All Forum Posts by: Jason Eiceman

Thanks, all, for the replies!  It seems like a lot of people say to leave them but put a clause about not being responsible for repairs if they break. Leaning towards this.  The property is not high end, but in a mid-to-high end area, so maybe having a W/D would be attractive.

I like the option of providing them for an extra fee per month - of course I would have to repair/replace in case they break, in that case.  As @Greg Weik mentioned 'break' can be a relative term, which concerns me a bit. 

I also am curious about the renters insurance as mentioned by @Patricia Steiner - is this typical of a renters policy, to cover repair of appliances?

My tenant moved out and left their old washer & dryer, which work fine but are a few years old.  
Is it worth keeping them to add value when marketing to a new tenant?  
Or would I be looking at a lot of potential maintenance calls by leaving them?  

One thing I can imagine is having to add a maintenance item to clean the dryer vent out every year or so.  If you supply a washer/dryer in your LTR, how many calls per year do you receive on these?
Also where they are located in the unit is difficult to remove, so +1 for leaving them.

Quote from @Rodney Sums:

Quote from @Jason Eiceman:

I had a sewer related repair that the tenant took it upon themselves to get repaired after hours. 

Tenant paid for the service/parts already and offered to pay half due to it being after hours (me reimbursing the tenant for the other half). 

Any issues with this to consider? Maybe tax related considerations? 

Thanks! 

 What happened exactly that they felt it was urgent enough to make the repair within hrs and not consult you first? 

Ar you self managing with no maintenance staff? 

Wer you able to conclude for certain they didn't cause the problem? 

I am not sure exactly what happened, to be honest.  There is a pump that stopped working - I called a plumber to come take a look and they said the motor burnt out and needed to be replaced - I setup the service for the next business day (after the weekend) and my plumber seemed to think it was not particularly urgent.  My tenant thought otherwise, apparently, and found another plumber to come that night.  This was sprung on me via a phone call from the tenant to get the go-ahead for his plumber.  How the pump motor burned up is still a mystery.

Self managing remotely, yes.  I have a list of plumbers, etc., to call when I need someone.

Quote from @Bruce Woodruff:

Quote from @Jason Eiceman:

Quote from @Bruce Woodruff:

There are liability/tax/accounting/control issues that you need to be aware of.

Any details on this?

They did call me after they set up the plumber so I could give the go ahead at least... I said yes due to the seemingly urgency. Would there be any reason to consider reimbursing the full amount to the tenant? 

It is better that they called you to get permission. But still....

1) To get a proper write-off, your CPA will need a invoice from the contractor. You should have paid them in full and deducted some amount from the tenants rent via a written document.

2) If this is a one-time occurrence, not a big deal, but this could set a precedent, both for the tenant and in your mind, that it is ok to just take care of things themselves. Not ok.

3) Who checked out the Contractor? You certainly did not. Was he properly licensed/bonded/insured? Did he have Workers Comp for his employees? What if one of them had fallen into an open trench and broken their neck? With no WC, that could be on you.

I could go on and on, but you should get the point. I would not do this again if I were you...

Thanks for the insight! Makes sense. 

Quote from @Bruce Woodruff:

There are liability/tax/accounting/control issues that you need to be aware of.

Any details on this?

They did call me after they set up the plumber so I could give the go ahead at least... I said yes due to the seemingly urgency. Would there be any reason to consider reimbursing the full amount to the tenant? 

I had a sewer related repair that the tenant took it upon themselves to get repaired after hours. 

Tenant paid for the service/parts already and offered to pay half due to it being after hours (me reimbursing the tenant for the other half). 

Any issues with this to consider? Maybe tax related considerations? 

Thanks!