All Forum Posts by: Kar Sun

If he has been there for 4 years and it is only a wall that needs to be painted and some scratches on the stove I would consider that a win! I think I take pretty good care of my primary residence but in 4 years I would expect at least that much damage just from normal wear and tear.

I don’t think a few hundred dollars are worth the mental energy being spent. What is your time and peace of mind worth?

 Why do you believe it can not be spot painted?   If his patches are bad, then they may need to be fixed.  If the holes are big, prime first as even with good paint it will take 2 coats anyways.  I have some high end rentals that I spot paint. I would think only if there is paint fading could you not spot paint and if it has fading then it is time to paint the entire wall   

You can forbid them from mounting their tvs, but especially in high end rentals this could cost you tenants.   In my house I have 5 mounted tvs and only one not mounted tv.  

Good luck

 In my market, in your example I can spend up to 40% of the stove to repair or replace it.  It is not that I can only charge him 40% of the repair cost.  If that was the case you might as well replace the stove. 

In this case because he states the stove is new, there will not be significant depreciation from age.

My view is I expect to spot paint upon move out and would either not charge (likely for a 4 year tenant) or token charge such as $25 for painting the tv mount area.  However, I would charge for a new cooktop.  It was new at move-in, is not normal wear or tear, can not be repaired.  I would charge this tenant $798 total (only for the cooktop).

@Kar Sun
If I had a nickel for every time I been threatened with law suit, I would have a lot of nickels.  I have never been sued for RE.  I think if you are fair with your charges there is bp virtually zero chance you get sued.  If you did get sued, how could tenant make a case that scratching a new stove’s cooktop is normal wear and tear (it is not).  

Good luck

Aloha,

It does not matter what you, or I, consider "normal wear and tear". It only matters how the local courts view it...some are more tenant friendly, some are not. It also does not matter if you feel the scratched stove top was 100% one day, and trash the next...again it will only matter how the Judge looks at it.

In my experience, for the paint issue, these days it is simple enough to get "computer matched" paint that will blend properly in the middle of the wall; or, as another poster mentioned, you can just paint one wall, corner to corner, after properly patching the mounting holes. Not a huge deal.

The point the other poster was making regarding the life span vs. age, again, in my experience, Judges always look at items that you are able to depreciate each year in exactly that manner. IRS has tables that will tell you the depreciation period for various elements. Appliances are 5 year items, generally. Your 3 year old cooktop is worth only about 1/3 of it's original purchase price, and it does not matter what the identical cooktop costs today. Given that the scratch does not affect operation, a Judge is liable to reduce the tenant charge to half of that 1/3!

Kar sun. I hear you. I agree with you. This is not a run of the mill apartment. It's a nice place. AND maybe that is the problem. IF you give tenants nice things you will be heartbroken. That is the business. They dont't care. I suggest maybe you put in a used stove and keep the nice one for yourself. After 4 years I would expect to paint anyway, and a judge would probably say the same thing.  In my experience, most tenants are mediocre, its rare that you find one that is meticulous and careful with your property. You should have pictures of the stove before and after, just in case he takes you to court. Try to relax and accept their imperfections. Take it out of the deposit if you have to, and provide a receipt for the expenses, and move on. Like you, I self manage, I'm very attached to my properties, those remodels are my hard work. But you have to let it go or it will drive you crazy. You're successful. Treat yourself to a nice dinner. Raise those rents as high as you can! Good luck.

Is this a joke? He was your tenant for 4 YEARS and you're worried about painting a wall and replacing a cook top? I would expect more expensive turnover after 1 year, if that is all you have to do after 4 years of on time payments, you should count your blessings. 

During tenant move-out inspection, I noticed wall art stickers and crayon marks on several walls, doors and cabinets. Couple of blinds were broken. Also tenants left several items behind and did not arrange to clean up the unit. They lived in my rental for under 2 yrs. I'm planning to deduct the cost of replacing blinds (as they couldn't be repaired), deep cleaning and trash removal from their deposit. Considering crayon marks is not normal wear and tear, what is the guideline for deducting cost of repainting the affected rooms and cabinets from the security deposit? Can I deduct the entire repaint cost? Rental property is located in California. Thanks for your advice.

He can expect you to paint it and charge him for it.  You have to paint the one wall.

It may cost $800 to replace the top, but if the life span of the stove is 10 years and it is 6 years old, you can only charge him for 40% of it.  If it is a small scratch (ie not deep), I wouldn't worry about it.

It doesn't matter how much money he has or had, what matters is what is excessive wear and tear.

So your post was clearly not a question, even though you posed it as one.

It remains true that this could be handled in small claims court which costs almost nothing. If he used to live in a $2M house, he probably has the resources to hire a lawyer to try to stick it to you.  Do you want to win the battle or win the war?

It should not be very expensive for your tenant to take you to small claims court.  I suspect you may win the point on the painting but lose on the stove. Is fighting this worth your time?