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Following the arrest of an 85 year-old resident for the shooting of a strata manager, property managers are being warned about being caught off guard when going to inspect properties.
With Ilie Istudor denied bail earlier this week after he was charged with shooting with intent to murder following a dispute with his strata manager in Sydney's south west last Thursday, industry veteran Malcom Riley, of MR Presentations and TNQ Rentals in Cairns, told Residental Property Manager that it's vital property managers keep on red alert when entering rental premises.
Mr Riley, who coaches his clients about what do in such dangerous instances, has prior experience dealing with people wielding weapons.
"A few years back I did a routine inspection of a unit in Cairns where a single female lived,” he said. "When I approached the unit the door was ajar, so I pushed it open. She was crying, but what I didn’t realise was that her boyfriend had tracked her down after three years. Out of nowhere, he jumped out brandishing a knife threatening to kill us both. He thought I was her new boyfriend.
"He was high on drugs, it was pretty full on. Eventually the police came and sorted it out, thankfully," he added.
Mr Riley said the thing that caught him out, and something he always teaches clients during training sessions, is that you always need to be on your guard.
"She was a perfect tenant: paid on time, kept her unit clean, worked as a legal secetary. So that was the last thing I expected really. It does highlight what you can walk into," he said.
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