Investor · Lancaster, PA · Member since 2016 · 68 posts · 12 votes
got word thru my mgmt company that 2 fairly minor efforts need fixed at my rental. (one board on deck is warped pretty bad and isn't sitting flush any more, i don't want someone to trip and two, drywall paper around top of shower/tub insert is peeling back from water that slashed up there while showering. solution in other shower was installing one row of 4X4 tiles and caulking.) so two fairly minor repairs. would you take this on yourself or pay prop mgmt company to handle. THANKS
My advice to landlords starting out is to learn by doing. You need the first hand experience for when you do hire a mgmt. company in the future. It's the only way you will know how to manage your mgmt. company. Trust is not part of the business.
My advice to landlords starting out is to learn by doing. You need the first hand experience for when you do hire a mgmt. company in the future. It's the only way you will know how to manage your mgmt. company. Trust is not part of the business.
In the beginning I would fix that stuff myself to learn but as you acquire more properties minor things like that can be left to the PM company to handle.
I also think these items could be done quickly and cheaply by you. Deck board would have to be screwed down (nails will eventually pull up) or replaced entirely if it's warped beyond repair (simple enough: measure piece, buy at HD or Lowes, and install). Spackle the damaged drywall to make a smooth flat surface, then either add one row of tiles like you mentioned or just repaint with semi gloss and caulk, but tile would be a better permanent fix. Good luck!
I would do both of those myself, but I can and have done everything on a house myself (I built my own house, including all of the subtrades). These days I try to pay to do things that are getting harder for me to do - get in and out of crawlspaces, because I'm getting old and fat, for example - or are too labor-intensive to take on. For what you are mentioning, I would for sure do those jobs because the labor cost to benefit is going to be really high. A deck board costs about 10 bucks, a row of tile a few bucks. You might have 20-30 bucks tied up in the entire job, and maybe 2 hours of work if you're slow.
@Thomas S. said it best: if you do it yourself, you'll know when you're being ripped by a PM company.
PS: Often times, if the deck board isn't rotted or split, just cupped, you can pull the nails, flip it upside down, and nail it back in. If the warp is from lack of support, it's probably better to use the same board and address the support issue, since the new deck board will eventually do the same. And of course you'll want to seal your deck boards every few years to keep absorption down.
thanks for the feed back guys. i know we all end up paying extra to have the propt mgmt companys handle this kind of stuff. just wanted to see some feed back for where folks generally draw the line between what you can do yourself vs pay for for the sake of simplicity. these are both tasks that i could easily do but just don't have the time for. well see what the PM charge is this time around and keep that in mind on future repairs.
