turning rental - should these be included to recoup from tenant?

Kim Meredith HamptonBusiness Member

Real Estate Broker · St Petersburg · Member since 2014 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes

[email protected]407-448-6679 Podcast Guest on Show The Key to Scoring Discounted Deals in One of America’s Hottest Markets

@Daria B. I would charge them for all the things you mentioned.

Hopefully you have "before" pictures and receipts for everything you did prior to their move in.

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OP

Rental Property Investor · Gainesville, FL · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 432 votes

Originally posted by @Kim Meredith Hampton:

@Daria B. I would charge them for all the things you mentioned.

Hopefully you have "before" pictures and receipts for everything you did prior to their move in.

Oh yes I have receipts and so many before pictures time dated that there is no way to dispute. They also signed a move in inspection - checklist.

Kim Meredith HamptonBusiness Member

Real Estate Broker · St Petersburg · Member since 2014 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes

[email protected]407-448-6679 Podcast Guest on Show The Key to Scoring Discounted Deals in One of America’s Hottest Markets

Love it, go for it!!!

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Property Manager · San Antonio, TX · Member since 2013 · 37 posts · 14 votes

Yes, make them pay for the items. In Texas, anything beyond "normal wear and tear" can be charged.

Shelly Doris Milburn

Property Manager · De Soto, KS · Member since 2017 · 58 posts · 30 votes

Yes, I would charge for those items. It should be clean and functional upon move out. If your lease and associated forms are not clear about expected condition at move out condition you could make some updates prior to signing with your next resident.

Robert Leonard

Investor · Lafayette/Baton Rouge, LA · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 915 votes

I'm not in FL, so you need to find out what the law says about these matters in FL. Here in Louisiana, I have a tenant move in/move out inspection form that they have 7 days to fill out. It includes each light fixture & blinds in each room, any serial numbered items and working light bulbs.

My lease specifically states they are required to replace bulbs with like bulbs (not the cheapest bulbs you can find at a dollar store). They are usually in sets, like for ceiling fans or bath light fixtures - so having matching bulbs matters. I use LEDs now and they are expensive, so I want them replaced with the same thing. As I see it, they help keep utilities low and make it easier for my tenants to pay their rent.

I would withhold for the cost of replacement of all of these items if my tenant did the same things.

OP

Rental Property Investor · Gainesville, FL · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 432 votes

Originally posted by @Shelly Doris Milburn:

Yes, I would charge for those items. It should be clean and functional upon move out. If your lease and associated forms are not clear about expected condition at move out condition you could make some updates prior to signing with your next resident.

The lease is very clear and after this move out I am adding more after a couple of things that were done.

OP

Rental Property Investor · Gainesville, FL · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 432 votes

Originally posted by @Robert Leonard:

I'm not in FL, so you need to find out what the law says about these matters in FL. Here in Louisiana, I have a tenant move in/move out inspection form that they have 7 days to fill out. It includes each light fixture & blinds in each room, any serial numbered items and working light bulbs.

My lease specifically states they are required to replace bulbs with like bulbs (not the cheapest bulbs you can find at a dollar store). They are usually in sets, like for ceiling fans or bath light fixtures - so having matching bulbs matters. I use LEDs now and they are expensive, so I want them replaced with the same thing. As I see it, they help keep utilities low and make it easier for my tenants to pay their rent.

I would withhold for the cost of replacement of all of these items if my tenant did the same things.

We do the same thing here and I think most states seem to have similar rules from what I have read.

The bulbs were just something I have never encountered and it seemed that for cost of buying almost an entire house worth, there should be something from them (ie security deposit) due to it being handed over "with" bulbs.

I will have some more of these specific items added as an addendum to the lease.

Bart H.

Dallas, TX · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 745 votes

Originally posted by @Daria B.:

I'm turning my rental, tenants gone, inspection already completed with what needs to be repaired from tenant misuse.

But some things are questionable - so the question is, light bulbs and toilet seats......

The house was rented with light bulbs in every conceivable socket and worked. All the ceiling fans now have one light bulb - really?!? All tenants I've ever had, replaced them when they burned out, if they did, and none of them ever "took" light bulbs. However, this tenant, whether the bulbs burned out or they took them remains to be seen.

They broke the toilet lid in addition to other things like window blinds so that is coming out of the security deposit. What of the toilet seat? It's in rough shape and honestly, none of my other former tenants ever left a property the way these people did.

Thanks

I would charge for the bulbs, seat and blinds. Since they were being jerks, I would hire a licensed electrician for the light bulbs, and have him check to make sure the fixtures were properly reinstalled, might be tempted to have licensed plumber fix the toilet and pay someone to fix the blinds. Then take all three out of their damage deposit and give the former tenants an itemized list.

In all seriousness, I would hire someone and pay them for their time to go get materials etc. The problem with bulbs, toilet seats and blinds is the labor to go to home depot get that stuff. Its several hours of work (at what 25-50/hr?) that I would pass on to the tenant in addition to the cost of the materials.

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David Faulkner

Investor · Orange County, CA · Member since 2015 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes

Originally posted by @Daria B.:

Originally posted by @Kim Meredith Hampton:

@Daria B. I would charge them for all the things you mentioned.

