All Forum Posts by: Sam Leon

 I have a clause in my lease that states that kitchen disposers are for their use and if they break or jam or whatever it's my option to replace repair or remove.  I don't have such clause for ceiling fans as it is usually not an item tenants "abuse" except the one time I got one coated in dried up BBQ sauce.

Can you elaborate on the "professional inspection" aspect?  Do they really open up every ceiling box and look behind them?  My experience with a "professional electrical inspection" typically involve looking at the meter weatherhead "visually", taking down the electrical panel cover and look inside and see if there is any cause for concerns (double tapping, mismatched wire gauge & breakers...), testing and resetting of one or two kitchen GFCI receptacles, plugging in a few receptacles with their $10 tester and making sure the "CORRECT"s are lit up.  One would not have uncovered the issues we are talking about here with any typical inspection unless they actually take down the fans to see it, or if the attic is accessible and they crawl all over it.

The typically do my own inspection before purchase and as a rule I open at least one wall box and one ceiling box in each room in the process just to see what I am dealing with.  Many times in older buildings especially those that have been partially remodeled we are dealing with a combination of EMT/metal boxes and NM-B/plastic boxes, and lack of EGC continuity and ground is a typical issue.  One time I opened a wall box and the owner had spray flammable expanding foam into all exterior wall boxes to stop ants from coming in.  It was a huge effort to have to clear out all that nasty foam.  Generally I find correcting electrical defects is the most time consuming part of my turnovers.

 That's one of the concerns.  If not properly supported and a ceiling fan come loose it could fall on someone's head and cause injury and the landlord can have liability if the fan isn't properly installed.  I worry about that more so then the maintenance headache having to repair/replace one.

Being in South Florida where it's summer 11.5 months of the year it's nice to have ceiling fans to circulate the air in a rental and renters see it as a "plus" although I don't think it's a show stopper.

My rentals are typically older buildings and many came with installed ceiling fans and I typically try to keep the fans. 

However, they are a maintenance burden.  For example, if you have to access the junction box above the fan it is a lot more trouble to have to remove the fan to get at the wiring.  Tenants tend to either lose or break the remote or rip down the pull chain...but the biggest concern I have is the actual install and support.

Almost every time I take down a ceiling fan, I found these older installs were not properly supported.  The ceiling boxes are rarely securly fastened to the roof framing, but are just hanging there.  Granted, these older buildings have EMT metal conduits so the conduit connections do provide some rigidity and support, but they cannot be counted on especially these set screws could come loose.  But the bigger issue is the ceiling box are never fan rated boxes.  For those of you who are handy you know what I am talking about, a fan rated box is supposed to be securely fastened to the roof framing and they have those long and deep threaded rod connections to mount the hanging brackets on to.  A regular box you are simply attaching the hanging bracket to a mud ring with two 6-32 screws on those tiny thin ears.  Yet I see those fans have been there forever.

What is your practice when it comes to existing ceiling fans in a rental property?

Do you take them all down and get rid of them?

Do you leave them alone as long as it's working and not worry about how it's installed?

Do you at least remove the canopy cover to peek into whether it was properly supported and if the box is rated for a fan?  I guess the same question if you have a pre-existing chandelier.

There have been numerous service animals and ESA threads in the past but I have a unique and specific question.

A friend of mine who is also a landlord and his property is a 6 unit apartment building in Dania Beach, Florida.  He has a no pet policy - no cat no dog no bird no lizard.

So one of his tenants asked if he can keep a dog for about a month, the dog belongs to his sister who is taking a month long cruise and needs him to baby sit the dog.  Of course the no pet rule governs but wait the dog is a certified service animal but not for him or even her...her sister is the current owner of that animal who obviously provided service to someone in need, but her sister has no disability yet the dog is a certified SA.

So does a landlord have to allow a certified SA in a dwelling even the SA does not actually service the tenant?

All discussions I have seen about SA is in the context of both the person and his/her SA in a tandem. 

 I have never met an applicant that truly doesn't have an emergency contact person.  I am sure they are out there but I haven't come across one.  In my case all the missing info are missing because its a hassle to retrieve (like don't remember their vehicle tag), or they decided I really don't need it for screening. 

Really hard to find good reliable contractors and subs in South Florida.

I also do not process incomplete application form.  If left bank or a whole section missing I will let them know until that is completed I can't proceed.  One time I told an applicant I can't process their application because their emergency contact person phone number is missing, another time I told an applicant I can't process because the dog's eventual height and weight are missing.  So if the wife's employment section is left blank I will stop the process until it's filled in.  My application requires the applicant's digital or inked signature at the bottom certifying (1) everything is 100% true and accurate, (2) they authorized me to do a background credit check on them and (3) if accepted the application in it's entirety becomes a part of the lease agreement therefore anything misleading or incorrect in the application even if found out six month's later becomes a violation of the actual lease.

You need to confirm what kind of rodents.  Mice. rats, possum, raccoon, squirrels etc?  A qualified pest control tech can tell from the appearance and size of the droppings.

Some rodents do not live inside the house, they nest outside and they come into your home to search for food.  Those can be easily dealt with by patching whatever penetration you have to your attic.  Typically chicken wire to soffit vents and holes on the wall.

If there is an active nest, say rats, there is a bait that you can put in the attic. It can be placed inside a hollow tubing in an area of recent activity.  The bait are then eaten, the rats will be dehyrated and go search for water - typically outside the house to a ditch or gutter or canal or wherever - the key is the bait kills them slow and make them go outside to die.  Make sure you clean your gutter of leaves so the gutter doesn't become a water source.  Once the rats are all gone - by monitoring the activity level in the attic - say 4 weeks, you can patch the penetration into your attic.  Total cost to have this done by a professional pest control company down here in Miami, about $250.

Pretty much.  All the inspection reports I have seen have so much disclaimers and waivers on both the liability and scope and extra verbage to recommend hiring a professional plumber, professional electrician, professional structural engineer etc...for each sub section to qualify their findings.

Its a quick visual inspection.  Nothing more.  It's doesn't guard against any future failures, it doesn't catch all existing problems, and it doesn't have anything to do with code non-compliance.  I kind of use inspection for two purposes only - first, as a proof reader who might catch something I missed, and two, as a bargaining chip to possibly get the seller to lower the price.

Deanna yes the interest calculation can be complicated.  However we have an option of using actual interest or a flat 5%.  If all the different tenant accounts are separated the actual interest is what the bank says and I don't worry about how they calculate it.