EP. 1257 SUNDAY GODS DAY SHHHH!!! SHOOSH??? NEIGHBOURHOODS GONE WILD

Is Sunday still a sacred day of peace and quiet, or has it become just another opportunity to catch up on life's mounting chores? Join us as we explore this clash of contemporary and traditional values with Cleo, the astute manager of one of the largest rental portfolios on the northern beaches. Cleo sheds light on how the expectations for quiet Sundays have evolved, particularly focusing on the generational shift that now sees Sunday as a prime day for tasks like lawn mowing and car maintenance. Her unique perspective helps us understand how these changes are affecting relationships between tenants and their more conservative neighbors, who still hold onto the serenity of Sundays past.

Ever wondered how property managers navigate the tricky terrain of modern-day noise complaints? Cleo shares her firsthand challenges and strategies in maintaining harmony in diverse communities. From early morning leaf blowers to revving car engines, she discusses the delicate balancing act of respecting the law, empathizing with both sides, and keeping the peace. This episode offers invaluable insights for anyone involved in community living, highlighting the nuanced dynamics and evolving neighborhood norms that come with the territory. Don’t miss out on this engaging discussion about the evolving concept of neighborly respect on Sundays!

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Okay, guys, is it right Sunday for the neighbor to be doing the lawns? Back in the old days we were not taught that way. Sunday was not a fun day. Sunday was a quiet day, talking about noise in real estate and the complaints that we're getting, particularly lately. Stay tuned, cleo. Hi how are you?

Speaker 2: 0:46

I'm good, I'm good, I'm good. It's not Sunday, thursday, we can be doing this it's not Sunday.

Speaker 1: 0:54

What happened? What happened to you? Who broke you? What happened on the Sunday around your neighborhood?

Speaker 2: 0:59

we look, we have a couple of conservative neighbours from one of our rental properties and our tenant is working on his car on a Sunday and it's very loud and noisy and they're not happy about it.

Speaker 1: 1:19

A car's all right to work on on a Sunday.

Speaker 2: 1:22

I know, come on I know Come on. I know, look, it's an interesting topic because you know if you were, you know, a baby boomer or that sort of you know pre-Gen X. You know Sunday was a quiet day. You didn't do a lot on a Sunday. It wasn't the day to you know. You know, start replacing roof tiles or chainsaw your tree or get the leaf blower out at 7 in the morning. Things have changed.

Speaker 1: 1:49

So my mum never used to say she's not going to do the ironing on a Sunday because it's. I guess you could say mum wasn't religious but I guess if she's respecting something like that she is a little bit. But you used to hear that from the oldies. You know not doing that because it's a Sunday.

Speaker 2: 2:09

Yeah, it's true, and you didn't have to be religious. It's kind of like an unspoken respect with your neighbours and the people around you and even inside the home. Yes, you know I come from. You know a religious background and you didn't wash your clothes on a Sunday. You had all Saturday and all during the week to do the washing. You know you didn't hang your clothes up on a Sunday. I guess now, with working mums and people so busy, you know you overlook those old traditions. You know Sunday's a great day to get everything done.

Speaker 1: 2:43

So obviously so council wouldn't observe something like that um in an or in force something like that. But do you find this still that expectation from certain you know, neighbors, tenants, landlords that you're dealing with, cause you're you're dealing with an enormous amount of um like so, if you guys don't know, cleo um is operating um sort of one of the biggest sort of portfolios on the northern beaches for rentals. So you've got a good cross-section of you know what's happening out there and my question is like is that um? Are you finding that's clashing that whole religious thing still with the new age? Like is that?

Speaker 2: 3:26

no, not so much. I think it's just more understanding your demographic and where your properties sit. If you're in a area with conservative retirees, like I said, that had that old school mindset, you know, and, and you're living amongst these people like there isn't anything we can do to enforce that, but it is going to create friction in a sense, because they all nitpick on other certain things and then it becomes, you know, as a property manager, we respond to all complaints, whether they be, you know, unreasonable or we think that they're silly. You know that neighbourhood, you know silly. You know that neighbourhood, you know.

Speaker 2: 4:07

Relationship, you know, between the tenants and the neighbours has to remain, you know, somewhat cordial. And on a Sunday, if the tenants are being noisy and doing all that stuff, there's not a lot we can do. But we can write back and, you know, sympathise and just say look, I understand. Like you know, they are within the constraints of the law. There is nothing to say in the least that you can't rev your car engine up on a Sunday or mow your lawn at 7 in the morning.

Speaker 2: 4:40

That's another thing, the lawn mowing. I personally understand people like to sleep in a bit, maybe on a sunday. Maybe I'll crack it open at 11 or 10, maybe not so much at seven. But you know like we do have to handle all these complaints you know.

Speaker 1: 4:57

So I guess there's there's also um, there's the law side of it and then there's the practical side of it, which you know. You can be within the law but you're still going to love thy neighbor, respect thy neighbor.

Speaker 1: 5:15

I do have to say I've seen it go wrong hard yeah it shows it a lot People threatening people with chainsaws, you know like it goes wrong hard. So I like I've always been a um as a neighbor, oh, I lost my shit once, um, I, so I, I remember, um, this apartment that we were living in, so there was like six apartments. Like our apartment had a backyard and there were six apartments next door that looked over, directly over. So our apartment sort of facing that way and these apartments were looking straight over our yard that way. Six of them and it in-laws came over for dinner and we were laughing, talking, chatting at the dining room table and the neighbour came out on the balcony in the back and asked me to be quiet. I called and called, and called and I went out and I went hi, and then she said, can you please be quiet? And I lost my shit.

