Horrible People

`I recently had a horrid experience with estate agents Lencar Glenvista. My partner & I decided to sell our place & rent for a bit before re-entering the market of home-ownership. We surfed through the internet & discovered a few rentals that were of preference. We saw one such ad placed by Lencar Glenvista , the agent assigned to that rental was a Lola Da Silva. My partner made contact & we decided to view the apartment. Firstly, the apartment on the net was a ground floor unit…which met one of our criteria’s …. we were shown a 1st floor unit The apartment looked decent at 1st view & we were thrilled to have found something that we considered ok & liveable, only to discover the hellish content later on. She was also advised that that we were moving into the apartment on the 1st July 2018. We tested the water pressure in the taps, toilets etc. The cold-water pressure was fine but the hot was a weak dribble. Lola advised that it was the geyser that was turned off. She proceeded to advise that the stove worked on gas & we could not test that as the gas was turned off as well. We queried about the washing line & was informed that all will be repaired before we moved in. We signed the lease around mid-May & advised Lola that we will require the apartment just for around 6 months. She in responded by “it’s fine, as long as, we provided a 2-month cancellation”. My partner had to sign for the keys at the agent’s premises, where she was advised that they have done the maintenance checks & without us & we will be forwarded a copy by Monday 2nd of July. We paid for this check. I am curious to know what was checked & how come none of the faults were highlighted before our move. To this day that checklist has not been forwarded to us. Maintenance at Lencar also advised that the owner would meet with us on Monday 2nd to hand over the 2nd set of keys & guide us on how the geyser etc. works. This was never done.

We moved in on the 1st of July & discovered that all was not fine. The main door to the apartment was hanging off its hinges. The kitchen tap was laying in the sink. The shower door cannot shut properly & floods the bath & the bedroom. There is an acidic if not rancid sewer stink emanating from the toilet in the end-suite. There was no hot water , & the hot water tap was still trickling. I contacted agent, she forwarded the complaint to their maintenance dept who in turn advised that they cannot help as the owner does his own maintenance. Plumbers were dispatched & they repaired the following: A) The kitchen tap, there was a blockage & the water tasted horrible. The plumbers advised that they would require a geyser specialist to provide a solution for the geyser & left the premises. Note, at this point in time that we still do not have hot water & had to make amends by filling the bath with boiled water from the kettle, showering at gym (myself) ,family had to go to Eldorado park on a few occasions. Still no sign of the owner at this stage as well.

A few days later we discovered by knocking on neighbours doors, that there was a gas canister at the other end of the apartment & we were responsible for filling it. I did that immediately. When the hot water was opened, the geyser attempted to function & die off with an error. Still no assistance from the owners (Barry Tomlinson & Paul Peter Jacobs) or Lencar maintenance. Another neighbour asked me if I checked the batteries? I was baffled. Again, note that this was not communicated to us. I had to purchase a set of batteries which are about R76.00 at builders. This seemed to work, hot water yippee! Unfortunately for us the geyser pressure & functionality did not change. The water still dribbles out . At this moment in time we also pointed out that the geyser had a leak. We contacted the agents as we have no access to Barry Tomlinson & Paul Peter Jacobs. No joy. The plumbers were dispatched again, and only managed to repair the geyser leak. They advised that they could not assist with the water pressure etc. as this geyser is old technology & should be replaced. Not Done. They geyser functions intermittently ….hot @ for a little while ,then freezing cold when you least expect it. Showers were definitely a no no…. I contacted the agent again & advised of the immediate cancellation of lease. She advised that she will find me another apartment by the following Monday. She did. A better apartment well on the surface anyway. We advised her that we want to move in ASAP. She told us she would speak to her accounts division & we proceed from there. She told us that we just need to notify her of our move . We thought that for once in this ordeal something was going to work out. Nope, no such luck. I arranged for movers again & then advised the agent by mail on the move date. She contacted me & said that it was not possible as the accounts dept. was not advised accordingly & we have to wait a little longer. Well I did lose my temper, who wouldn’t ..really going to work without proper hygiene for a few days at a time, ridiculous. The agent proceeded to inform me that she was going to contact her principal & advise her of our situation. The principal pointed out that according to our contract we have to give the owners 20 days to respond to our queries & if we left now we will be liable for the 2 months’ rent. So we have to live in this dump & continue with our water issues. We all know that the owners are not going to do anything about the current situation, they just want to run out the money . How humane is that? So in essence, a contract now supersedes a human rights issue. It’s not like a broken cupboard or a cracked wall. It’s the lack of hot water to allow us to bath, & that horrid stench from the bathroom which, God forbid we complain about. How very convenient for the greedy who overlook human value for cash that really do not belong to them, & provide the worst service ever.

My advice, , do not deal with people of such nature (LENCAR)who cannot practice what they preach & who value monetary return higher than human value. NB: Potential renters should not consider the apartment 4 Sneeuberg , Glen & Kim.