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We have a few rental properties but this is a new one on me.
Had one set of tenants for 3 years. Couple. Woman has a very secure university job in town. Man is an "artist" and former handyman who works from home. Woman qualified for the space on her own income. They are in their 30s.
No problems at all year one or two. We put in a new utility sink at their request and because frankly the basement needed one. Nothing else of note. Rent paid on time.
In the last 6 weeks we have gotten calls about:
-washing machine being broken (sent a repair guy and ended up replacing even though it was only 9years old. The last owners put it in and it wasn't a great model.)
-water bill was more than double what it normally is. We pay water. We have a clause saying it is their responsibility if the charge is over a certain limit. This was the summer bill and it's been a record year for rain. The house has a single bathroom but it does have a nice garden which can use up water. But again record rain year. We inspected and could not find a leak. Called a plumber who thought the old washing machine was probably leaking. So we covered the bill with a warning in writing that we would not do so again and reference back to the lease. No problems had been reported by the tenants until the machine broke (no leaks.)
-After this the male tenant decided to seal a brick wall. The house has exposed brick in a few of the rooms. My husband told him he could in 2017. We got a bill for the work with a picture of the receipt a few days after we told them about the water bill. Definitely shady. Asking for a rent credit. The charge was nominal and we inspected the work which was decent. We asked that he formally bill us for reimbursement and he did but the rent stayed as is. We paid via check. It has not yet been cashed.
-Today the glass top stove is broken. Why? Because one of the pendant lights that hangs above it "fell" when the kitchen door was closed. No damage to the light. Stove top is cracked but still operational. We are not in a hurry to replace it given the holidays and recent expense with this unit. The stove is about 5 years old. I should note that we lived in this house for a year while renovating and had tenants before these people. Never during all of this time did any pendant lights fall on anything.
So as I said, this is all of a sudden. We are feeling very cautious as it seems to be....off. The house was redone top to bottom before we rented it and we lived there so are very familiar with the issues it has. Don't want to accuse anyone of anything but need to put a stop to this trend.
What is all of a sudden? A few things popped up. An old cruddy washing machine died and may have been leaking. A light broke/fell.
Not sure what is shady about the brick. They were told they could do it. They did it.
This isn't much at all.
It's just strange that this unit suddenly needs a lot of expensive repairs. In my experience as a landlord that doesn't just happen in clusters. You get a request now and again... not all in 6 weeks.
We did not agree that the wall should be sealed in this time frame. That's on us. We should have revisited when the lease was renewed and asked about it. My husband forgot was even discussed. Then we mentioned the water bill and suddenly we are getting a bill from them. The whole thing is just strange.
This sounds like a whole lot of nothing to me. Things happen. Especially if they’ve been there multiple years, things will pop up.
A washing machine that is 9+ years old is probably at the end of its useful life if it has been used consistently. Not their fault.
If a plumber came out and said the washing machine was leaking, it probsbly was. I’m not sure why a warning was issued to the tenants when it appears the plumber identified that a piece of equipment that was furnished by the landlord probably caused the overage.
And they completed a project you signed off on, what’s the issue with that?
Again, sounds like just a few minor things here and there.
This sounds like a whole lot of nothing to me. Things happen. Especially if they’ve been there multiple years, things will pop up.
A washing machine that is 9+ years old is probably at the end of its useful life if it has been used consistently. Not their fault.
If a plumber came out and said the washing machine was leaking, it probsbly was. I’m not sure why a warning was issued to the tenants when it appears the plumber identified that a piece of equipment that was furnished by the landlord probably caused the overage.
And they completed a project you signed off on, what’s the issue with that?
Again, sounds like just a few minor things here and there.
The plumber said it could have been the washing machine. One of the neighbors said that the tenant is always powerwashing the back patio and walkway- that he told her he got "a new toy". We thought nothing of it until we got a high water bill. But we didn't know for sure if that was the root cause. So we told them about the bill but covered it. If the machine was leaking we would have undoubtedly heard about it. We asked them after the bill and they say they had not seen anything. It would have been obvious.
Replacing a stove and washing machine back to back is not "a few minor things" when at least one of these has several years left on it.
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
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Why replace the stove and not just the glass if it has several years left? I've had that done (someone dropped a cast iron pan on mine). Still seems minor in the grand scheme.
Why replace the stove and not just the glass if it has several years left? I've had that done (someone dropped a cast iron pan on mine). Still seems minor in the grand scheme.
We priced it. It's a higher end model and it will be about the same to get a cheap stove as it will be to replace the glass. We put in nice appliances because they tend to cost less over time but not with these people. The warranty just ended on the stove.
I'd be thankful the tenants have remained 3+ years and would be thankful they're paying. Old washer you have to expect a breakdown. Expect another as you have it fixed and not replaced. With the brick wall it seems you didn't communicate as to who was paying for it. If it enhanced or keeps water from entering your bldg it's a plus for you and I would pay or deduct it from their rent. The glass on their stove is broken therefore they can't cook. Needs to be replaced no question. Not sure how the pendant light fell. Perhaps go over and inspect that to see how it occurred. Sometimes things do go at once. If you want to keep your tenants happy I'd do the repairs or replacements. If they move you'll have more then that to do as I'm sue it will need to be repainted and brightened up. It sounds as though you both do try to communicate you just need to expect things to go occasionally and sometimes they do go all at once.
Ignoring the wall since that was a cosmetic renovation that you approved ahead of time; all of these things are perfectly common and pretty standard for any household. Just because they rent doesn't mean everything will stay in perfect shape until they end the lease, machines will break due to age and normal use, things will get loose and might fall after the millionth slam from a door. The important part is the tenant responds to the issues and informs you as soon as possible so that you can note the issues and fix them as any person who owns a home and sees repairs needing to be made.
These tenants sound like their one in a million. They're responsible and pay on time, for the most part take good care of the home, and are stable members of the community that don't seem like trouble. They alert you to issues rather then try to fix it on their own and have even made appropriate updates to the home after getting permission first. Even when you disagreed on how to repay for the wall renovation, they accepted the check and continued to pay their rent with no problem (it's possible they don't go to the bank that often hence asking for rent credit to make it more convenient)....so I really don't see where your problems start? Instead of blaming them you need to plan on future repairs on the home and emergencies. Appliances will break and while there are averages on how long they can be used it's not perfect. My parents have had to pretty much replace all their high end appliances due to mechanical issues or pieces breaking after only a year (thanks Samsung).
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