A Sydney resident is outraged after he claims he bought a house in Coogee for $3 million and no one warned him about what he calls a “rat problem” in the suburbs.
New homeowner Filip Jajou shared his reaction in a recent TikTok video.
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“When you buy a house in Coogee for $3 million, but no one tells you about the rat problem,” he said.
Why didn’t anyone warn me?
The video, which has been viewed more than 300,000 times, shows rats running out of the bushes onto the road and crawling through the grass in the coastal nature reserve.
It is not clear where the footage was actually filmed, where Jaju’s house actually is, or if rats were even seen in Jajou’s new home.
However, the Internet was divided and many said that the real estate agent should pay attention to the rat problem.
“If I paid $3 million for a house just to have the real estate agent never once mention to me that it is infested with rats, you can bet I would lower the price,” said one person.
Others have claimed that the rat problem is plaguing many of the area’s current residents and have shared some local tips with the new homeowner Kuji.
“Rats in Coogee exist whether you paid $700,000 or $7 million,” one person said.
“I grew up in Coogee and that was common then too,” said another.
“Rats love the beach too. Thought it was common knowledge,” said another.
Randwick City Council said: “Rats are usually only seen during the day if they are very hungry and present in large numbers.
“(They) are usually active at night and are more common in late summer and early autumn” and “common in all urban areas. They will live in a variety of places, such as storm drains,” the council said.
The video, posted amid the cost-of-living crisis, was not well received by some netizens, who were quick to accuse Jaju of not researching before buying expensive real estate.
Many dismissed the issue altogether, calling it the “champagne problem” and suggesting “stuffing (rats) over the head with a gold bar.”
“Imagine spending so much money not exploring the area,” wrote one person.
“You invested $3 million but didn’t do research? Did you think that the team’s real estate agent would sacrifice his commission for your benefit? another wrote.
Didn’t you walk around the neighborhood at different times of the day before buying? It’s like 101 when buying a property,” wrote another.
“Should have talked to neighbors and locals about the good and bad things about the area before buying a house in this location,” wrote another.
7NEWS.com.au has contacted Jaju for comment.