Please help! Rented pays on time but is becoming a thorn
Real Estate Broker · Ocean View, NJ · Member since 2014 · 188 posts · 82 votes
You might consider hiring a property management company to take over the management since it sounds like you don't enjoy it. And, to be honest, based on what you wrote it's your responses to the tenant that sound off.
If I had a tenant call me with a minor/frivolous request (i.e. secure the crawl space door, change a light bulb, whatever), I'd just politely explain that something like that is their responsibility and I'm not going over there to do that. After that, I wouldn't ever expect another call about something similar.
On the other hand, if I had a tenant call me with a significant/legitimate request (i.e. no water, AC is out, etc) I'd get right on it because that's part of being a landlord (plus the law likely requires it in most cases for the home to even be considered habitable).
I certainly wouldn't tell the tenant "I was tapped out with service requests". Suppose there was a small leak that developed in the bathroom and the tenant opted not to tell you about it because she didn't want to bother you since you were already "tapped out with service requests". What could have been a simple $5 fix could later turn into you replacing subfloors because it was left unchecked.
The point is, you WANT your tenants telling you about things that are wrong so you can fix them earlier rather than later. It's always cheaper to fix something sooner rather than later. Plus it shows your tenant that you care about your property and encourages them to do the same.
How nice of a neighborhood is this and how nice of a house is it? I hear that people in Class A properties complain more to their landlords than Class C properties.
On the BP podcast they are always saying train your tenants.
"Hey, I like that you have a good eye are finding issues before they become a real problem. But please only call me after 8pm(ish) unless it is an emergency.
With any small repairs(crawl space), say, I'll add that to the list of things to do.
With the AC unit. Ask her what room she isn't getting enough air. The HVAC system may not be strong enough to reach that room. Two simple solutions: place a fan in the room or buy a Vent fan. A Vent fan sucks air through the duct work so cold air reaches the room. Also, check the duct work and make sure there isn't any tears in it. Home depot/Lowes has tape to patch holes in the duct work.
What are you setting aside for maintenance and cap x per month? Older homes have a lot of character. The house my wife and I rent out was build in 1959. Thankfully, we lived there for 3 years so we had time to fixed most issues before renting it out.
@Benjamin Haberman investing in real estate is not all cash flow and rainbows. Old houses have great cash flow and in return you get high repair expenses. It is your job to keep everything working at your expense. If you underestimated repairs or didn't set aside sufficient reserves, that is not your tenants fault. You listed four complaints:
1. Water not working - this is 100% your responsibility to keep water working.
2. Air conditioner not cooling - it is your responsibility to keep provided mechanical items working.
3. Secure the crawl space entries. - need to determine if this is this some type of security issue and if so it is your responsibility
4. Replacement window blinds at $1000. - Sounds like your choice to do this. If you provide functioning blinds as part of your property, then you need to maintain them. This varies by property, so the key is have a clear definition of who pays. I can get blinds for $20 a window, so not sure how you racked up a $1000 bill.
Do you have a family? I encourage you to ask yourself if your kids and wife didn't have water, air conditioning or secure entries to the property, how would that make you feel? You signed up to be a landlord, so you need to fulfill your responsibility.
All good points.
Where are you getting blinds for $20 a window?
I picked up one at Lowes yesterday. It was for a 48" wide window and cost $13. Depending on width they can run as cheap as $4 or up to maybe $25 on the high end. They are cheap vinyl, but can be swapped out in 5 minutes.
Her water "turned off while in shower". What does that even mean? How do you know they didnt just take 30 minute showers back to back? Did you inspect the house before buying because they turn on all water and see how the pressure is, at least they do in the Midwest.
Tenants rented the place with no blinds spending that $1000 is on you. You could've let them buy blinds.
It means the water turned off while she was taking a shower and apparently the entire well was dry and needed to be re-drilled. Do you really think that someone can take enough showers to run a well dry? It is amazing how people will find a way to blame a tenant for everything. It was probably a bad well when he bought the place. Not the tenants fault.
No but you can take enough showers to run out of hot water especially if the efficiency setting is used.
I am assuming since he had the well replaced that it wasn't just hot water. Sorry if I misread something in the thread, but that was my understanding of the problem.
I tell every tenant at lease signing that the top three things to remember are to pay rent on time, don't damage the place, and don't become a PITA....I give examples too. I tell them if they cause trouble for the cops, neighbors or me with repeated BS requests, I will invite them to move somewhere else with a 20 days notice. But if they are great tenants using those three criteria, then they can stay as long as they like, I'll treat them well and be more than fair, giving them a good reference when they do decide to move on.
This is the clause in my lease that sets boundaries between my tenants and how/when/why they contact me. And I use Google Voice.
(a) Maintenance requests may be made by phone or text from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday – Friday, or by email anytime. In the case of an emergency, call the Property Manager anytime. Emergencies include fire, flood, electrical shortage, and sewer backups.
I also only offer MTM leases. That way, if someone is over the top and does not respect boundaries, I can terminate their lease. Obviously, if there is a legitimate maintenance issue, it is your responsibility to address them. If the minutiae is causing you a "death by a thousand cuts", you can diplomatically have a frank conversation with them:
"Mrs. Jones, I can't help but notice that you've called me many times over the last few months over maintenance issues. While some of those issues I appreciate you reaching out to me for me to address, several others have been what I would not consider my role as the landlord to address. I work hard to provide a habitable place for our tenants to call home, but I would hate to have someone living here who isn't happy with the property. If that's the case, I'd be willing to let you out of your lease and we could go our separate ways. I just thought I'd ask. What are your thoughts?"
I also keep them on MTM leases for this same reason. I've started giving out speeches years ago during lease signings about the top 3 things I look for in a tenant, but I've also had people before that who became a thorn the DAY they moved in. I gave them a chance about their attitude, lies, and false complaints and told them if there were any more issues I would simply give them notice to vacate. When they failed to pay rent on time, and only paid days later after multiple follow ups from me, then argued with me about the late fees and THEN tried to make up a bunch of lies, I simply told them to vacate. End of story. MTM leases was the single best decision I ever made in landlording.
One of my renters is becoming more and more of a total thorn. I made a huge mistake giving them my cell phone number too. Texts every night about little small issues. For instance, she texted me tonight asking to secure the crawl space entrance doors. Last Friday her water turned off while in shower. This was a legit concern and i had a new well drilled on Saturday. $4,000 later i basically told her i was tapped out with service requests. It gets to be out of hand. Just curious- do you hold any of your tenants responsible for anything in the house?
To top it off, after the crawl space entrance text, she says the air conditioning isn’t working greAt. It makes me want to rip the central air out and tell her to get window units. It’s just non stop and is really starting to get to me. The house is old and it’s been a huge learning curve for me. There are definitely more issues with old houses but it’s getting to the point where i need to put my foot down and let them know i am not a 24/7 non stop service call center. She rented the house AS is, and i have had enough.
Their $1,000 window blinds and $4,000 well is not enough. It’s always something. Please help, any insight would be much appreciated.
Thanks!
You have to decide if you want to be an Investor/property manager or just an investor. If you want to continue to property manage you have to improve your property management skills. Firstly you should have a business phone (google voice line) that tenants have, NOT YOUR PERSONAL LINE. You should have business hours that you will respond to tenants. You should have a formal procedure for submitting maintenance request and creating a paper trail to prevent law suits. I suggest you check out @Brandon Turner book on property management. He details exactly the problem you're having.
https://www.biggerpockets.com/store/managing-properties-physical