RI typical landlord paid maintenance costs for house?

Question

What are common, house maintenance items that a tenant would expect to be covered when renting a house in RI?

Is regular snow plowing covered by the landlord? Or should the tenant expect to handle that when renting a house?

Are gardener's normally included? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm looking at buying a house as an investment property in Rhode Island and wanted to know what would be common monthly recurring costs outside of (Mortgage, Property Taxes, and Insurance). I'm already factoring in maintenance on any equipment (i.e. heater, etc..) but wondering if I am missing anything.

Anthony Thompson · Answer

@Tina Rubin I believe the info is posted on their website, just search for RIREIG. I don't think I can put a link directly here.

Frank Patalano · Answer

At one point I had bunch of Single Families, I typically pay Taxes, Insurance, Water and Sewer. No snow removal and no yard maintenance.

I've seen some people back charge the tenants on the water/sewer but I don't.

Tina Rubin · Answer

@Frank - Single family....but want to do multi family in the future. @Anthony Thompson - how do I sign up for the beginner one you mentioned?

Frank Patalano · Answer

Are we talking a single family or multi?

Virtual MeetUps. The Rhode Island Real Estate Investor's Group RIREIG meets twice a month (Currently Virtually). Their next meeting is January 21st.

Anthony Thompson · Answer

@Tina Rubin as far as virtual meet ups in RI for fellow investors, there's the RI real estate investors group which has been meeting monthly for the past 18 years, and meets twice a month virtually since COVID. One meeting is a beginners meeting open to the public and the other is for members with specific guests/topics.

There may be smaller groups that meet (virtually or in-person, I don't know) via Meetup. I used to check that regularly, and it seemed like there were a few that sporadically came and went, but if you're looking for a smaller group (just a few people) that might be an option. No idea if/how those groups adapted to COVID/virtual.

On rare occasion someone will post a meetup or event here on BP as well. I think the last one was a few months ago, a proposed in-person meeting at a cigar lounge. Since I don't smoke and would not meet in person in an enclosed space, I didn't attend that one, but usually I see about one or two such meetups posted on BP a year.

Anthony Thompson · Answer

@Tina Rubin it's common with a single family house, to try to get tenants to agree to lawn mowing/landscaping and snow removal.

However you should know that as the owner you will ultimately be responsible for those things, even if the tenants agree to do them.

You may want to have a separate independent contractor agreement, rather than just a reduction in rent, to compensate tenants for those activities.

There are legal and insurance questions with trying to make tenants responsible snow removal especially (due to slip and fall lawsuits), so I'd recommend discussing with your attorney and insurance agent.

Tina Rubin · Answer

Thank you both! My first investment property out of state will be in East Providence. I have an investment property in CA.  My son moved here after college so I've become familiar with the area but being from CA didn't know what was common.

are there any virtual meet ups in RI for fellow investors?

Abbie Gibson · Answer

@Tina Rubin

Great to hear another investor in Rhode Island! Many of my family’s rental houses are multi family near the University of RI, so we tend to include snow removal and gardening for college kids (because they are unlikely to do it themselves). Depending on your area and who you plan to rent to, this could vary. I hope this helps.

Colleen F. · Answer

Depends on the setup but normally lawn and snow is on the tenants for a single family. If you want to you can include them but its not usual for a single family. If you have a duplex or more you need to pay for snow removal from common areas and landscaping.