Investor · Odenton, MD · Member since 2012 · 105 posts · 9 votes
So, I how should I go about having them be responsible for the cost of repair? Should I fix it myself wit a contractor and bill them? If I did this I know it would get done but I don't know if they'd pay me back for it. Or, I could set them up with a contractor who would bill them after he did the work. They seem to be procrastinators so my fear would be that they wouldn't do it at all.
Another thing is they broke a bedroom door in the house over a year ago. I want them to fix that now also.
Rental Property Investor · Milwaukee, WI · Member since 2013 · 6k+ posts · 4k+ votes
10y
Take it off and not replace it. If the tenant asks why it isn't "fixed" tell them they broke it so you thought they didn't want it anymore. Let them know that in order to put it back on it will be $X. They pay you and you fix it.
Investor · Jonesboro, AR · Member since 2015 · 241 posts · 132 votes
10y
Scott P. Unfortunately this is one of the negatives of being a landlord, it's also something that's not mentioned very often. The Bottom line is you will only be successful if you learn how to cheaply fix things that the tenants break. You can't get money out of them, unless you go through a lot of wasted time, frustration, money, ect... In the end you can get a judge to award you a judgment, but collecting is another story. For me there's three options, try to talk the tenant into giving you the repair cost upfront, evict them, or fix it and tell them that if something else gets destroyed you will evict. Check your lease before evicting and if it dosnt have a damage clause then it should. Good luck to you !
Investor · Odenton, MD · Member since 2012 · 105 posts · 9 votes
10y
@Perry Ivy Thanks Perry! I might try to fix it with a cheap contractor or fix it myself - after asking them to do the same. If they balk I might not renew their rent in June. Wouldn't I be able to have it paid for out of their deposit?
Investor · Jonesboro, AR · Member since 2015 · 241 posts · 132 votes
10y
Scott P. Yes sir, providing your lease agreement states that the deposit will cover it. Document everything and I personally take pictures of damages. When ever you have a problem with anything, you should reexamine your lease agreement and see if things need to be adjusted, changed, or worded differently for future events.
Investor · Newtown Square, PA · Member since 2015 · 132 posts · 149 votes
10y
Scott,
Remove the front screen door and leave it off. If it's not there they can't break it. I've had to many of these doors broken over the years so I generally take them off when we first buy a property.
If a tenant asks for one , we will use it as a 1 year lease resign incentive. If we put one on and then they break it, we replace and bill the tenant. We NEVER let a tenant take care of maintenance issues themselves.
Lender · Kansas City, MO · Member since 2015 · 103 posts · 28 votes
10y
Add addendums in their lease. The Property Management firm we use has disposal addendum, plumbing addendum in all our houses, this way, they, the tenant knows that if they break something in the house due to neglect, they will be billed & need to pay for it.
If they pay is a different story, you may need to go to small claims court to get that judgement, however, it is explained, signed & initialed at the beginning of the lease that these addendums are in place & they will be responsible.
Boston, MA · Member since 2015 · 72 posts · 16 votes
10y
Without addendums in the lease, it's almost impossible to get payment out of tenants that don't mind living with the problems the created. Small claims court is time consuming, I'd run an updated lease by them and if they hesitate to sign then you can foresee future problems with them with other broken items and try to replace them
Rental Property Investor · Milwaukee, WI · Member since 2013 · 6k+ posts · 4k+ votes
10y
Take it off and not replace it. If the tenant asks why it isn't "fixed" tell them they broke it so you thought they didn't want it anymore. Let them know that in order to put it back on it will be $X. They pay you and you fix it.
I don't understand why addendums are needed, Isn't the deposit for covering anything that the tenant destroys? Maybe the addendum would make them pay for damage at the time it's damaged?
@Dawn Anastasi I plan on leaving it off as long as the condo association doesn't ding me for it. Yes, unfortunately it has one of them.
I don't understand why addendums are needed, Isn't the deposit for covering anything that the tenant destroys? Maybe the addendum would make them pay for damage at the time it's damaged?
@Dawn Anastasi I plan on leaving it off as long as the condo association doesn't ding me for it. Yes, unfortunately it has one of them.
The reason I like addendums is during the lease the tenant is responsible for neglect. The PM Company will bill me for the work, it's my property so it has to be fixed, however, I can bill the tenant if I have an addendum for items & it is obvious neglect. Example, tenant flushes a diaper in toilet, common sense says don't flush diapers in toilet, if I have to pay 100.00 for snaking a toilet & there is a diaper coming out...you better believe I will try to recoup that 100.00 from the tenant.
The security deposit should not be touched until the tenant moves out & cover items like carpet, cleaning, if property needs to be repainted. Then you need to give the tenant a break down of repairs less deposit & either pay them the balance or bill them the balance.
I don't understand why addendums are needed, Isn't the deposit for covering anything that the tenant destroys? Maybe the addendum would make them pay for damage at the time it's damaged?
@Dawn Anastasi I plan on leaving it off as long as the condo association doesn't ding me for it. Yes, unfortunately it has one of them.
As has been mentioned, actually collecting on a judgement you may win is quite another matter. Present the tenants with an estimate from a contractor for the repairs and ask for payment. If they refuse to pay, you know in advance what kind of problems you can expect upon termination of lease. You also will have established a dated paper trail of damages and demand for payment.
Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2015 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
10y
Waiting until move out and charging the security is a bad idea. What if other damages exceed your security?
I haven't had to do this yet but this is what my lease allows for and what others have said:
Get it fixed, bill the tenant. My lease states that any money collected will first go to fees, etc and then rent. If the tenants don't include the repair amount with their next check then their rent is actually late because you will first deduct the cost of the repair from their check. The money left over will be less than your rental amount. Then you will tack on the late fee.
Make sure to be up front and clear about this because you don't actually want the late fee, you want them to pay the full rent plus the cost of the repair.