Hopefully you have "before" pictures and receipts for everything you did prior to their move in.

Oh yes I have receipts and so many before pictures time dated that there is no way to dispute. They also signed a move in inspection - checklist.

Way to run a tight ship Daria! Well done ... if you didn't have all this documentation, I would've suggested you'll need to eat the costs, but with this I would charge them, and include the receipts and pictures in your itemized list of deductions from their security deposit in case they get any crazy ideas about contesting the charges.

1 Reply

Carol C.

Investor · Nassau County, NY · Member since 2016 · 82 posts · 43 votes

We would absolutely deduct from the security. Not sure of FL rules, but in Queens, NY - we hire someone, never fix it ourselves. The judges seem to fully reimburse for outsiders invoices. When we just did repairs, we got back cost of items but not labor. Not fair, but the way it is.

Christopher B.

Rental Property Investor · Knoxville, TN · Member since 2011 · 701 posts · 531 votes

Lesson learned, make sure all lights have working bulbs when they move-in and charge them a cost for each bulb that no longer works when they move-out. Put this in your contract and cover it during the lease signing. We screen pretty well and cover all these items thoroughly during lease signing and thus have never had any major issues. We also leave the property inspection form with them for a few days after move-in so they can write anything down they may not notice during the initial walk through. Be fair here and make sure you notate anything they point out that is relevant because this is the first time the trust between you and them is tested. Use this opportunity to show that you will listen to them and be fair in your dealings. Not all landlords and especially the mom and pops don't do a good job of managing their properties.

Think of a tenant as a pet, if you train them properly from the beginning both their and your lives will be much better for it. It's all about establishing those expectations on the front-end.

OP

Rental Property Investor · Gainesville, FL · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 432 votes

Originally posted by @Christopher B.:

Lesson learned, make sure all lights have working bulbs when they move-in and charge them a cost for each bulb that no longer works when they move-out. Put this in your contract and cover it during the lease signing. We screen pretty well and cover all these items thoroughly during lease signing and thus have never had any major issues. We also leave the property inspection form with them for a few days after move-in so they can write anything down they may not notice during the initial walk through. Be fair here and make sure you notate anything they point out that is relevant because this is the first time the trust between you and them is tested. Use this opportunity to show that you will listen to them and be fair in your dealings. Not all landlords and especially the mom and pops don't do a good job of managing their properties.

Think of a tenant as a pet, if you train them properly from the beginning both their and your lives will be much better for it. It's all about establishing those expectations on the front-end.

I'm not sure if it's a lesson learned because everything that you mentioned was done. Pictures were taken, twice, and documentation they had to sign off on. These were just nasty people and didn't care. I actually have property management who have a very thorough lease. Their screening - I questioned - I had a different option on some of the decisions made based on their screening as to what was acceptable - we have to be very careful not to go against laws when declining prospects - I've since fired them for other reasons and have another PM. I'll be adding an addemdum for things that were unrelated to light bulbs as coverage. The lightbulbs was just something that I have never encountered in my years of owning rentals. I thought on this to make sure I wasn't thinking, "hummm is that petty or reasonable".

And there is plenty of documentation written and photos with them signing off on - but it still didn't matter because this family broke several things and left the property in the condition that it's not just a matter of lite clean up - other things I won't mention that are excessive.

Christopher B.

Rental Property Investor · Knoxville, TN · Member since 2011 · 701 posts · 531 votes

Originally posted by @Daria B.:

Originally posted by @Christopher B.:

Lesson learned, make sure all lights have working bulbs when they move-in and charge them a cost for each bulb that no longer works when they move-out. Put this in your contract and cover it during the lease signing. We screen pretty well and cover all these items thoroughly during lease signing and thus have never had any major issues. We also leave the property inspection form with them for a few days after move-in so they can write anything down they may not notice during the initial walk through. Be fair here and make sure you notate anything they point out that is relevant because this is the first time the trust between you and them is tested. Use this opportunity to show that you will listen to them and be fair in your dealings. Not all landlords and especially the mom and pops don't do a good job of managing their properties.

Think of a tenant as a pet, if you train them properly from the beginning both their and your lives will be much better for it. It's all about establishing those expectations on the front-end.

I'm not sure if it's a lesson learned because everything that you mentioned was done. Pictures were taken, twice, and documentation they had to sign off on. These were just nasty people and didn't care. I actually have property management who have a very thorough lease. Their screening - I questioned - I had a different option on some of the decisions made based on their screening as to what was acceptable - we have to be very careful not to go against laws when declining prospects - I've since fired them for other reasons and have another PM. I'll be adding an addemdum for things that were unrelated to light bulbs as coverage. The lightbulbs was just something that I have never encountered in my years of owning rentals. I thought on this to make sure I wasn't thinking, "hummm is that petty or reasonable".

And there is plenty of documentation written and photos with them signing off on - but it still didn't matter because this family broke several things and left the property in the condition that it's not just a matter of lite clean up - other things I won't mention that are excessive.

I see. Well sounds like you got it resolved. Sry for the bad tenants.