January 5, 2008 | By Rae Wilson
Karen Neilsen alleges(утверждать) her home and pool were damaged by 'the tenant from hell'.
A Sunshine Coast teacher fears she could lose her Buderim house after evicting(выселять) “the tenant from hell” who left a trail(след) of destruction in his wake(проживания). Karen Nielsen told the Sunshine Coast Daily she spent $13,000 preparing her family home for a tenant who turned out to be “a conman(аферист) who lied about just about everything”.
She claims she is owed four weeks rent, must borrow thousands of dollars to repair the house damage not covered by insurance, and is borrowing money from a friend to cover mortgage(ипотечный) repayments. Maroochydore Magistrates Court issued orders on Christmas Eve requiring Jason Douglas to pay $2160 rent in arrears(долги,задолженность) but not the $1940 bond(залог, долговое обязательство) he never paid.
At the Attenborough Close home last week, the Daily observed irreparable(непоправимое) carpet damage, badly patched(залатанный) wall damage, food stains, broken cupboards and doors, vandalised fittings(гарнитура), and damage to the pool and its appliances(устройств). Ms Nielsen said she had receipts(ри’зит) for the fresh coat(слой, облицовка) of paint, improvements and professional cleaning she had invested in before choosing from 11 applicants in September. She said she chose from four serious candidates seeking to rent her four-bedroom home with three-car garage and pool for $540 a week.
“I had some really nice, professional couples apply but I went with the underdog(неудачник). I believe everybody deserves a chance,” she said. “He was a family man with three kids and he was just a really nice guy.”
The Douglas rental application, which the Daily has sighted, listed his wife, three children aged 10, 8 and 5, and one dog. Ms Nielsen said he actually had four children and two dogs. On his application, Mr Douglas claimed he worked at “Twin Golf Links Ace Greens” as a greenkeeper. Calls to the mobile number he listed for his employer has a message: “Karen isn’t available right now.” Twin Waters Golf Club does not know Mr Douglas. A real estate agent also called the club asking about him. The Douglases listed two previous landlords, whom Ms Nielsen said she rang and received glowing(яркие) references from.
One of those numbers is now disconnected and the woman answering the other number was not prepared to talk about Mr Douglas. Mr Douglas moved in on October 6 after signing forms to transfer the bond from a previous lease(договор об аренде). Ms Nielsen said she had learned there was no previous lease or bond. She said she sent two breach notices for the unpaid bond and rent, and then a notice to leave on December 4.
Ms Nielsen said Mr Douglas and his family vacated(освободить) just before Christmas but only after she mentioned police. Attempts by the Daily to contact Mr Douglas failed. The phone rang out to a message bank which said: “You’ve reached Jason Douglas.”
The Daily left a message explaining the reason for the call. He has not called back. Ms Nielsen, a 49-year-old mother of two daughters she is trying to support through law and medicine at university, said she felt like an idiot for trusting the man.
“After my divorce, I didn’t want to be in a single mum situation. I put myself through university and then moved out west so I could afford to keep us,” she said. “I’ve only worked four years full-time. I will never have enough pension money. It’s heartbreaking(огорчительно) to think someone could take that away from me. The first two tenants were great. Then I moved back here... and decided to spend some money to make the house look really nice. I did everything by the law. I checked references. When I finally got the keys back last week, I just physically collapsed. I left a nice quality home to people I trusted and this is what they did. I get really embarrassed that I had to ask for money.”
Ms Nielsen said she would pursue Mr Douglas through the small claims court for the damage to the house. But the court orders to recover rent from the Douglases arrived at Ms Nielsen’s Buderim property, because that is the address the court had. She holds little hope of seeing any money and she is not the only one.
A Sunshine Coast electrical repairer has an outstanding(задолженность) $197 bill for repairing a washing machine at the Attenborough Close home. The bill was made out to a Rodney Shamrock but technicians went to the house four days after Mr Douglas and his family moved in. Mr Douglas also hired a skip bin which remained full of junk in the yard of the Buderim home after he left.
The business, which is still awaiting payment, received a phone call from a man on November 27 claiming “the bloke renting here has shot through” and “the landlord is willing to pay for it because the place is a mess”.
9. STUDENT’S QUESTION TIME.
