Hi all.

I'm in the process of closing on my third duplex!   The great part for me is that it's on the same street and is the same floor plan as my second duplex.   I was able to rehab a vacant side of the other unit and re-rent it for an additional $140 a month in rent.  So I would like to eventually bring this new purchase to that standard.

It turned up during the inspection that one units shower has been leaking behind the tile for years (numerous ineffective repairs made) and there is visible damage to the subfloor under the tub as seen from the crawlspace.   It isn't a "the floor is going to collapse" situation.  The floor isn't soft, there isn't an oder, but I tend to be anal about any water issues.

From where I sit there are two options.   A quicker, cheaper repair like installing an adhesive surround over the existing tile that would prevent the problem from getting worse until the unit is vacant.    Or rip things out and get it corrected as soon as possible after I take possession with the tenant still present.

My contractor thinks it will be a 2-3 day project, but with water damage you never know.  We could pull out the old stuff and find additional damage that wasn't visible.   This is the only bathroom in the unit.

The tenants in both units are friends and currently are on month to month leases.  They want to stay long term, and said through the agent they would be willing to sign three year leases in order to do so.  I do need to raise the rents up a bit to get them closer to market, but I don't want to drive off a stable situation like that as long as things cash flow.

If I do have the more major work done, I have read other threads where people have put their tenants into a hotel while the work is being done.  I've also seen other landlords rent a port a potty so it's on site.  Others offer a discount in rent to figure it out on their own.  Others offer no discount on rent and just talk to people and the tenants and tell them their will need to make other arrangements themselves.

Since this is a new purchase I want to set the right tone and not go in looking cheap but also not giving them complete control over what happens if I go with option two.   I personally don't feel it's okay to tell a tenant they simply won't have a bathroom for days, even if local laws allow for that.

What have others in this (hoepfully more specific than previous posts) situation done?