Trust a tenant to make repairs?
Hey BP,
What is the general consensus on allowing your tenant to do work on your property?
I have a prospecting tenant who is a handyman by trade. I have not gotten to know him or his work yet, but he is already asking if I would be interested allowing him to partially finish my basement by providing labor if he moves in (he wants an office space and spare room for his family.)
He is also expressing "you will have no maintenance worries while we are renting from you since I would do all that, you would just cover materials."
Naturally having a handyman in the home sounds wonderful, but my gut is telling me no. Am I wrong for having this gut feeling? My gut tells me I don't know this man, the quality of his work, etc. Over time with any tenant, I could allow repairs on a case by case basis and slowly build trust, but how many of you let your tenants do repairs and how many prefer your own handyman? Who knows, maybe this guy will become my trusted handyman.
Match made in heaven or conflict of interest?
Quote from @Alysha Pederson:
Hey BP,
What is the general consensus on allowing your tenant to do work on your property?
I have a prospecting tenant who is a handyman by trade. I have not gotten to know him or his work yet, but he is already asking if I would be interested allowing him to partially finish my basement by providing labor if he moves in (he wants an office space and spare room for his family.)
He is also expressing "you will have no maintenance worries while we are renting from you since I would do all that, you would just cover materials."
Naturally having a handyman in the home sounds wonderful, but my gut is telling me no. Am I wrong for having this gut feeling? My gut tells me I don't know this man, the quality of his work, etc. Over time with any tenant, I could allow repairs on a case by case basis and slowly build trust, but how many of you let your tenants do repairs and how many prefer your own handyman? Who knows, maybe this guy will become my trusted handyman.
Match made in heaven or conflict of interest?
Trust your gut. If you want improvements or repairs done, hire a licensed, insured professional. If you start allowing your Tenant to do maintenance, they may do a poor job or you may have a hard time saying no to them later on. It's not worth the headache.
@Alysha Pederson And thats a hard no. Are they a real pro or are you just trying to save money. They money you will spend correcting their mistakes, especially if they burn the place down, is just not worth it.
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Broker Oklahoma (#156017)
- Renters Place
Hard pass. Been burned on this one. When the tenant makes repairs that are less than quality or not to your level of satisfaction is where the problems starts. Having 3rd party repairs removes this issue and keeps it at arms length away.
I'd say never do it. In some cases, it might work... but I wouldn't risk it. I've seen it go south too many times.
Quote from @Alysha Pederson:
Hey BP,
What is the general consensus on allowing your tenant to do work on your property?
I have a prospecting tenant who is a handyman by trade. I have not gotten to know him or his work yet, but he is already asking if I would be interested allowing him to partially finish my basement by providing labor if he moves in (he wants an office space and spare room for his family.)
He is also expressing "you will have no maintenance worries while we are renting from you since I would do all that, you would just cover materials."
Naturally having a handyman in the home sounds wonderful, but my gut is telling me no. Am I wrong for having this gut feeling? My gut tells me I don't know this man, the quality of his work, etc. Over time with any tenant, I could allow repairs on a case by case basis and slowly build trust, but how many of you let your tenants do repairs and how many prefer your own handyman? Who knows, maybe this guy will become my trusted handyman.
Match made in heaven or conflict of interest?
I would have someone else do it. I like to make sure my properties are well kept and having someone go in do the work I also get to have an extra eye on the place.
#3 All Forums Contributor
- Contractor/Investor/Consultant
- West Valley Phoenix
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#3 All Forums Contributor
- Contractor/Investor/Consultant
- West Valley Phoenix
No way in heck. You don't know this guy or his work. And not being a Licensed Contractor, he will not pull permits for any work (he can't), and you will be left with living space that is under value per SF.
Even if he did the best work in the world and was the nicest guy in the world, still NO. It creates a sense of you owe him for the work.
Just find a good Handyman (for the small stuff) and good Contractor (for the bigger stuff) and treat this as a straight up business deal - which it is.
There's always that chance that it could work out well, but I'd say 9 times out of 10 you're going to have problems with that. Best to keep your tenants and your repair team separate.
#2 House Hacking Contributor
- Real Estate Agent
- Los Angeles, CA
I would say no but hire him for other projects for other properties and see how he does. I have never heard a success story where the tenants were responsible for the repairs on their own.
Like most of everyone on here, I'd say no as well. Hiring a professional that's not a tenant removes the potential headache of something going wrong.
I agree to trust your gut on adding an office or new bedroom. You want it done with the proper process and with permits. Even if he was a GC and could pull permits, I would still say no because he will improve your property but will get the use of that sq ft for free (it's not like you are going to charge him for it if he did the work). Then he is likely to stay on at below market as long as possible. Having said that, I allowed tenants to do simple things like paint or even put in new flooring in a room (I paid for the materials). They were not compensated but was able to enjoy the upgrade. I had a break on labor, but the floor change was only after they had rented from me for four years. I had a comfort level at that point.
@Alysha Pederson nope nope nope. I've tried this before with someone who was a "professional" and I ended up going back to the space afterwards and rebuilding everything that they touched. Save yourself the time, money, headaches and potential liability. Build a relationship with a handyman that is not your tenant and have a good situation for a long time.