Accusers become accused in tenants from hell story

THE accuser has become the accused in the case of a Bundaberg landlord who gained media attention last week.

SPEAKING OUT: Scott Marsen says he doesn't want people to feel sorry for the couple who trashed his home. Picture: contributed

THE accuser has become the accused in the case of a Bundaberg couple who gained media attention last week when disclosing they had a property trashed by so-called "tenants from hell".

Bargara landlord Scott Marsen was shocked when reading the story about another land owner, then even more disturbed when he realised he had had his own run-in with the couple at the centre of the storm.

He recognised the people in the photo in the NewsMail, and which garnered state-wide coverage, as former tenants of his Bargara property.

A property he claims was left in a horrible state when they left.

RUBBISH: Bargara landlord Scott Marsen says his house was left in a horrible state.

Mr Marsen said he let the Fairway Dr home through a Bundaberg real estate agency in October 2015 and only four months later had to take the drastic action of having the tenant evicted.

He described it as the biggest mistake of his life and one which will haunt him for years to come.

The tenants - Amanda Rehbein, who signed the lease as Amanda Hotz, and Greg Snell - lived in the home with two small children.

Ms Rehbein left the home after a month but Mr Snell was evicted after falling behind in rent payments in February last year.

GONE: The tenants even removed an internal wall.

Mr Marsen said his executive-style home with manicured gardens and a pool was left in a mess with stained carpets, an interior wall removed and damage to three air-conditioning units.

"We had to get professional cleaners in and replace all the carpets," Mr Marsen said.

"All up it cost us over $10,000."

The landlord's insurance paid to repair a wall which had been removed and another with dart holes in it and the loss of rent - but nothing else.

TRASH: Bargara landlord Scott Marsen had to evict his tenant after just four months.

"It didn't cover the carpets or other damage," he said.

"This is a warning to everyone who rents out their property.

"This was our first and last time."

Mr Marsen said after seeing friends of the couple had set up a GoFundMe page to help them fix their rented property, he had to let people know their background.

REPLACED: Scott Marsen had to replace the home's carpet.

"I don't want other people to feel sorry for them," he said.

"Be mindful and aware of the sort of people that can be out there."

The NewsMail spoke with Ms Rehbein and Mr Snell about the accusations and both denied they had left the place in a damaged state.

Ms Rehbein separated from Mr Snell for a period of time while he was at the home and he got behind in rental payments.

DAMAGE: Carpets in the home are heavily stained.

"I was depressed and just left the house and it may have needed a cleaner but it wasn't damaged," Mr Snell said.

Last week, the couple was confronted with rubbish, maggots and faeces at their privately rented home at Sharon.

Mr Snell said it would take weeks to clean up the mess and would take thousands of dollars to fix.

Their friend opened a GoFundMe page to help finance the clean up.

Read the original story here.