Man's rental nightmare as tenant strips wires, smashes walls
Tom Fraser allowed an old friend to privately rent his Stanley St home when he moved interstate for work last year.
Ipswich
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A GOODNA home destroyed by a horror tenant who smashed walls and stripped wires is expected to sell for a bargain when put under the hammer next month.
Owner Tom Fraser allowed an old friend to privately rent his Stanley St home when he moved interstate for work last year.
When the rent stopped he returned to Goodna to find holes in walls, electrical wires removed and alleged drug material on the floor.
Facing a mammoth repair bill and ongoing mortgage repayments, Mr Fraser has been forced to sell his home.
When Mr Fraser pleaded for help, Ray White Goodna, Brookwater, Redbank Plains principal Rudy Grommen and his team stepped in to clean up and present the home for sale.
In an effort to help Mr Fraser get back on his feet, the agency will sell the home at auction next month without taking a commission.
"Tom bought this property off me a few years ago," Mr Grommen said.
"Had friends he trusted move into the property.
"They completely destroyed it and made an absolute mess."
Mr Grommen said damage to the home, located on a 4065sqm block, by the tenant was only cosmetic and could be a bargain for buyers.
"I really encourage everyone to turn up because it must be sold on the day and anything will be possible," he said.
"At the end of the day there's a lot of desperation to get this property sold, if not the bank will probably take it."
The real estate principal jumped at the chance to help Mr Fraser get back on his feet.
"He's a nice gentleman, he's a battler and a hard worker," Mr Grommen said.
"He certainly deserves all the help he can get so it wasn't a hard thing to do."
Mr Fraser's unfortunate situation prompted the Goodna Ray White boss to caution people against private rentals.
"Sometimes landlords think private rentals are the way to go because they don't have to pay real estate charges," he said.
"It's very risky because often the private tenants are the tenants who are not pre-approved to go into properties or tenants that have a bad reference."
Originally published as Man's rental nightmare as tenant strips wires, smashes walls
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