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The only thing I could think of is that maybe the landlord made sure the property was fixed up before they rented it and when people sell their home they tend to fix as little as they can just in order to get by ??????
Usually it’s the other way around but it depends more on individuals than renting vs primary residence.
For a year while selling, buying and renovating I lived in a rental. The upstairs AC needed fixing and the downstairs needed replacing. The dishwasher needed a repair as well. The home was about 10 years old and had been a rental for most of that time.
One cold winter the heat upstairs (there was a two-zone heat system) stopped working. Well, the landlord was off to Europe for a month, and the maintenance guy was visiting family for a couple of weeks in Costa Rica, so we had no choice but to go out and buy space heaters so we wouldn't freeze to death in our bedrooms at night.
The glass in the window over the back door was missing when we moved in, and we asked the landlord to replace it but he didn't, so we put heavy cardboard and a piece of heavy fabric over it (this was in an entryway with a pantry that led to the kitchen.) When I moved five years later, the landlord tried to ding me for that missing window and take it out of my security until I sent him a copy of the letter we'd sent noting things that were wrong when we moved in.
If you have no heat, you can withhold rent. The LL is required to keep the place habitable. A lack of heat is one thing that can be deducted.
I don't even understand missing glass in an entryway door -- isn't that a safety hazard? Anyone could easily break in if glass is missing.
Well, a lot depends on your personal philosophy and your finances. Some things that have cost me more money than I'd like are things like landscaping and lawn maintenance. You can spend a lot on having someone plant shrubs or mulching. And it costs money to either have a lawn service or to go get the weeder and fertilizer and mower and all that stuff yourself and do it. Also things like snow removal and driveway maintenance. But, I suppose the only thing you *really* have to do is keep the lawn mowed. Unless you have a HOA, you could let the grass get weedy and not put in or maintain bushes and trees. You would, though, have to remove a tree that was obviously dead or sick because it would then be a hazard where it could fall on your house, a neighbor's house or the street. But if you really wanted didn't care, you could spend just a minimum amount on keeping the lawn mowed.
We replaced our deck because the wood was not in great shape and replaced most of it with trex-type boards. It would have cost less to just replace the wood, but we preferred the Trex because it would last longer and be lower maintenance. But if you didn't want the deck at all, you could just not repair it and not use it (until it came time to sell or it got to the point where it was a genuine safety hazard.)
We have had to replace a hot water heater a few times. It's annoying when it comes up because you often don't have lots of notice, but depending on where you are, it could be anywhere from $500 to $2000. We've also had to replace some shingles on a roof and shutters that blew off during a storm. We replaced our mailbox because we wanted a nicer one, and sometimes people have to replace them because a car runs over the old one.
We replaced our HVAC system and that was a significant expense, but we wanted one that would really cool the house well, and had a nice user interface. Our house had two separate systems, and if we had wanted to, we could have replaced only one, or just continued to put fluid in them each year. Or, if we didn't care about air conditioning, could have foregone that part altogether.
We replaced our refrigerator when it broke and got one that we loved -- very large capacity, stainless steel, extra cooling drawer. But we could have replaced it with a basic refrigerator that was $500 or maybe even less. Heck, we could have even searched for a used one.
Some people, like us, spend quite a bit on cosmetic things -- painting the rooms, putting in nice light fixtures, getting furniture and artwork that fits perfectly in a room, getting area rugs that match our color scheme, getting a patio set for our deck, putting new tile in our bathroom shower and floor, repaving our front walkway, planting a container flower garden on our patio, getting a nice fireplace screen, putting in towels that match our bathroom, etc. They make the house look nice and make us happy. But some people don't care about these things at all, and therefore don't spend any money (or spend minimal money ) on them.
We've done things like put in a new roof, replaced the siding, replaced appliances, replaced the hot water heater, replaced the garbage disposal, put in a new garage door opener, put in new garage doors, replaced doors and windows, and had to replace a shower that had never been properly sealed and there was mold underneath it. That one led to us redoing the entire bathroom and spending many thousands of dollars. But, if we had just wanted to repair the shower damage, we could have and it would have been just a few thousand dollars.
In the ongoing discussions around buying vs renting, one of the arguments against buying is that houses cost a lot of money due to repairs. Which repairs would this be?
I've lived in a rental house for the last two years. In this time, I haven't had to report any issues or problems to the property manager. Nothing has broken. The kitchen sink got a little stopped up, but I just used a sink plunger to take care of that.
Of course, houses will need a new roof or HVAC after 20 years or so. The fridge or stove may go out after 10 years or so. Maybe windows would need to be replaced in 10+ years. However, these are not constant expenses. These are known "cost of ownership" items that homeowners should tuck away a little money every month for such expenses. It will build up over 10-20 years.
Am I missing something? What are all these repairs everyone keeps talking about?
In real estate, land appraises and the structures on the land depreciate. Over time homes rot. They're made out of wood. They also go out of style. Open floor plans are in high demand over traditional (closed off rooms with formals), changing an old outdated home can run 50-200k to upgrade. Floorboards rot/warp. Foundations can crumble. The frames around windows can leak/rot. Water heaters will rust. Siding with rot or break apart. Appliances will go bad or become old and out of style.
In order to keep up with the times, you could easily spend a ton of money keeping your home current and safe. You could also ignore everything I've mentioned above and have an investor buy your home and spend the money once you're ready to sell. Many choose this path either through lack of funds or other reasons.
The answer to a LL that doesn't do maintenance is to MOVE OUT. Or in the case of the broken window pane on an entry door that was broken BEFORE you moved in, is to not rent that unit and keep looking for a better place. I know moving is hard and can be expensive, but to keep taking this kind of crap, and then keep renewing your lease is not JUST the LL's fault. You have to accept responsibility for not holding him accountable by taking your rent money elsewhere.
