Rental Property Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2021 · 7 posts · 4 votes
My tenants moved into my SFR built in 1923 in Pasadena, CA on January 1. In the lease it states they accept the property "as-is", but so far in the first 10 days they've made complaints about:
-Hot Water taking too long to get to bathroom faucet
-Small rips and holes in window screens
-Torn crawl space vent (they said they were sure a cat was living under the house which was determined to not be true”
-lumber scraps behind the shed
-fireplace tiles that were loose
-outlet cover missing
-water pressure low from the showerhead
-heater not working correctly
Now there is another complaint about the shower bath faucet having a small leak and they want the whole thing replaced. This is my first rental property and man hear first two weeks have been a lot of lessons learned. The heater was a legit issue that we got resolved within a day, and I’ve taken care of a few others but it seems to me like they’re being really nit picky? I want to keep them happy and I don’t want to be a bad property manager/landlord. Maybe this is my fault for not being more detailed when getting my property ready to rent?
I hate to say it, but all of those things sound like valid complaints to me other than the time for hot water to travel. All of them should be easy to fix or at least look into.
I'd tell them that clearly the house isn't for them and give them the one time option to get out of the lease early with no penalty. Explain to them it is an old house and it will have minor problems.
The outlet cover is a simple $1 fix the next time you are over there as is taking the lumber scraps home. For the shower head look to see if it needs cleaning (there could be hard water build up). As for the rest, hopefully the first part (telling them they can get out of the lease because clearly they aren't a good fit for the house) might stop their complaining.
Some of this sounds like potential safety issues you should fix anyways. If the outlet cover is missing that needs to be fixed, loose tiles could be tripping hazards as well as the wood scraps out back. Vent cover on the exterior? If so should be fixed to prevent animals. Obviously you can't do much about the hot water time for it to travel to the faucet. If there's low water pressure it should be looked into at least. Holes in window screens allow flying insects in, at least around here. All of those sound cheap and easy to fix in one day.
I hate to say it, but all of those things sound like valid complaints to me other than the time for hot water to travel. All of them should be easy to fix or at least look into.
Rental Property Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2021 · 7 posts · 4 votes
4y
@Theresa Harris thanks for the suggestion, I may discuss that option with them the next time I see them. They seem to like the house but are just a little particular about a couple things.
Rental Property Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2021 · 7 posts · 4 votes
4y
@Bill Ward loose tiles, outlet cover, and vent screen we’re all easy and fixed in one day. So we’re the lumber scraps. In SoCal bugs are not as big of an issue as other parts of the country, but again they were in this condition when they toured the property as well as the shower faucet leak. Both of those are not as easy fixes being they are requesting every window to have a new screen and the shower is a vintage claw foot tub so the parts are difficult to obtain and expensive. And they are also asking for us to install a garbage disposal.
Overall I understand they’d like want everything in tip top shape but these are concerns they should have brought up during the tour or before they signed the lease right?
Real Estate Broker · Rochester Hills, MI · Member since 2009 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
4y
I don't see the two choices as mutually exclusive.
This is a funny statement to me "Overall I understand they’d like want everything in tip top shape but these are concerns they should have brought up during the tour or before they signed the lease right?"
Does that same logic apply to you? Did you notice this stuff while given them a tour? Did you notice in when you checked the place when the last tenant moved-out? Did you notice it before you said to yourself "yup, this place is now tenant ready" after doing other work?
Tenants, just like you, don't notice every little detail on a walkthrough and things are often found post moving in that should be dealt with.
The list as noted here has things that fall under "as is", like water taking time to heat up....that is how hot water tanks work...but doesn't allow you to avoid compliance issues. If the city came in they would 100% require you to fix some of these things, so fix them. Your not selling a used car. You have ongoing responsibilities that don't end here.
Like I said, the two choices you gave are not mutually exclusive
Real Estate Agent · Southington, CT · Member since 2008 · 5k+ posts · 3k+ votes
4y
Most tenant have a punch list of minor things they want fixed in a rental when they initially move in. This is not abnormal at all, and as others have said I don't see anything they have requested that is outlandish.
Investor · Narragansett, RI · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
4y
@Chris Young some things you miss on turnover because you don't use the shower etc. This sounds like it is a little high maintenance and a little things you missed. I suggest you say to them hey these are minor fixes I am doing and I am sorry they were missed but the screens I am not replacing them all and hot water takes what it takes to get to the fixtures. In some houses the water pressure is lower but I will check it out. As for the drippy claw foot tub faucet I would look into getting parts but unless it is really bad just tell them parts and a plumber will take a while (because they will). Also patch the screens where needed. Then suggest knowing all that are you they telling you the house isn't for them? If so my offer is we can do a no penalty termination for the next 30 days only. Chances are they will back off. It makes you seem a little more reasonable. I only suggest this if they are really pushing back on things. Any tenant can come up with a few things they will ask you to take care of.
Rental Property Investor · Leesburg, VA · Member since 2019 · 43 posts · 13 votes
4y
@Chris Young
First and most importantly congrats on your first rental. The reality is you could have 10 tenants and 2 of them would mention all of these items, 3 would mention 1 or 2 items and the other half would never say anything. It sounds like there are some easy fixes in that list. The reality is there will always be one or two things that were an oversight on your behalf (regardless of what some of our fellow investors say on this site). I will say there is a fine line with higher maintenance tenants and you want to fix the items that are appropriate to fix but not allow them to take advantage of your willingness to please. Take it as a quality learning experience…that’s the only way you get better. If it’s any consolation I have a young couple that sounds 5x more needy than what you are dealing with:) best of luck !
