience. Caveat Emptor. Obviously, the agents are not happy! They told the landlady to tell me to not reveal anything otherwise the place would not be rented out.

I suppose they don't care, that in these hard economic times, any investment in a new company set-up is a real cost to tenants who will only be able to recuperate over 12 months down the road. They don't care about people like the previous tenant who plunked in $16,000 for renovations and a total of RM5,000 in rent and not to mention, another how many more thousands in salaries and taxes.......before deciding not to hold on to a sinking boat 4 months later. The landlady said, "You'd better not tell them anything about your experience here otherwise I wouldn't be able to rent it out". I asked if she had ever considered the complaints I had told her about and whether it would also affect the next tenant. In verbatim (Hokkien) she replied, "Lu-eh su lah. Lu sign contract liao si lu-eh su." She then said,"Then it becomes their problem after they sign the contract. I just want to rent it out." See, after you sign the contract, even if it was not in good faith.......you would have to forfeit the 2 months' deposit and wait a couple of months more before she may or may not refund you the utility deposit. She would only pay you back the deposit on the account that she finds a tenant before you move out.

Of course, I am very angry at myself because I had very much wanted to move out in the first 10 months. Fortunately for me, I could rely on personal charm and very strong networking (ah-hem) to remain profitable.

I think it is imperative that property owners are responsible towards the well-being of their tenants and to provide transparent, honest and quality information and service to help businesses grow. Since no one believes in that philosophy, I have decided that I will venture into real-estate to give everyone else a run for the money. Instead of complaining, I'm going to to create a new niche which will wipe predatory real-estate practices off the map of Penang.

The days of dishonest property owners and real-estate agents are numbered. The only way to solve the problem is not to complain to authorities to take action but to provide a business model they cannot possibly compete with.