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A devastated homeowner has revealed shocking photos of what her three-bedroom house looked like before and after it was destroyed by ‘shameful’ tenants.
Sharlyne Smith shared photos with Daily Mail Australia of the extensive damage done to her Manoora rental property in Cairns in Far North Queensland.
Ms. Smith fought with her tenants for months before they finally moved out of the property and were shocked by the damage they left behind.
Inside, some of the windows had been broken, holes were left in the walls, as well as overflowing bins and a garbage bag of dirty diapers.
They had left TVs covered in crayons scattered throughout the house, while a storage shed in the backyard had been filled to the brim with trash.
A burned-out car was littered with trash, including food wrappers, broken electronics, couch cushions, and broken furniture.
“I’ve never seen anything like it in my life,” said an emotional Mrs. Smith.
Devastated homeowners have revealed what their three-bedroom home in Manoora, Cairns, looked like before ‘shameful’ tenants allegedly destroyed it (previous home pictured)
In the photo, the kitchen and living room before the tenants, a family of five, arrived in March.
Sharlyne and Stephen Smith found a pile of rubbish left in the shed after the tenants vacated
In the photo, the bathroom before the tenants moved in and allegedly destroyed the property.
Inside a broken-down car was all kinds of trash, including food wrappers and sofa cushions.
Ms Smith and her husband Stephen had last visited the home in June with their real estate agent when they were planning to sell the property.
The part-time hairdresser said that while the house had been messy, with a few toys scattered about, nothing had prepared them for what they saw a few months later.
When the couple returned on November 24, the house was unrecognizable.
Mrs. Smith and her husband, along with some of their generous friends, will take at least three months to remove the junk, rebuild and repaint their damaged property.
“It’s the last thing you want before Christmas,” she said through tears.
Mrs. Smith works full time in a furniture store that has been in her husband’s family for nearly 50 years, and does her hair in the evenings and on weekends.
While the couple hates having to ask for help, in this situation they have no other choice.
Sharlyne and Stephen Smith have been devastated by the damage done to their property
The Cairns home in far north Queensland once had a manicured lawn and a shed.
The graffiti painted doors to the shed appeared to be permanently open revealing the piles of rubble.
The owners rented the property for 12 months at $400 per week to help pay the mortgage.
Inside the shed was even more trash, including broken furniture, metal parts, and other debris.
Owner Sharlyne Smith said she had “never seen anything like it” upon arriving at the home.
The saga began in March of last year when the couple decided to rent the house to help pay the mortgage, advertising the property for $400 a week.
Sixty people applied for the three-bedroom house, and Ms. Smith found the process of choosing the right tenants extremely stressful.
He eventually settled on a “very normal looking” family of five, something he would realize in less than a year had been a costly mistake.
The tenants were “very good” for the first nine months, but after that they stopped paying their rent, and within eight weeks, they were $3,400 behind.
The saga began in March of last year when the couple decided they would rent the house to help pay the mortgage, advertising the property (pictured above) for $400 a week.
At the bottom of the stairs were garbage cans filled to the brim with junk and dirty blankets.
Inside the house, broken televisions lay scattered on the floor among other appliances.
Trash was spilled in the backyard where attempts have been made to contain the trash.
The dispute was finally settled in court in September, with Ms Smith advised by her lawyer not to attempt to physically enter the home.
He asked the tenants to vacate the house and gave them a Form 11 and 12.
Form 11 is used when tenants or landlords claim that one (or more) terms of the lease have been breached. A Form 12 is a notice to leave and tells tenants when they need to vacate the property.
Ms Smith said that after finally gaining access to the property, she discovered that the tenants had gone “physically insane” in the three-bedroom house.
Under the house was a large storage box stacked with a broken fan and other gadgets.
One of the walls inside the three-bedroom house had three large holes.
Owners Sharlyne and Stephen Smith will need at least three months to repair the house.
‘How can you be so mean and nasty?’ he said, reflecting on the damage.
‘I tried to be kind and empathetic to them. I started to think it was my fault.
The house will need new walls, a new kitchen and a new bathroom after the couple get rid of all the junk left behind by the tenants.
They will have to pay staff to work in the furniture store while their generous friends and community members help them sort through the piles of rubble.
“We are blessed with our family, friends and the kind souls of Cairns who are offering to help clean up before we rebuild the house,” said Ms Smith.
Garbage and food scraps lay strewn across the floor in one of the upstairs rooms.
Inside the shed is a pile of trash including various bicycles, broken televisions, and other debris.
On a tour of the home, the owners found that one of the upstairs windows only partially remains.
Pictured: Tom Quaid, Far North Queensland Area Chair for the Real Estate Institute
Tom Quaid, Far North Queensland area chair for the Real Estate Institute, said the situation highlighted the need for a property manager.
A property manager can act as an impartial third party who knows the rules and regulations and regularly inspects the property every three months.
“Having a property manager is some of the best money you can spend,” he said, adding that many property owners balk at hiring a manager because of the perceived cost.
Quaid said it was also important to do a thorough investigation of potential tenants.
This involves asking tenants to provide a rent book and proof of income, making sure they haven’t damaged a home before and can afford the property.