Rental Property Investor · Sioux Falls, SD · Member since 2015 · 9k+ posts · 18k+ votes
4y
@Chris Young I would not say "as-is" should include defects. That generally refers to improvements. For example the garbage disposal is an improvement, which I would not do. Food waste should be scraped into the garbage. A garbage disposal just causes more buildup in pipes.
- Hot water taking too long has to do with distance from water heater. Just explain that to them. You can fix this by installing a "hot water recirculation system", but I would never do that in my own home, let alone a rental.
- Small rips and holes in window screens. I would fix all holes in screens before renting a property.
- Torn crawl space vent. You do want to fix this so critters don't get in.
- Lumber scraps behind the shed. This should have been cleaned up before renting. Never leave scraps or junk on the property or in the garage. Expect everything removed when people leave and junk never builds up.
- Fireplace tiles loose. That should be fixed. This is an investment, so you want to take care of it.
- Outlet cover missing is a safety issue.
- Water pressure low from showerhead. I would look into this. The shower head could be clogged with mineral deposits or even the pipes. Compare to water pressure on other fixtures. No doubt taking a shower with low water pressure sucks, so even if you don't have to fix this, you probably should.
- Heater not working correctly is a habitably issue and must be fixed.
- Shower bath faucet with leak. I replace or repair any leaky fixture. That is how decent landlord deals with this type of issue.
It sounds like you didn't audit the property for repairs before renting it. Most of the things on this list, I would have repaired prior to move in. In my experience it is best to keep your property in good repair. People report more issues when they first move in, then settle down, so don't assume this will continue.
Investor · Van Isle · Member since 2021 · 455 posts · 226 votes
4y
just like any other service provider. If you try and pass something off on them, you'll get their backs up and now they get picky. My contracts state that any maintenance items must be communicated. 'As is' would clearly indicate you have no rules, and a judge, should a decision be required, would see it that way. Not my kind of investment.
Vienna, VA · Member since 2015 · 41 posts · 15 votes
4y
@Emma Duncan I agree. These things weren’t taken care of before the tenants moved in? That’s what you do during a tenant turnaround. From what’s stated and without more info, this all smells like legit.
Rental Property Investor · Indiana...mostly · Member since 2019 · 468 posts · 245 votes
4y
I had the same thought as you about the heater. I agree with Theresa Harris. That's what i'd probably do but i wouldn't have left these issues to complain about other than maybe the screens. For sure they may be "high maintenance" but maybe they just don't want you blaming them for problems that existed when they moved in. Now...if they pay timely and you don't mine talking in circles w/them, maybe you just do that and fix little things once in a while. I wouldn't have left the lumber scraps and you don't want a cover off an outlet or switch or anything else.
Henry, IL · Member since 2017 · 10 posts · 8 votes
4y
I in fact did have a property that a cat kept getting into the crawl space via a loose basement window. It was quite the mess to clean up. I've had to replace subflooring under a leaky toilette.
Look at this as a gift of knowledge. I've seen leases that give tenants a time period (5-14 days) to report any issues. My leases include a shared repair bill. The tenant is responsible for the first $125. Another landlord had issues with kids putting toy cars down the toilette and this was his solution to his problem.
I added free carpet cleaning every 3 months to my leases. My tenants loved it, I had the employees and the equipment to do it, plus this allowed me to inspect the properties to do preventative maintenance. Then I began stopping by the 1st of the month to pick up checks and install new furnace air filters so I knew my $5000 furnaces where well maintained. I lived near all my rentals so it made it easy and I had no surprises.
I will add that the very first property I rented out I acted like it was my 50th time. I followed all the advice my experienced mentors taught me!
Rental Property Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2021 · 7 posts · 4 votes
4y
Thanks everyone for the great feedback! As most have suggested, we’ve taken care of most issues and are coordinating with the shower manufacturer for new parts(it’s a vintage claw foot tub shower so parts are hard to come-by). We’re not going to do the garbage disposal, but will likely do the window screen here in a couple months as they mentioned they like to enjoy the pleasant weather we have in SoCal and I think it would make them happy. Overall I know they’ll take care of the property so I want to do my best to take care of them!
I have a nit picky tenant but they are also very by the book and keep the place exceptionally clean. In a way they are OCD in clean and done properly. The 1st month they had me go replace number of little things. After that it has been a lot better but I do occasionally still get weird request. They do pay rent always on time though. Sometimes 2 to 3 days early so guess goes with the turf.
Investor · Member since 2021 · 591 posts · 695 votes
3y
@Chris Young some of these requests may be legit (obviously, if the heat or the AC goes out, that has to be fixed ASAP).
However, the very first complaint you mentioned ("Hot Water taking too long to get to bathroom faucet") speaks volumes, and suggests that these tenants are either unreasonable, or they're unknowledgeable about how a house functions. Assuming you're using a standard water heater, hot water ALWAYS takes time to get to the faucet--and the further the faucet is from the water heater, the longer it takes. I have a house where the water heater is on the other side of the house from a faucet, and that faucet can easily take 10-15+ seconds to get hot water.
So, a complaint like that indicates that a tenant either doesn't understand what they're talking about, or, they're unreasonable. I would politely explain to the tenant the basics of water heaters & hot water, and explain that it's not a defect--it's just a reality of how some houses function...if the tenant agrees that it's not an issue to be fixed, then that would be a good sign...but, if they dig their heels in on an issue like that, bad sign...