How to charge repair fees for a DIY type.

Question

Ok, I finally had one of those tenants that left the place in a condition that made me wonder if it was on purpose. Basically, a ton of writing on the walls. Permanent marker, key markings etc. Ok, whatever. I don't care that much.

I call my normal housekeeper and they get a ton of it off. I end up having to do a little drywall repair and repaint as the property was brand new when rented and only a year old, but that was a lot of marks and gouges on the walls.

So my question is how do you go about claiming your own time for painting against the deposit. Since I tend to do the work myself, I want to be fair about it, but I do need to charge something as it took me a week to fix all that. I like to CYA a lot so I need to know how I can claim this if it came up in a court case. I'm a better safe than sorry type. Write a receipt for myself? Claim my time as an hourly amount? I eep pictures of "Before" and took some for the "after" as well. Obvious what was done. I just don't know how much I can claim for the work I did. I'd really hate to knock this up to my can of paint and drywall mud.

Colleen F. · Answer

@Chad Clark  Check your state law.  Here we could not charge for landlord time.  If you didn't hire someone you would likely get materials but you would lose any charge for time.

Alex Rivera · Answer

I self-manage a duplex and a 4-plex in Washington state so my laws are different from Michigan, but the approach I have settled on works pretty well everywhere.

What I do is look up what local painters and handymen charge per hour in my area, then I use that rate for my own time. Around here that is about $45-55/hr for basic painting work. I keep a simple time log -- date, what I did, how long it took. Nothing fancy, just a notebook entry or a note on my phone.

The key thing that has saved me is getting at least one written estimate from a contractor before I start the work, even if I plan to do it myself. That way if it ever goes to court you can show the judge what the repair would have cost at market rate and you actually charged less because you did it yourself. Makes you look reasonable instead of like you are padding the bill.

Your before and after photos are already the biggest piece. With those plus a contractor estimate plus your time log, you have a solid paper trail. I would also keep receipts for any materials you bought (paint, mud, primer, etc.) since those are separate from labor anyway.

David Peschio · Answer

Here in Virginia we are not allowed to bill for owner time.  Courts will only accept receipts from vendors on the security depost disposition.

Dan H. · Answer

My question is if the tenant is paying for it, why not hire the work out?  are you expecting to earn painter’s pay?  I expect to make in a different league than painters on my RE investments.   My time is valuable.   I will mentor junior handy persons because I want to ( I do not expect my usual compensation for this, I do it to give back).

In addition painters can typically do the job quicker than I can.

Note I still do some labor on the rentals but it is because I want to   I would not choose to fix tenant caused damage; I can hire that work out.

good luck

Chad Clark · Answer

I have invoices from the contractors I used for the cleaning and junk removal, so that's covered.   I guess I should just get a painter to quote it for me.

Michigan is a very friendly tenant sided state.  Usually, I don't worry about it much as the before and after pictures cover things quite well and I don't usually work on things myself unless it's minor and I don't charge for that.

The painting just turned into a monster job as my eyesight is terrible and I couldn't see how bad it was until the housekeepers started pointing it out.  The $750 cleaning bill probably should have been a hint.  It's usually no where near that.   Especially not for a newly renovated house with the first tenant.

Carini Rochester · Answer

Count your time at normal painting rates for approximately the amount of time a professional painter would have taken. An actual estimate from a painting contractor would be great!

John Underwood · Answer

I would document the work you did and what you would have had to pay someone else to do this work. Have pictures.

Maybe get an estimate based on the before pictures from a painter.

Richard F. · Answer

Have you followed the law, in terms of proper documentation, proper working in notices, following required timelines etc.?

Yours seems to be a very Tenant friendly state, here is some of the info they provide to help Tenants get their deposits back. In general, Courts require legit, third party estimates or invoices. As the property owner, your "profits" are your Net income and equity in the property from the Court's perspective.

How to charge repair fees for a DIY type.

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