Tenant wants new appliances

[Michela Adrian]

Hello all, I have a new tenant that just moved into our investment property last month. Prior to the move-in we completed background checks, references etc and did a walk though. A few days after moving in the tenant purchased a new ceiling fan for the bathroom because they were worried about mold. There was no mold in the old fan but we installed the new one. Now the tenant is worried about the dishwasher having mold in it and they are requesting a replacement. My questions are:

1. Do we have to pay the tenant back for the fan?

2. Do we have to replace the dishwasher? I do not think there is mold in it.

Thank you!

[Theresa Harris]

No.  It sounds like a problem tenant. They viewed the property and saw the condition.  Unless you promised them new appliances when they viewed it, the answer is no.  If they run the dishwasher through a cycle with hot water and ensure water doesn't sit in it, it will be fine.  Stop the behaviour before they have you replacing things that don't need replacing.  You can also tell them if they aren't happy, they can break the lease now before they move in and give them 48 hours to decide.

[Alyssa Wright]

My follow-up question regarding the fan is was there any previous issues with the ventilation in the bathroom that would justify their concerns with the mold? If not, then I would not pay them back for the fan as it was not a necessary update. If you really wanted to go there, you could even charge them for the labor if you had your own people install it. 

I'm assuming you had the property cleaned before move-in and at least checked the dishwasher to confirm that it was not moldy. I would not replace the dishwasher but let them know that they would be able to as long as they covered the cost of replacement. Just note that if they pay for the dishwasher, you're probably going to have to let them take it with them when they leave so keep the old one. 

Honestly, this just sounds like the tenant may just be a bit of a clean-freak/paranoid. If you agree to replace these items, I'd be willing to bet that they'd just assume that they can get you to replace any appliance they just don't look of. 

[Mary Smith]

I would say no and no to both of your questions. If the tenant had mentioned that they needed these appliances replaced before they moved into the unit, then that's a different story. However, they cannot be making these demands now and expect you to pay for it. 
You can supply them with a few dishwasher cleaning pods, so that they can run a cleaning cycle on it. But there's no need to replace the dishwasher or even pay them back for the fan, since it was their idea to replace it. 

[Michela Adrian]

Wow thanks for all of the advice! I really appreciate it. 

To answer your question Alyssa: no there were no problems with ventilation prior, she was just worried that there was mold in the fan. 

I was able to get back to condo today to look at the dishwasher. The tenant has run a few cleaning cycles and it is much cleaner however they also have taken it apart and found that there is mold in the drain area (see photo, sorry it is kind of gross). The dishwasher works fine. Should I replace it due to this kind of mold? Or get a professional cleaner? Let me know what you think. Thank you!

[Michela Adrian]

Quote from @Alyssa Wright:

My follow-up question regarding the fan is was there any previous issues with the ventilation in the bathroom that would justify their concerns with the mold? If not, then I would not pay them back for the fan as it was not a necessary update. If you really wanted to go there, you could even charge them for the labor if you had your own people install it. 

I'm assuming you had the property cleaned before move-in and at least checked the dishwasher to confirm that it was not moldy. I would not replace the dishwasher but let them know that they would be able to as long as they covered the cost of replacement. Just note that if they pay for the dishwasher, you're probably going to have to let them take it with them when they leave so keep the old one. 

Honestly, this just sounds like the tenant may just be a bit of a clean-freak/paranoid. If you agree to replace these items, I'd be willing to bet that they'd just assume that they can get you to replace any appliance they just don't look of. 

 Thanks for the advice! Yes, the place was cleaned prior to them moving in and it was confirmed that the dishwasher was working. I agree that it seems they are just very worried about the mold. Im not sure what to do quite yet, see my new post above. I appreciate it:)

[Michela Adrian]

Quote from @Theresa Harris:

No.  It sounds like a problem tenant. They viewed the property and saw the condition.  Unless you promised them new appliances when they viewed it, the answer is no.  If they run the dishwasher through a cycle with hot water and ensure water doesn't sit in it, it will be fine.  Stop the behaviour before they have you replacing things that don't need replacing.  You can also tell them if they aren't happy, they can break the lease now before they move in and give them 48 hours to decide.

 Thanks for the advice!

[Alyssa Wright]

Quote from @Michela Adrian:

Wow thanks for all of the advice! I really appreciate it. 

To answer your question Alyssa: no there were no problems with ventilation prior, she was just worried that there was mold in the fan. 

I was able to get back to condo today to look at the dishwasher. The tenant has run a few cleaning cycles and it is much cleaner however they also have taken it apart and found that there is mold in the drain area (see photo, sorry it is kind of gross). The dishwasher works fine. Should I replace it due to this kind of mold? Or get a professional cleaner? Let me know what you think. Thank you!

 Is it possible to just have the moldy portion of the drain replaced without replacing the entire dishwasher? If not, I would still recommend going ahead with a professional cleaning company that has experience with mold remediation (make sure they send before and after pictures as well), if you really wanted you could give a small credit to the tenant to make them happy as well but 100% not required. 

[JD Martin]

Quote from @Michela Adrian:

Wow thanks for all of the advice! I really appreciate it. 

To answer your question Alyssa: no there were no problems with ventilation prior, she was just worried that there was mold in the fan. 

I was able to get back to condo today to look at the dishwasher. The tenant has run a few cleaning cycles and it is much cleaner however they also have taken it apart and found that there is mold in the drain area (see photo, sorry it is kind of gross). The dishwasher works fine. Should I replace it due to this kind of mold? Or get a professional cleaner? Let me know what you think. Thank you!

 That's pretty disgusting and says that your cleaners suck. It takes less than 30 seconds to take the arm off and the glass/junk filter out of the dishwasher. That hasn't been cleaned in years and appears to have been left with water in it and the door closed and not run in a long time. 

If the place is vacant leave the dishwasher door cracked open. And your cleaners should be cleaning that. I would not replace the dishwasher because of that as it can easily be cleaned, or even replaced if you wanted to go that far. 

[Dave Spooner]

Quote from @Mary Smith:

I would say no and no to both of your questions. If the tenant had mentioned that they needed these appliances replaced before they moved into the unit, then that's a different story. However, they cannot be making these demands now and expect you to pay for it. 
You can supply them with a few dishwasher cleaning pods, so that they can run a cleaning cycle on it. But there's no need to replace the dishwasher or even pay them back for the fan, since it was their idea to replace it. 

 Agree with this!

[Kevin Sobilo]

Quote from @Michela Adrian:

Wow thanks for all of the advice! I really appreciate it. 

To answer your question Alyssa: no there were no problems with ventilation prior, she was just worried that there was mold in the fan. 

I was able to get back to condo today to look at the dishwasher. The tenant has run a few cleaning cycles and it is much cleaner however they also have taken it apart and found that there is mold in the drain area (see photo, sorry it is kind of gross). The dishwasher works fine. Should I replace it due to this kind of mold? Or get a professional cleaner? Let me know what you think. Thank you!

Thankfully that is not mold. It is probably mildew. Mold grows into a surface mildew grows on top of a surface. Just needs a cleaning. Done deal. 

[Bruce Woodruff]

Try this first. I had a similar problem and this stuff was recommended by the appliance repair guy. It works incredibly well....!

https://lemishine.com/