Peachtree City, GA · Member since 2013 · 60 posts · 1 vote
What do I do if an urgent problem (plumbing, HVAC, etc.) comes up on, say, Christmas Day and the plumber or HVAC guy or whoever can't get to it that day?
I make sure that right after a tenant signs a lease, we take a walk to the water meter and I demonstrate how to turn the water off in an emergency. That way they know how to shut down water to the entire house if they need to.
As far as heating, I had a call on Christmas once. My response was to put on a sweater or coat and I will call someone tomorrow.
I believe we have the same type @Marcia Maynard is talking about at our townhome rentals in Everett, WA. They were built with them. The knob and spigot is outside but the knob turns a rod inside the pipe that goes inside the house 18 to 24 inches where the actual valve is. There's an anti-syphon mechanism on the spigot that allows the water to drain off - so if it works right, the first 18 to 24 inches of pipe has no water in it and should prevent freezing/bursting of pipe. Those anti-syphon mechanisms need to be replaced once is a while as they do eventually wear out the o-ring seal and start to leak when you operate the spigot. We also put a styrofoam cover over the spigots when we do our semi-annual safety/maintenance check in late fall. Marcia, the water detector alarms sounds like a great idea. We've thought of doing the same. Are they battery operated? Water damage issues are the biggest problem we've dealt with and anything that can mitigate damage is definitely worth it. As for emergency repairs, we also show the tenants where the shut offs are. If we can't get a repair person out, like during the holidays, we try to at least get something done for them ourselves. Sometimes it just takes time to get someone to deal with it. It's the same whether you're a tenant or a homeowner.
In addition to showing them where the house shut-off is, tell them to call 911 if there is running water they can't shut-off. Most people don't think of that but the Fire Department can usually shut it off at the meter. FD response time is a few minutes here where as the Water Department may get to it next week. I know someone that even got the FD to pump out their basement full of water rather than paying the hazard mitigation folks to do it.
Having just lived through this with a furnace repair issue all I can say is watch your property manager. Mine called to get my approval to send someone out and he said he had someone, ok send them, this is 7 pm Tuesday. Call from another tenant the next morning heat still out. call PM someone is going out this afternoon and they get there 7 pm at night. My son was there all day and we had determined that the dual oil tanks weren't fueling properly and were equalizing tanks about when the guy got there. We still need a permanent fix but the guy they sent can't do that. He was nice enough not to charge though. In this case I wish we had called someone, the PM 's fixer was the wrong guy for this job.
Its -17 degrees tonite in my town, and every house I own has a frost free spigot and they really work. They do need replaced every 5 or 6 years but they work for me. Their is no water in an outside pipe it is about 6 inches inside the wall. You must disconnect the hose though or the water will not drain out. I am sure there are some spots where they might freeze up, but make sure you get the long ones. They do come in different sizes based upon the coldness of the area.