Landlord Nightmare "FROZEN PIPES WATER POURRING IN UNIT"

[Gary Robert Burnham Jr.]

So...If you have been a property owner for long enough in the colder climates its inevitable that the call comes in during the sub freezing temps.  "Hey I noticed water pourring into the unit from above can you get here now to help."  Not sure if anyone has experienced this but I have a couple times and that call makes my stomach turn over and my palms sweaty.   I used to race over there as fast as I could speed dialing my plumber hoping he picks up to ask him what to do before they can get over there to stop the water!  As I am driving the internal cash register we all have just simply keep ringing cha-ching......not to mention the possibility of ruining the tenants stuff.   Finally after a couple of these calls its super important to stay home and instruct the tenant what to do.  Heres what I do now.....STAY HOME AND DIRECT THE TENANT TO TURN THE MAIN WATER VALVE OFF IN THE BASEMENT!!  Just simply turn the water off to the whole house.  This will stop all the water in the house.  Yeah you will get calls from the other tenants whats going on.  Just explain to them what happened and I promise you no one is going to be upside down about it.  This has helped me and is the protocol moving forward. Train all tenants where the valve is in the basement and use a spray paint can or some sort of sign with an arrow to show them where the valve is.  You can even tell them what direction to turn the valve in to shut it off.  Do not assume anything.  

1. Tell the tenant to go into the basement