Question on maintenance cost from property manager, Cleveland SFR

[Kellan Martz]

Hi all,

Brief summary: closed on my first rental property in early September 2020. SFR in East Cleveland. $45k purchase price. Some work had been done in the past few years (new roof, etc.) but certainly an average house. Repair request came in and this is what was received from the property manager after I approved the repairs:

-Remove and install new kitchen faucet
-Remove bathroom sink; install new vanity/faucet; snake sink drain (sink 1)
-Secure shower pipe in wall and repair wall
-Replace two (2) light fixtures on side of mirror
-Unclog second floor sink drain (sink 2)
Total cost: $950 ($758 labor, $192 parts).

I expected some repairs in the first year since the tenants have been there for two years and the property is in average, not great condition.

Any thoughts or comments are appreciated, as I know maintenance costs can eat up any profit if not watched closely.

Thanks,

Kellan

[Brian Garlington]

@Kellan Martz    See if your PM will allow you to have "your own contractor" handle maintenance requests. I ended up firing the first two PMs I had in Cleveland, one of whom was charging outrageous amounts to do maintenance. I made the mistake of hiring PMs that also had their own in-house maintenance crew because I thought it would be convenient. Turns out that was a costly mistake. You want to have a PM that has ready access to repair/maintenance companies that can go out and do repairs, etc. BUT YOU DO NOT WANT THEM TO BE OWNED BY THE SAME PEOPLE.

I ended up finding a couple of contractors, one who is on BP and the other isn't that have done work for me out there and it has been a lifesaver. 

If your PM "forbids" you from using your own contractor then you should give some serious thought as to why.