Broken Appliance & Tenants Request

[Shuai Zeng]

Hi all,

Been a while since I visited this forums. So after my first purchase, I got it rented out. When I rented it out, it was partial furnish. Stove, refrigerator, Washer & dryer. These item belong to the previous owner, and since I was by myself I had no way of removing them. So I rented the place with them there. Today I got a call from the PM and was told that the frig freezer is broken, and it would cost around $230 to replace the parts. I thought for a while, decide that I should buy a new frig for the tenant, and also a washer to replace the out of dates item.

My question is, was this a good ideal?? In the least from PM, it did not state which appliance was with unit.

Also since the property has a pretty "Big" yard at the back. Tenants ask if it was possible to plants vegetables and flowers in the back yard and build a small fire pit. should I let them??

Any suggestion would be great.

Thanks
-Shuai

[Michele Fischer]

The more appliances included, the more that can break. We include stove and fridge, and when they break down, we buy used from a local used appliance store right away. I would encourage garden areas, it can raise values and increase rentability, we often install raised beds in our yards and annually provide flowers to the tenants who like to garden. I've been asked about a fire pit and I always say no, blaming insurance. What is reasonable use to us may not be to our tenants, I don't want to go there.