Need a recommendations - Parker, CO

[George Ganis]

I am a relatively new landlord and need some guidance and a couple of recommendations for my rental house in Parker, CO.

This was my first tenant and boy did they do a number on the house ,they left it a mess. I am going to try to do some of the repairs myself. For the things that are more than wear and tear, how do you all determine the amount to withhold from the security deposit (i.e., since I am not paying someone else to do it)?

For the things I do not plan on doing myself, If you have any tips / leads on the following, it would be greatly appreciated:

1. Carpet - it is stained beyond cleaning. Any leads on where to pay less? Do you all just purchase the cheapest, or is it worth investing in something sturdier? Where do you buy it?
2. House cleaning - I need someone who will scrub grime off the walls etc, not just dust and vacuum - any recommendations on the south side of Denver?
3. Painter - the entire inside of the house.

Thank you,

George

[Bill S.]

@George Ganis my sympathy regarding the condition of your house. It really takes the wind out of the sails of RE investing to have to deal with this. So a few questions before moving on to answer your questions.

Why won't you be pursuing your former tenant for the costs of repairs beyond the security deposit? The usual method of handling this is to hire the work done and bill the tenant for the amount not covered by the security deposit. If they don't pay go to small claims court and get a judgment. Once you have the judgment then you can garnish their bank account or wages. The law protects you if you follow it.

You need to provide accounting for the security deposit to the tenant within 30 days (60 if your lease allows for that). If you don't do this you lose all rights to claim loses and can be required to pay tenant 3 times their SD. Do Not Skip this even if you don't plan on pursuing them for the difference. You cannot just keep the SD to cover your expenses. You must provide account for what you keep. Sounds like you know this hence the question about how to determine the amount to with hold from the SD.

I don't know what the judges in Douglas County allow landlords to charge for their own labor. You might be able to call the court and ask. You might be able to call a lawyer specializing in evictions and ask what Doug Co allows.

As for finding people to do the work, my approach is Craig's List. Post under gigs a detailed scope of work and some specific directions for the responders to follow in their reply. I have them confirm that they will work on a fixed price bid. Meet the best 3 responders and interview them and get them to give you the fixed price bid. NO hourly. Get references and check them, cross check information so that the references aren't just friends or employees. You will likely find someone good to do the work if you screen carefully. Put them in your address book and you are way ahead next time. I typically pay $15 per hour for cleaning and it goes up from there. A good handyman usually can't be had for less than $25 per hour and most want more. Don't be fooled by a cheap price, you want quality at a good. Price is only one consideration.

If you are married, absolutely don't have your wife do the cleaning. It is not worth the brain damage, especially this time of year. I would strongly recommend hiring all the work out. It will get done faster and cheaper. Think about the vacancy costs. Say it takes 3 weeks for you to bust your butt and get it all done but if you hired it out you would be done in a week. In 3 weeks you are looking at the end of December (Christmas). You likely won't find a tenant before February 1. If you pay someone they might have it done for showings this weekend. You would then have someone paying rent Jan 1. Say rent and utilities is $1,500, you could pay a cleaning person for 100 hours worth of work and a handyman for 60 hours worth of work.

Get it cleaned before you start deciding what needs to be painted and what needs to be repaired. A good cleaning goes a long ways in making the place presentable. The carpet, consider replacing it with a hard surface if it's a long term hold. Allure at HD is a very durable economic covering that many landlords like. If tenants want cloth floor coverings tell them to use throw rugs. Carpet is a huge waste of money and time.

Before you jump the gun on the carpet replacement, have a carpet company look at it. Find one that specializes in rentals as they know how to handle all the routine issues. I use Colorado Carpet Cleaning. Tell them you are a landlord and you need help determining what to do with the carpet. They might come out and look at it. There are lots of things they can do. You might consider dying it a darker color after it's cleaned but all the spots don't completely come out.

Also regarding the painting, you might be able to address some of the needs by adding an accent wall instead of repainting the whole room. Sure if you try and match the same old color it will show but if you add a neutral accent color then perhaps only one wall needs paint. Sometimes just painting the trim will spruce the place up as well. Hint if you use the same color as the previous you only need to paint the face of the trim so you don't have to worry about the walls

Finally remember this isn't your personal residence. It doesn't have to be perfect. People spend less than 15 minutes going through the place. Make it shine but be careful not to over do it. If you wonder, have one of your female friends (not your wife) walk through the place and let you know what they notice. Fix EVERYTHING they point out no mater how difficult.

Sorry it's so long, hope it helps.