You do have a point, but that really wasn't an option at the time, and I knew I'd have to live there no more than five years until my kid graduated from high school.
Still, I will note his cheesiness despite it being my choice. He was quite wealthy, a veterinarian who was the owner of two animal hospitals in affluent towns and the owner of a number of rental houses in town. This showed a poor side his character that most people did not see.
Eh, it's been ten years. God'll get him, if he hasn't already.
If you have no heat, you can withhold rent. The LL is required to keep the place habitable. A lack of heat is one thing that can be deducted.
I don't even understand missing glass in an entryway door -- isn't that a safety hazard? Anyone could easily break in if glass is missing.
No, it wasn't a safety hazard. Sorry for the lack of clarity--it was the back door entrance to the house, which went into an entryway/pantry area, and then there was another lockable exterior-type door that led to the kitchen. The missing glass was a separate rectangular window above the outermost door. It let cold air/bugs into the entryway, so we covered it ourselves.
In real estate, land appraises and the structures on the land depreciate. Over time homes rot. They're made out of wood. They also go out of style. Open floor plans are in high demand over traditional (closed off rooms with formals), changing an old outdated home can run 50-200k to upgrade. Floorboards rot/warp. Foundations can crumble. The frames around windows can leak/rot. Water heaters will rust. Siding with rot or break apart. Appliances will go bad or become old and out of style.
In order to keep up with the times, you could easily spend a ton of money keeping your home current and safe. You could also ignore everything I've mentioned above and have an investor buy your home and spend the money once you're ready to sell. Many choose this path either through lack of funds or other reasons.
We call those homes Handyman Specials.
The real estate agents call them "homes with great potential".
If you have no heat, you can withhold rent. The LL is required to keep the place habitable. A lack of heat is one thing that can be deducted.
I don't even understand missing glass in an entryway door -- isn't that a safety hazard? Anyone could easily break in if glass is missing.
I would simply reimburse for the space heaters while the heater was replaced. Now if I was on vacation I would expect the tenant to understand that I can’t get on it immediately. I let my tenants know when I’m out of town and I usually have a friend who is a handyman they can call if there is a issue.
Unless you're like us and you understand you're getting into a house that will need some updating before something fails. In my particular scenario, I bought a house that was still a better deal than many turnkey properties after the calculated repairs were factored in. It was a rental that was being sold off by an out-of-state investment company.
Purchase price $120k's
Within the first year, we made some non-emergency repairs:
- Remove old 3-tab shingles and replace with GAF 50-year shingles, used about 7 sheets of plywood replacing sheathing, was not aware of intrusion until I looked in attic the week before the roofers were scheduled to arrive
- Replaced 15 y/o HVAC and duct work, entry-level Trane XR14 heat pump and new air handler
- Removed old broken fence and replaced with 6 ft privacy fence, standard treated lumber
- Replaced kitchen counter tops (nothing special, no solid surface)
- Paint throughout
Granted it was a very small home under 1100 SF, but it's not negligible work by any means. I've planned some other things to accomplish in this next year:
- Blow in additional attic insulation, right now I'm at only about 4-6" of fill (it's a truss roof, can't finish the upstairs into livable space, boo)
- Replace crawlspace batt insulation (it appears to be falling down, batts disintegrating)
--------------------------------
It was truly a basic house in it's day, and still by today's standards. I'm not sure I'll get around to replacing the siding and windows, but if I experience any rot or damage, I sure will.
The only emergency repair we've had to make is replacing a braided hose coming off the water heater, outlet side, had a pinhole leak, was misting under the house. Went ahead and replaced both with flexible hose. Unit itself is old but has not indicated any leaks from the tank itself or deterioration. I'll keep it until it convinces me otherwise.
It appears that much of what you have called non-emergency repairs are actually discretionary replacements; replacements that a tenant does have the privilege of electing to do. A tenant might not care about a roof but an owner can elect to change a roof long before its useful life has come to an end if they just want a different color. An HVAC system can also be replaced long before its time is up and even create an energy saving for the owner while the tenant will bear the expense of an inefficient system. Tenants don't get to decide if they even want a fence, much less what type and style.
Paint, flooring, tile and fixtures are all things that often get changed by owners simply because they want a change, rather than need one; the tenant does not have that option nor are they free to change appliances for aesthetic or efficiency purposes. It is the rare landlord who will upgrade insulation as they are not the ones bearing the utility bills.
An owner who does not make necessary repairs hurts himself but there is a big difference between those changes an owner simply chooses to make and those that are necessary. Many of the expenses claimed in this thread are clearly discretionary and not necessary. A robotic pool cleaner is hardly a necessity. At the same time a tenant is often powerless to change some quality of life issues an owner is free to at any time; that is certainly a consideration.
In the ongoing discussions around buying vs renting, one of the arguments against buying is that houses cost a lot of money due to repairs. Which repairs would this be?
I've lived in a rental house for the last two years. In this time, I haven't had to report any issues or problems to the property manager. Nothing has broken. The kitchen sink got a little stopped up, but I just used a sink plunger to take care of that.
Of course, houses will need a new roof or HVAC after 20 years or so. The fridge or stove may go out after 10 years or so. Maybe windows would need to be replaced in 10+ years. However, these are not constant expenses. These are known "cost of ownership" items that homeowners should tuck away a little money every month for such expenses. It will build up over 10-20 years.
Am I missing something? What are all these repairs everyone keeps talking about?
Live in that same rental house for 10-15 years and you might have a different story,
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