‘People are suffocating': Property manager's harrowing text lays bare WA's housing crisis
For Louisianna Giumelli, the crisis came to a head when she was heading to court to carry out a tenant eviction.
Giumelli said the tenant was a 'lovely, mature-aged subcontractor' who had fallen into financial crisis and had been unable to pay his rent for more than a year.
The real estate agency she owns, Choice Property Group, had tried to get him help through Anglicare WA and the tenant had also reached out to Centrelink with no luck. He then stopped replying altogether.
As she was driving to court to get the matter resolved, Giumelli received a text message read aloud through Apple CarPlay.
'I'm sorry but I can't attend court today, I can't cope with it, I'm also ending my life today goodbye.'
In shock, Giumelli pulled over and called triple zero.
Later she received another message from the tenant: 'I'm sorry, I'm on my way to the hospital ... police and ambulance arrived just in time, I'm truly sorry for all the trouble I've caused.'
The incident pushed her to speak out on the crisis and call for more support for those in the real estate industry who were also dealing with heartbreaking situations more frequently.
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Sky News AU
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- Sky News AU
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Perth Now
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01-07-2025
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Web of systems exploited for insidious financial abuse
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