What are the painful landlord problems no one is talking about?

Question

MY QUESTION: Landlords, what are your most painful problems (that you know how to handle), yet they keep happening?

MY THOUGHT PROCESS: I notice a lot of landlords posting unique one-off problems or situations. It's usually something they never ran into before.

What I never see are veteran landlords posting about their biggest nuisance problems. I guess I want to know what painful problems landlords have that they handle and wish they didn't have to deal with. You know... The things that happen again and again, that you know how to handle, but can't prevent from happening.

Jake Wiley · Answer

The short answer is that stuff breaks.  It always goes south at the most inconvenient time and, now more than ever, it's hard to find either parts or help to get out there timely.    You've got to be mentally prepared for it, otherwise it is this type of thing that will drive you out of the game.

Try to buy appliances etc that are very common and were made by the millions or can be replaced simply.

I once got a great deal on two HVAC systems for a duplex we had, we ended up having to replace them because they failed often and there simply weren't parts to fix it and my HVAC guy almost fired me as a customer because he even got tired of trying to deal with it.

Water heaters, ovens, refrigerators, HVAC systems etc.   Something will stop working and having systems that you can go down to the parts store and pick up a replacement part is absolutely critical.

Great question.

Linda S. · Answer

@Rene G.,

The one ongoing frustration I have with tenants,  where there really isn't a great solution (yes, I know  I can put stuff in my lease) is extra guests.    I have it in my lease,  no one can stay over 5 days or they are required to do a background check and be added.

Anytime I rent to a single person, thinking-- great-- only 1 person, minimal wear/tear on stuff, nope... it's a guaranteed 2-3.  I rented a small 1bd, apartment, and guess who I often see over there-- his girlfriend and her 3 kids.  It's very rare to rent to 1 person, and have it actually just be 1 person.   I rented a large 3bd, 2 bth house to a couple and their adult daughter,  what I didn't expect is what think is like 3-5 kids running around, but you can't really get upset if she is baby sitting, or just visiting for the holidays?  Most of the time, they are good tenants meaning they pay and take care of the place, but it's an ongoing frustration.

I now call this the "Rule of Plus 2" --- anytime you rent to someone, realize on average there will be +2 people living with them.   It's not frustrating enough to get rid of a good paying tenant who takes care of the place, but it's an annoyance you should likely expect if you do anything under a "B" rental.

As @Jake Wiley said, being a landlord is just a continual game of wack-a-mole maintenance.   You can take care of everything, but it's just a matter of time before something else comes up, you don't know what's coming, but it is.      I take pride in keeping my renatls in great shape, but it's just life, you roll with it.  Especially when you have a lot of rentals, it's ongoing-- stuff breaks.  Appliances aren't supposed to last forever.  It's just part of the game and IMO should be expected.

Karl B. · Answer

For me... tenants not reporting water leaks. I've become more proactive in checking the water meters from time to time and when it's constantly moving I investigate. But it's a major pain. For some reason when I ask all tenants if there's a leak or a drip half the time they'll say no when there clearly is.

I just stopped a leak in one of my 4-units by having the plumber replace all the old toilets and by replacing any dripping sinks. I despise wasted water and higher bills.

JD Martin · Answer

Biggest nuisance problems are obtrusive repairs that have to be done with a tenant in place. Examples: repairing interior damage from a roof leak, water damage, changing a water heater in a living space, etc.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

Late or non-payment of rent, early terminations, unauthorized guests or animals. Those are common problems I deal with every month. I have solid processes, so it's pretty routine, but I still hate having to deal with them.

Joe Martella · Answer

I couldn't agree with @Jake Wiley.  When the phone rings or I receive a text message I would use to hope and pray that there wasn't anything from my tenant.

I have a tenant that likes to take a picture of his check and text it to me before mailing it.  Even though I know that is what he does, I still cringe and think "what now?"

Nothing breaks at a time when you are free.  I had the heat stop working on a Sunday at 8:00 pm.  The company I have a contract with couldn't get out due to increased service calls and it was going to be 15 degrees that night.  Nothing I could do about that, but it was still something I felt bad about.

Things will break and leak, you just have to be mentally prepared for it and be able to recognize what is an emergency and what is not and have people lined up that can help you with the process.

Rene G. · Answer

Thanks for all the good info!

What are the painful landlord problems no one is talking about?

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