Speaker 2: 6:31

Big mistake.

Speaker 1: 6:34

Yeah, I was in my 20s, probably didn't do the right thing, sort of you know, should have been a bit there. But I'm thinking, man, I'm with my mother, like they're in their like 60s, like they're quiet, like if you're going to be up me for this, imagine the rest of my staying here what it's going to be like. So you know, I think. But but what I have learned is, um, that risk, like that respect of the neighbor, um really really goes a long way and even if it's actually, even if they're wrong in their request, sometimes it's better, rather than you know, no, sir, yes sir, three bags more. So sometimes it's better to submit than to fight, because we've seen some awful fights.

Speaker 2: 7:24

Yeah, things have got ugly, but that loose term, you know. Everyone has the right to quiet enjoyment, which is in the lease agreement, and it goes for both the owner and the tenant, you know. And the neighbours are brought in there so you must not interfere. The lease says you must not interfere with the quiet enjoyment of your surrounding neighbours, and so on and so forth. It goes back to the tenant as well. But everyone's idea of quiet enjoyment can be, you know, described differently.

Speaker 2: 7:57

I know, as you were saying, you know, when things go bad, my husband, when we first moved in together, we were in an apartment block and he had a Honda sports bike and he used to start it up and this thing was just, you know, it would rattle windows. It was so loud and he had a huge argument with the lady downstairs because her bedroom window was adjacent to the driveway where he'd drive it out, and she said can't you roll that monstrosity outside and start it up straight? And Brian was like why are we gonna do that? I have the right to start my vehicle, or what.

Speaker 1: 8:35

It was crazy and ever since, you know, they were always just, you know, if she was around, you're like putting the washing on he'd go the other way and it was just like just awkward the whole time we lived there, like it was just horrible, yeah it is, um, so circling back to our sunday, you know, the religious day, the day where we don't do work around the house, um, and now that this is, this is happening to change, so I guess, I guess it's not going back to the old days no, not at all.

Speaker 2: 9:14

And builders, like on a work site, I understand, can only do monday to friday and saturdays. There's a constraint, but you know the way our building, um, you know industry is now like. We want to encourage people to work on a sunday. We need houses built, we need this noise, we need, you know, more property. So not working on a sunday is crazy to me. Like you go, you want to go to the hairdresser still on a sunday. Get your nails done on a sunday, buy food on this sunday? Like why is there certain industries where sunday is just not a day that's inclusive to them or not allowed? Like for what reason? Like it's, you know it should be. It should be a lot more loose, I think. With what you can do on a Sunday, I mean the neighbors complaining, fair enough, but my dad, you know he makes pauses. He never does it on a Sunday and I said why? Because he always gets the neighbors to come over going what are you? You know he's like well, I'm working, what you know.

Speaker 1: 10:13

It's true, eh, but I guess in people's defence it's the day. It's like you know what I get one day to bloody relax and you want to get out a lawnmower at 9 o'clock in the morning or 8 o'clock in the morning. It's interesting, it's interesting. But even all that, aside the laws, you know the old religious days. What? All that aside the laws, you know the old religious days, what's right and what's wrong? I still reckon you've just got to make an effort. Eh, you've just got to make an effort. You're wrong. You're not wrong, you're not right, you just make an effort, you know, because we see this go real bad.

Speaker 2: 10:51

Yes, we certainly have there's. There's, definitely we've had, you know, fighting cats, owners and tenants with dogs and pets and mediating, just just weird stuff, like totally weird stuff. You don't know who your neighbor is either, like sometimes, when you're a tenant, you move in it. We've discussed this before. Maybe do a bit of research, have a look around the like the street, see if you're not gonna say g'day yeah, mesh with your surroundings.

Speaker 1: 11:20

If you're not, you know, if it's a very quiet street and you're very, very noisy, maybe it's not your street oh look, I remember even with um, one of my siblings I won't say brother or sister because they'll get angry at me, but one of the two sold their property as a result of the next-door neighbour. You know you're talking hundreds of thousands of dollar transaction like they would have lost, you know agents' fees and stamp duty to upwards of $100,k because the neighbour was just, they just couldn't get along. And you just think to yourself how bloody sad.

Speaker 2: 12:01

It's true. You know, we lived in Terry Hills and our neighbour. They were a notorious family. My dad would start his truck to go to work in the morning and there'd be no petrol in the tank and he'd be like, well, where did all my petrol go? And this was a regular occurrence. And so eventually, not just that one incident, but yeah, they sold up and moved to Woonabow. It was because of that one particular house and that one family. So it happens, it family. So it happens.

Speaker 1: 12:35

It happens. It definitely happens. Cleo, thank you very much for the show. What are you doing today? Anything interesting?

Speaker 2: 12:42

I'm not doing work around the house, I'm going into the office. I've got lots of in-goings, lots of new tenants moving in. So, yeah, getting all those leases prepared and finalising some maintenance. That's going on for a bit.

Speaker 1: 12:56

Yeah, that's what I'll be doing what's rental market doing in 15 seconds the rental market is hot.

Speaker 2: 13:02

There's lots of properties, lots of tenants. There's a lot of movement. It's not dormant. We've woken up again boom.

Speaker 1: 13:10

Have a good day see ya thanks, see you.