I am sure everybody has encountered the nit picky tenant. They may be a good paying tenant, but they annoy you to death with every little thing wrong in the home. Obviously I pride myself on getting real repairs, repaired quickly. Leaks, heat, water heaters, ac units, garage door openers etc. But you get some people, that are like well the paint is getting moldy in the bathroom(even though it was painted just a year and a half ago), or there is no screens on one of the windows or doors, or even to the point that lightbulbs are burnt out, and expects me to hop over and replace. Or the chain on one of the toilets is broken.(you can get a chain at lowes for 2 bucks, and it takes a minute to put on) If you conform to all tenants requests, this won't be a profitable business, or you wont have the money when something real pops up, like a new furnace. How do you handle it? I know some put a dollar amount in the lease, to state tenant vs landlord responsibility. But I don't like that, because that could leave small leaks etc, turning into big ones, because the tenant doesn't want to pay to repair it. Where do you draw the line, and how do you relay that to the tenant? Thank you!

I don't understand how you can expect a tenant to make any repairs. It's your house and therefore maintenance is your responsibility. Mold, no screens, broken toilet are "real" repair needs. If you were staying at a hotel and the toilet wasn't working, would you call the front desk or would you go down to Lowes and buy a "$2.00 chain"? So many landlords just want to collect rent and spend as little as possible on the property. I think that is shabby and unprofessional. If spending $2.00 on a chain and spending 1 minute installing it makes you 'unprofitable', then something else is wrong with your business model.

To better answer your question. The law is there as a minimum guideline. Just because the law says I have 5 days to respond or a repair request doesn't mean I am being a good landlord if I get here on day 4 to address a backed up sewer or inoperable toilet. I draw the line at preference. If a tenant wants an upgraded light fixture, I might do it but at their expense or share the cost. If they want a storm door installed where there was none before, that is most Iikely going to be a is investment for me as it protects the main door and unless your entry door is an approved insulated door it is actually a weatherization requirement (at least in my state of Wisconsin). I prefer to provide a superior service and reap those rewards. I usually end up buying properties from landlord's who chose not to provide this level of service and get greatful tenants and better returns by doing so By Doing What Should have been Done from the beginning.

When I was a 20something knucklehead tenant, I used to flush dental floss down the toilet. Until the toilet overflowed...my landlord had to take it off the floor and snake out the sewer line. He was pretty calm about it though. But now I put it in my leases that aside from toilet paper, nothing is to be flushed that hasn't been eaten first! And I'm happy to discuss a list of items with them if they don't understand :)

@Gabe Gordon The tone and tenor of your original post are what some of us are responding to. You used language that conveys that you see your tenants as adversaries: "nit-pickers", and "annoying". I don't know of any business where one can resent one's customers and expect to be successful. Tenants deserve respect and great service. After all, they're paying you rent. .

Gas is up abe, Indiana isn't too far from Wisconsin, I just might end up with you place in a couple years as your frustration grows. With your expectations of hat being a landlord is, you would most defiantly be shocked of walk into my properties and see the vast majority have color (beautiful clean lines) on the walls. I am actually painting a unit I just bought 2 months go where tenant has been for 22 years with no new paint job. She is getting color. And I just changed all her lightbulbs as they were all out and her age prevented her from changing them. Today checked on a property we agreed to have the tenant paint and pay for to meet her desires. She won' leave when her lease is up and a bump i rent won't scare her off either. You might think it foolish of me to serve in his way but when you look at my numbers I am sure you would get an equal shock... good luck and remember, this is a service industry, if you don't agree with it, buy a REIT...

Repairs, where do you draw the line?

Jeremy Tillotson

Investor · Fort Wayne, IN · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 515 votes

Repairs, where do you draw the line?

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