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Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes

This is me sucking water off a renters floor just before midnight. Record rains at 10:30pm for about half an hour. Every street was flowing like a river. Five tenants and five different properties called me to report flooding. I suspect there are many more, but most tenants were probably asleep when it happened. This is the only one I was able to help.

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Henry T.

Member since 2022 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes

We've all been there. Some legit some not so. I got a call at night once. Tenant said the front porch light was not working, and was afraid he might fall in the dark. I drove out there at 10pm, easily reached up, didn't have to stand on anything, took out the light bulb, tried a new one, bingo, it works. That stupid little call put him at the top of every rent increase from then on. Landlords don't forget.

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Kim Meredith HamptonBusiness Member
Real Estate Broker · St Petersburg · Member since 2014 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
4y
@Nathan Gesner you deserve the day off!!
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Katelyn Andrews
Real Estate Agent · Middle Georgia · Member since 2020 · 54 posts · 32 votes
4y
@Nathan Gesner definitely not fun!
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John UnderwoodPro Member
Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
4y
My phone goes into DND mode after 9AM so I wouldn't have known about this until the next day.
One time there was a water leak, when the tenants couldn't reach me they called the fire department and they came out and turned off the water. My handyman went the next day and fixed the problem.
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Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
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Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
4y
Quote from @Kim Meredith Hampton:

@Nathan Gesner you deserve the day off!!

HA! In bed by 12:30am, back up at 6:30am for my morning BP posts. It's just an opportunity to remind new investors that it ain't all about money; there's work involved.
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Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
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Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
4y
Quote from @John Underwood:

I'm a property manager and have to be available for emergency calls. I could have told them to "suck it up" but I like to go above and beyond.
400 rentals and I only get 3-4 calls a month after hours, most of which can be solved over the phone or delayed until the next day.

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Karl B.
Rental Property Investor · Erie, PA · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
4y
I can't believe you let your renters see your bare feet!
I always wear shoes as I don't want my renters knowing I have dog paws for feet.
I almost never get legit after-hour emergency calls. I don't think I've ever had a legitimate one. I remember one tenant telling me the fridge was leaking water (the fridge came with the property - I don't buy fridges that have water/ice cube makers as those tend to leak/cause issues).
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Scott E.
Contractor · Scottsdale, AZ · Member since 2010 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes
4y
It's awesome that you were there for your tenant at this hour of the night. I'm sure some of those tenants were in a complete panic to see water in their homes. Plus you acting fast likely helped to avoid further damages.
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Henry T.
Member since 2022 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
4y
Quote from @Scott E.:

It's awesome that you were there for your tenant at this hour of the night. I'm sure some of those tenants were in a complete panic to see water in their homes. Plus you acting fast likely helped to avoid further damages.

I agree. Add to the fact that this PM may not even be the owner. Above and beyond call of duty. I try to avoid those after hours calls, but sometimes, especially if it's doing damage, you gotta go. If I ever innterview a PM I may have to ask..."If it was 12:30 am, and there was a flood, would you etc, etc, ??"
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Sergey A. Petrov
Real Estate Consultant · Seattle, WA · Member since 2022 · 1k+ posts · 784 votes
4y
@Nathan Gesner better be getting paid double rate for his time! If I am on the receiving end of that call, I ask tenants to contain and clean up as needed then call a restoration company if needed. First, my insurance doesn’t cover “physical work”. Second, I am by no means a water clean up professional. I manage and facilitate. I am not the guy with a tool belt.
But yes, there was a time when was down in elevator shafts retrieving dropped keys and wallets, driving out in the middle of the night to meet a plumber or an electrician or someone else because someone failed to return keys in the lockbox, and a plethora of other things!
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Ned J.Pro Member
Investor · Manteca, CA · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
4y
Glamourous life....
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Adam Martin
Rental Property Investor · Member since 2020 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
4y
I’ve been there, went to check on a heater not working at 11pm on Valentine’s Day only to find they never changed the filter and I didn’t think to ask before I went. You need to get a good carpet shampooer. Not only do they clean they suck water from spills or situations you found yourself in. I have one of the rug doctors you used to be able to rent before they changed the design and it has came in handy when I overflowed a fish tank.
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Henry T.
Member since 2022 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
4y
We've all been there. Some legit some not so. I got a call at night once. Tenant said the front porch light was not working, and was afraid he might fall in the dark. I drove out there at 10pm, easily reached up, didn't have to stand on anything, took out the light bulb, tried a new one, bingo, it works. That stupid little call put him at the top of every rent increase from then on. Landlords don't forget.
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Patti RobertsonBusiness Member
Property Manager · Virginia Beach, VA · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
4y
Are you seriously in your bare feet on a tenant's floor? YUCK!!! I did a couple of onboarding inspections today and made sure to replace my flip flops with closed toed sneakers before I went. I'm not a germaphobe, but some of these tenants don't have a clue what it means to clean.
757-472-2547
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Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
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Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
4y
Quote from @Sergey A. Petrov:

@Nathan Gesner better be getting paid double rate for his time!

$100 and you can check out my new 5-star review in Google!
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Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
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Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
4y
Quote from @Patti Robertson:

Are you seriously in your bare feet on a tenant's floor? YUCK!!!
True story. In the summer of 2016 I was hired to take over management of a property with bad tenants. I scheduled my initial inspection in the temperatures were projected to be in the 90s, so I showed up in shorts and flip-flops. As soon as I walked in I noticed a terrible odor. Long story short, the basement had about three inches of standing sewage with toilet paper and feces floating throughout the space. They had set two by fours down on the ground to create a walking path to the bedrooms where their children slept. I had a picture of my flip flop feet and sewage floating next to it. LOL!
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger!

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Patti RobertsonBusiness Member
Property Manager · Virginia Beach, VA · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
4y
@Nathan Gesner - LOL. That beats the worst of my stories! My worst was an apartment building I took over that had a tub filled to the brim with feces because the tenant hadn't had water turned on in a long time. The flies were insane.
757-472-2547
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Salvatore Lentini
Rental Property Investor · Doylestown, PA · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
4y
@Nathan Gesner - I don't answer calls that late but why is it that it seems like 90% of tenants call with a major problem after 5pm on a Friday so that you have to pay "Emergency Rate" with contractors? Ha!
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Victor S.
WorldWide · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
4y
Quote from @Patti Robertson:

Are you seriously in your bare feet on a tenant's floor? YUCK!!! I did a couple of onboarding inspections today and made sure to replace my flip flops with closed toed sneakers before I went. I'm not a germaphobe, but some of these tenants don't have a clue what it means to clean.

floors were freshly washed
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Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
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Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
4y
Quote from @Salvatore Lentini:

@Nathan Gesner - I don't answer calls that late but why is it that it seems like 90% of tenants call with a major problem after 5pm on a Friday so that you have to pay "Emergency Rate" with contractors? Ha!

That's why it has to be a true emergency. Fire, flood, or blood!
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