Finally the inevitable happened - our rented house in Russell Lea gets put on the market. And the notification happened just before Christmas too. But that's Natoli real Estate for you. Just 2 weeks prior I had been told that the owner (another Natoli clan member) had no intention of selling.

But all this happened after we started insisting that they so something about the damp problem in the house - something Maria Natoli (from that wretched agency Natoli Real Estate, Century 21, Five Dock) always tried to ignore, along the lines of 'this is Sydney, get used to it', 'leave your windows open all the time'.

The very fact that I had told them what was causing the dampness and their inaction to do anything about it was especially infuriating. An over-flowing downpipe and a blocked drain was leaving the building's footprint extremely damp after each shower. Often we would have a small stream down the side of the house which would then flow into the back hard. The domain advert should have mentioned "Property with water views".

The final house inspection was typical of the way Maria would treat her tenants. The house was pretty much spotless (probably cleaner!) and the garden was certainly tidier than when we'd moved in.

You would have thought tha the very fact that the house was on the market, that most potentail buyers would not be too bothered by the fact that the to rise up into the cooker hood was slighly greasy. But yes, that had to be cleaned. Oh, and the bathroom extractor fan was also slightly dusty (she had one of her sidekicks phone me after the inspection for that request). Seeing that the ceiling was approx 3m high and without a step ladder, I was unfortunately unable to fulfill that one. I'm glad she hadn't asked me that one during the inspection as I my patience was pretty much spent.

Of course I told her that the outside toilet hadn't been working for a while. Of course she questioned me as to why I hadn't informed them of this. I told her I had at one of their on-the-dot 6 monthly house inspecations. She said I should have chased them up on this if it hadn't been fixed. I guess I had more pressing matters Maria, such as the continuing inaction from you on the damp front. Especially as my 2 yr old daughter's room seem to be the worst affected area of the house. I did actually check my emails and noted that I'd actually emailed Maria herself about the broken toilet. Not that I gave a damn about the toilet!

It was remarkable to see that Maria was able to spot the smallest of things during the final house inspection. From the smallest speck of dust to a baby finger print on the oven door.... Yet she somehow the woman manages to conveniantly miss the couple of open boxes of mouldy clothes (which we'd left on display in the lounge after she'd quibbled our mould allegations). Selective eyesight obviously!

We'd always been available to show the house during inspection times, photo shoots etc. The house had been well looked after. The front fence, side gates and kitchen door handrails had all been painted to smarten the place up. The garden had been planted with various fauna. I even helped cut up and remove a fallen diseased tree with a 'labourer' they'd sent round. Turned out that the labourer was actually the owner! He always denied this, which seems strange. On the plus side, the owners had been been good installing a gas point into the lounge, TV aerial and insulation in the roof (the place was like a fridge in winter). The cost of all this was still well under $1000 and claimable back in tax of course. In the light of our total rent expenditure being in the region of $70k this was a fairly small gesture.

Anyway, we were happy to lose Natoli Real Estate as our rental agents - we certainly won't be dealing with them again and would never buy a house through them!!

"Make Century 21 Natoli Real Estate your agent of Choice - Imagine a Real Estate Agent that...

...always puts your interests first

...has a strategic plan to sell your home

...provides the personal service you deserve

...takes the stress out of selling your most valuable asset"

Imagine that!!! Imagine that kind of service for renters!!! Imagine imagine!!! Natoli RE certainly don't have the imagination or 'strategic' forethought that renters one day may well become buyers the next! Typical narrow mindedness that is so endemic with the Real Estate industry in Australia!!

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