Avoid at all costs!
NOT RECOMMENDED - Truly shocking mismanagement of our once beautiful property. Unprofessional from property manager to the very top (partner). Avoid at all costs.
Context, used DiJones Bowral property management whilst overseas, leased our property for just over two years. Thankfully we've taken ownership again, not sure our house could have survived much longer under the 'management' of DiJones. Wouldn't normally take time to write such a detailed review but need to highlight our genuine terrible and shocking experience to other current and potential landlords. We returned to our property mid Dec 24, and are still incurring huge costs and ongoing remedial works. Damages exceed $20k. As I write this review the facts are: Tenant got full bond returned, DiJones have yet to apologise nor offer fair compensation. We also have a complaint open with NSW Fair Trading.
Be cautious, Louise is excellent, perfect at pitching their services but that's where it ends. Once signed up you're offloaded to an incompetent, lazy and untrained property manager and that's when the real issues start. We were unfortunate to have had Ainsley Boyle as our PM, she is no longer with the company, nor is her manager. This unfortunately isn’t an isolated incident, there is a clear history of negligence as outlined in black and white on several other Google Reviews.
Our outgoing inspection report was nothing short of spectacularly substandard. Circa 200 photos, 75 of them were of the small utility room to avoid showing any of the real (and already known) damage to the property. The rest of the photos were purposefully selected at careful angles, grainy imagery. No attention to detail or fair representation of the genuine property condition. Ainsley Boyle insisted the property was returned in an ‘as move in condition’. When you place the ingoing and outgoing reports side by side it's night and day condition wise.
Upon re-entering our home we were presented with an array of significant issues. Extra disappointing given we’d already known about a number of damages. To any trained property manager these would have been obvious and should have been documented and had the tenant rectify (or reimburse us).
- The house was genuinely filthy. Toilets not cleaned, lights, kitchen cupboards, medicine cabinets all with heavy staining or grime. Every single window was open (poor security, thank you DiJones), the house absolutely stank of cat urine.
- Several things that were clearly identified from the inspection report, and that should have been resolved by the tenant (with DiJones ensuring completion) were not done. Kitchen pantry dismantled, lawns destroyed (still looking terrible), damage to table setting, many other missing items…
- Deep obvious scratch to varnished hardwood floor in main open plan room
- Broken sash window
- Heavy paint damage/scratching to slow-combustion wood fire
- Single toilet WC had been turned off because broken (leaking)
- Several door handles had been slammed through walls creating large dents, easily visible that they were repaired very poorly – not sanded, painted wrong colour
- The tenant has painted internal woodwork, doors, walls in an erratic and patchy way, with the wrong paints and poorly painted. Virtually every wall in the property needed repainting
- Two main fan lights aren’t working
- Extensive wall damage throughout
- Widespread mould, requiring walls out! Ainsley failed to act on an instruction to engage trades to dry out walk in robe post a leak, just left it causing extensive mould damage
- The cat had used the corners of our two year old carpet as a clawing post. Several carpet corners now threadbare, plus study still has extensive staining
- Premium metal showerhead replaced with cheap plastic showerhead
- Frameless shower frame loose, missing key components/hardware on support arm.
- Water damage main bathroom
This is on top of endless landlord expenses - emergency callouts for blocked plumbing, septic system damages, remedial hedgerow care
We had no alternative but to return from overseas. Given all of the failings of DiJones allowing the property to deteriorate so quickly and extensively we’d be unable to re-rent the property.
3 marzo 2025
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