Property Maintenance

Painting Between Tenants

My long time reader, John Gall, shot me a question that is a great post that many other landlords can probably benefit from.  Here is what he asked:
I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on painting walls between tenants.  Seems like the bedroom walls always get scuffed up, dirty etc.  I could almost paint between [...]

My long time reader, John Gall, shot me a question that is a great post that many other landlords can probably benefit from.  Here is what he asked:

I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on painting walls between tenants.  Seems like the bedroom walls always get scuffed up, dirty etc.  I could almost paint between tenants each time.  I stopped and just allow them to paint if they want, some do and some don’t. 

1:  Do you paint between tenants?

2:  If you’ve painted between tenants and after they ones move out the paint is scuffed, dirty and generally worn do you charge them for the repaint from the deposit?

3:  Why do tenants always seem to dirty the paint?  I’ve been in my house 10 years and nothing needs painting.  I don’t get what goes on.  I’m not even talking about trashing the place, the paint just seems to be “wearing” in the bedrooms.

Great questions.  Here are my answers:

1. Do you paint between tenants? Yes, typically.  I rarely just do touch up, I will repaint the walls.  The ceilings get done every 4-5 years depending if I have smokers.  As your follow on questions show, I rarely have a unit that is perfect enough to be rented as is.  Plus, I want to put my best foot forward with the new tenant. 
   • Because I use the same paint color on all my units (a darker beige color) it is pretty easy to roll the walls and not have to cut in.
   • The amount of time I have during my turnover may also determine how well I paint or if I do.  If my handyman has time, I will often have him roll the walls as necessary.  If there are other rehab or maintenance to do, again, it may change the amount of paint we are doing at the turn.
   • I do have some friends that paint their walls dark tan and the woodwork (when painted) very dark brown to hide dirt.  They will often not have to repaint, but maybe wash the walls in places or touch up such as where the couch was.
2. If you’ve painted between tenants and after they ones move out the paint is scuffed, dirty and generally worn do you charge them for the repaint from the deposit? That depends.  Your lease does state, normal wear and tear.  I know that even in my own house, I personally dinged the wall when I was moving something, plus the wall behind my computer desk gets marked occasionally by me sliding something around on my desk.
   • If the apartment is otherwise perfectly clean when they move out and it appears they were trying to be careful and do the best they could, then NO, I don’t charge them.  Alternatively, I know other landlords that want the unit in the same perfect condition as when the tenant moved in and will charge the tenant for any marks.  You need to find your happy medium.  Remember you should document your charges with pictures in case the tenant takes you to court claiming foul.
3. Why do tenants always seem to dirty the paint?  I’ve been in my house 10 years and nothing needs painting.  I don’t get what goes on.  I’m not even talking about trashing the place, the pant just seems to be “wearing” in the bedrooms. Wow!  I knew the answer to that, I would screen for the people that were not going to wear everything out!  I think everyone just has a different standard of living. 
   • My kids rooms are occasionally messy and they always have a toy or two in the family room at my house.  I can’t stand it and it drives me crazy.  When I complain about it, my wife has said that our house is perfect compared to some friends of hers that have toys and stuff ankle deep on their entire main floor.
   • It is no surprise that each community or neighborhood draws a different tenant profile.  This is driven by nearby jobs, schools, bus lines, rent amounts, and many other socioeconomic facts.  Your rental properties will attract the typically resident for that neighborhood.  Your experiences as a landlord for cleanliness, upkeep, paying rent, politeness, etc of your tenants is simply a byproduct of where your property is located.

It is not impossible to have a tenant that treats your rental like you treat your own home, but you need to search.  One option you do have when screening tenants, is to require an on-site inspection of their existing apartment.  Write up a 100 point scoring system to keep it completely legit and legal.  When you walk through, give them points for how clean the stove is (is it full of grease or is clean), how clean in the bathroom, are there clothes everywhere, what do the walls look like?  Using this scoring system and more importantly, getting into their current rental will tell you loads about how they will maintain your place.

You will be surprised at what a tenant calls “I just cleaned my apartment” and what you may call it.  Hopefully you are pleasantly surprised like my friend who’s tenant tells him to take off his shoes if he is coming in the door!

