Tearful woman hits back over 'brutal' response to sharing 'unglamorous' side of being landlord
It's safe to say, landlords get a pretty bad rep in the UK.
With tenants consistently exposing the ins and outs of their conversations on social media along with their faults, it's a wonder anybody still goes into the property-letting business.
And it appears as though the unsavoury reputation of landlords extends over seas, as one social media star has this week given sceptics an emotional look into the realities of the heavily-criticised profession.
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Aussie landlord and former Big Brother contestant Estelle Landy opened up about the 'brutal' comments she was subjected to following her decision to reveal the 'unglamorous' side to owning multiple rental properties in a separate video.
In a new TikTok, Estelle told viewers: "I’ve been crying my f***ing eyes out all morning, because I have been pushing s**t uphill for two years, three since my mum died, with these properties."
In the original seven-minute clip, the 36-year-old content creator claimed that a tenant staying in one of her Victorian rentals currently owes her thousands of dollars in both rent and bills.
She also revealed that a second tenant at a separate property had absolutely 'destroyed' the living space.
Despite both predicaments taking their toll on Estelle, she admits it was the backlash she received from posting the insight in the first place that has really left her shaken up.
Speaking to news.com.au, she said: "There is a lack of tolerance to empathise with anyone else who is perceived to have ‘more’, which is strange because we are certainly part of the ‘hustle generation’.
"But we aren’t allowed to hustle too hard or we will be cut down."
Estelle received more than 3,000 comments and accumulated a surplus of 65,000 views on her original video.
In amongst the hoards of hateful remarks, one viewer wrote, "I stopped caring when she said she owns more than one property."
"Landlord crying on the internet? Yeah my day got better," another penned in the comment section.
Estelle insists she knows of the existence of 'greedy and exploitative' landlords however, but claims that taking advantage of tenants is far from something she'd do herself.
She also estimated that the combined value of her properties today would be less than $500,000, with one costing $20,000 and the other $215,000.
The first property was an ex-housing commission bought by her parents in the 1990s after they separated, a home that she describes as being in a 'precarious' area that needed a lot of work.
Estelle eventually saved up enough money to move her and her mother in a newly-purchased home in a 'much more secure location'.
She told the publication: "Each property I have purchased was never with the purpose of becoming an ‘investment’. I occupied each place for more than 10 years and didn’t have plans to sell when I bought each one."
After her mother - who owned the first home - sadly passed away, the management of the property fell to her.
It was then that Estelle discovered that the family friend renting the property from her late mother had actually fallen thousands of dollars behind in rent.
She has since been forced to apply through VCAT to remove the 'friend' - who also refused to have the bills transferred to his name - so she can sell the home.
However, some errors early on and long wait times mean that the process is still under way.
"In this time he has done some very odd and destructive things, picked all of the locks in the house, pulled doors off hinges, ruined paint and carpets with smoking and the front and back yards look like tips,” she revealed, explaining she "didn't have the heart" to evict him at the time.
"I don’t know if people fully understand the costs for owners, I do not believe that the tenant should bare the cost of the owner's property," Estelle said.
"I think it comes back to a fair and reasonable arrangement that is not exploitative."
She added: "The whole system needs a shake up. People are terrified, and rightfully so, of their futures because they are so uncertain with all things relating to basic living needs."
Rhianna Benson