The property industry is generally a pretty serious one, but thankfully it is not completely devoid of light hearted moments. These examples are provided by Leaders Letting Agency, but will probably be recognised by property managers up and down the country…

One of the most common jobs of a Property manager is to assist tenants if any appliances in the property are faulty. But Leaders have quite lost count of the number of times a ‘faulty’ appliance was miraculously returned to full functionality when its plug was placed in the electrical socket! On one occasion it took three successive telephone calls from the tenant to her property manager to get the vacuum cleaner to work: the first call saw the property manager advising that the plug should be put into the socket (sigh of relief that that’s all it is); the second call resulted in the property manager advising that the switch on the socket ought to be turned on (surely that’s the end of that?); the third call from a now quite annoyed tenant solved the final problem – the red button on the vacuum cleaner needed pressing in (surprise, surprise it rapidly sprung into life!)

Washing machines seem to be a mystery to many – why is it always the fault of the machine when a whole load of white laundry turns pink, rather than blame being attributed to the new red t-shirt accidentally included in the wash?

Fridges are another cause for concern. One vegetarian tenant demanded a new fridge-freezer because the previous tenant had kept dead animals in them both (otherwise known as beef, sausages and lamb chops!)

Getting a property ready for its new occupants between tenancies is often an eye-opener too. A Leaders Property Inspector once found some frozen mice in a freezer and was beginning to worry about the former tenant’s state of mind, until he realised there was such a thing as pre-packed snake food! On another occasion, disposing of the fisherman’s bait that had been left to run amok in the airing cupboard presented Leaders staff with quite a challenge.

Other amusing memories include the time a negotiator let herself into a flat with a prospective tenant for a viewing (with the resident tenant’s prior permission) only to find a naked couple being amorous on the dining table (they had forgotten about the appointment!); and the time a property manager was called by a tenant from the beach in some distress. Someone had stolen his trousers with his door keys in the pocket. Not only could he not get into his flat, he was also stranded wearing nothing but the briefest of swimming trunks as his car keys had been in the trouser pocket too!

Sometimes language has presented a problem, as it is not uncommon to rent properties to people from overseas. On one occasion a Leaders branch had an anxious visit from a lovely Korean tenant with his inventory in hand: he was concerned about the reference to flower beds in the garden. He had looked everywhere but couldn’t find any beds at all! (His property manager drew a picture to explain and all was well!) Another tenant called his property manager to say his crying bushes needed cutting back – he meant weeping willows!

Some people have more money than sense, one tenant – a very intelligent lady – called her property manager to request someone come out and fit her shower curtain. The property manager explained to her that all she had to do was open the rings and put them through the curtain, then slide it along the pole. But she insisted she would rather someone else did it and ended up paying £25 for a contractor to do it for her!