Tenants and Toilets

If you are a landlord long enough, you will have tenants that just don’t seem to have any common sense when it comes to maintaining a property.  And I love the fact that they always claim that they didn’t do anything wrong.  No ownership of the problem.  This landlord gives a great account of one [...]

If you are a landlord long enough, you will have tenants that just don’t seem to have any common sense when it comes to maintaining a property.  And I love the fact that they always claim that they didn’t do anything wrong.  No ownership of the problem.  This landlord gives a great account of one such tenant interaction:  http://www.realestatewindfall.com/2010/01/05/plumbing-problems-by-careless-tenants-how-to-handle-them/

Investment Property Maintenance Tricks

I have not been posting much lately as I have been buried with multiple apartment turnovers. As I mentioned previously, several years ago, I moved many of my lease end dates to May 31. Subsequently this can be a busy time of year for me.
While I was helping my handyman on a overhaul [...]

I have not been posting much lately as I have been buried with multiple apartment turnovers. As I mentioned previously, several years ago, I moved many of my lease end dates to May 31. Subsequently this can be a busy time of year for me.
While I was helping my handyman on a overhaul that we are doing to one of my units (new carpet, paint (ceilings, walls, and trim), new doors, and every last maintenance issue), I thought about some maintenance tips and tricks that I use to make my life easier and make my investment properties more bullet proof. Below is a list of ones that I do during an apartment turnover.

• I am not sure why, but I always find the door knobs in my units are loose when we do a turnover. I bought a small tube of Loc-Tite”, which most mechanics use, that will almost glue the screw into the knob (do not buy the permanent product as you will never get the knob off!).
• The only locks in the entire unit are the deadbolts on the doors. I do not like keyed knobs anywhere in the unit or on the front doors as it is just asking for someone to lock themselves out of their apartment or room. I confirm we do not have any stray locking knobs.
• I always run drain cleaner down each drain to insure they are operating correctly. I bought a product called “Thrift” at the plumbing supply store. It is extra strong and used by most of the drain cleaning experts.
• If the toilet is not working correctly or is more than 5 years old, I replace it. Yes, the parts only cost $8, but I don’t trust them as I had an $800 water bill on a single family house after my plumber just replaced the parts. I could have bought 8 complete toilets that month for the cost of that water bill!
• I leave a box of cheap furnace filters during the turnover to help the tenants know to change the filter occasionally.
• Even if the tenants have never complained about mice, I put a few fresh mouse bait pouches in the basement and under the stove. This insures we are ready if any of the critters gets into the building.
• Remember to replace batteries in the smoke detectors.

Most of these items are inexpensive, but they can save you taking a maintenance call later. Find your small repair items and do them at the turnover.

Check Your Investment Property

First Story: I realized last week that I had not been inside one of my rental properties in about 14 months. This is despite the fact that I drive by it every week or so as it is near my parent’s new house. The building was built in 2006, these are the first tenants to [...]

First Story: I realized last week that I had not been inside one of my rental properties in about 14 months. This is despite the fact that I drive by it every week or so as it is near my parent’s new house. The building was built in 2006, these are the first tenants to live there, they have never called about anything, and their rent is always on time. Regardless, I did get a little anxious thinking about what condition this property could be in as they have an active 25 pound dog and 2 cats.

I called the tenant 24 hours in advance and told them I needed to do a walk through to check out the place and review the mechanicals. The next day I arrived and found the townhouse in perfect condition. I dare say that it looks as good now as the day they moved in 18 months ago. Thank you!

Second Story: I received a letter from the City of Minneapolis Rental Property Department, about 2 weeks ago, informing me of a rental inspection at one of my duplexes this Friday. Both units were renovated about 18 months ago and should be in good condition. Additionally, I speak to these tenants at least monthly and they rarely have any maintenance issues. I decided to schedule an inspection several days in advance to check things such as smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, and other safety items that I know the Minneapolis inspectors love to catch.

After changing batteries in the smoke detectors in unit #1, I headed up to the other unit to find that all the smoke detectors had been put in a drawer. After replacing all those units, the tenant mentioned a window on the porch that had a problem. The window was 100 years old and the sash had finally separated from the rest of the window. Consequently, it was pouring cold air into the unit. I pulled it out, brought it to the shop and re-glued and re-glazed everything. Good as new and I have a happy tenant to boot.

My advice: Now that the holidays are a distant memory, now is a good time to get back into your properties and check them out. Call it a mechanical inspection or what ever, but get in and see how the property looks. This will also give you a chance find those items that the tenants have not called about (or don’t want to call about). It is important for the health and safety of your tenants as well as the longevity of your property.

Have you always wanted to buy investment property, but never knew where to start? Don’t Wait! Get Started now.

Tips to Having a Good Handyman

Tenants and Toilets are the two key complaints that most landlords talk about. I believe that having a dependable, thorough, and honest handyman that has good workmanship is an absolute must whether you own 2 or 20 investment properties.

Your handyman should be able to fix most items in your properties. Maybe just as important, he [...]

Tenants and Toilets are the two key complaints that most landlords talk about. I believe that having a dependable, thorough, and honest handyman that has good workmanship is an absolute must whether you own 2 or 20 investment properties.

1. Your handyman should be able to fix most items in your properties. Maybe just as important, he should admit when a project is not his specialty and should be outsourced. Build trust where you can rely on his judgement on what needs to be fixed and how it should get done.
2. Find a handyman that lives near your properties. You will be very thankful for this when your tenant calls at 7:00 at night about a plugged toilet or a furnace not running or any other number of issues that require immediate response. It is great to be able to simply call your handyman and ask him to swing over and take care of the problem.
3. Give him enough work that he sees you as his primary customer. This should keep him wanting to please you by taking those 7:00 pm calls to unplug a toilet! Conversely, unless you can sustain him 100% indefinitely, make sure that he does not rely on your work alone as when you slow down, he will be concerned about putting food on the table.
4. If your volume warrants it, negotiate a reduced per hour rate. Discuss eliminating trip and overtime charges.
5. When you go on vacation, consider paying your handyman to be your vacation buddy. You should decide if you will give the handyman the keys to the properties. When I go on vacation, I like to keep all the keys in my garage. In an event that he absolutely needs keys, I will then tell him where they are and give him the combo to my garage door.
6. Find your handyman through referrals with your real estate agent, check the hardware store bulletin boards, and scan Craig’s (or Angie’s) List.

Having a consistent handyman can be a crucial addition to your investment property team. He should free you up from having to do all your maintenance and potentially save you money instead of having to call a trade person (ie: plumber, carpenter) to fix something small.

Landlords: Watch your Water Bill

When is the last time you examined your water bill? Are you sure it is correct? How much water should an apartment building, duplex, or 4-plex be using? Allowing toilets to run on and faucets to drip can add $50, $100, even $400 per month in extra expenses. I even had an $800 water bill [...]

When is the last time you examined your water bill? Are you sure it is correct? How much water should an apartment building, duplex, or 4-plex be using? Allowing toilets to run on and faucets to drip can add $50, $100, even $400 per month in extra expenses. I even had an $800 water bill at a single family house because the tenant never told me the toilet starting running all the time.

Excuse the pun, but that was just money down the drain. Never to be recovered. Not put back into the property.

A rise in the water bill can be triggered by several items:

• Dripping faucets
• Running Toilets
• Malfunctioning washing machines
• Outside spickets that are not turned off
• Even more people living in the apartment than you expected (and may be on the lease)
• I even had one police detective tell me that illicit drug manufacturing in a home can use large amounts of water!

Call you municipality and ask them how many gallons or units should be used per month per person. Do the calculation to see how close you are. If your water usuage is outside the norm, stop by at your apartment immediately and hunt around for the offending appliance.

Additionally, don’t assume the water usuage you have been seeing on your bill for years is the lowest it can be. You may be sitting on some cost saving opportunities. Replacing shower heads and toilets older than 10 years can dramatically cut your water bill. Many of the older toilets used 3.5 gallons per flush compared to many today that use 1 gallon! These improvements can pay for themselves within 1 year as well as protect you against the $800 water bill (since the unit is brand new).

Read your water bill the next time it comes in the mail and see if you can stop those pennies, dimes and even dollars from going down the drain.