Tenant is wanting to replace things in the house.

[Ryan Dossey]

I have a tenant who has just moved in. Her application was great, work history was great, and she is a single gal with no pets or kids. She is looking to stay somewhere for years as she is sick of moving... Awesome! However....

There is an old alarm system that she wants made functional. It is not powering on and looks to consist of 2 motion detectors only. What would you do here? Make her eat the bill if she wants it? 

The fridge isn't the prettiest of things but is definitely functional. She said it "has to go" and wants to buy a new fridge. She wants to know what I want to do with the old one. Put it in storage for when she moves out and takes her fridge with her, lower the rent to compensate her for the cost of the fridge if she leaves it, or buy a new one and pass the cost onto her in the form of a rent increase. 

She is recently divorced. I am just hoping once we get these few "issues" addressed she stays happily and quietly. While I think she is being a bit demanding I also don't think she is being ridiculous yet. I just want to make sure it doesn't get carried away. 

[Brandon M.]

I would be cautious of setting a precedence with her....if you give a tenant an inch, they will take two miles! If those things weren't stated in the lease prior to her leasing it, or discussed, then she leased the property as is. For the alarm system if she wants to install a brand new one (or you want to install one) you can usually find companies that will do an installation for free with a new 2 or 3 year monitoring contract. As for the fridge, if it is functional you can let her know she is free to buy a new one and replace the old one, she can just store the old one in the garage if you don't already have a storage unit. You don't want to add any unnecessary expenses just because a tenant is asking for them. 

Do you have another unit you can use a fridge in? If you don't have a storage unit and she pushes back about storing in the garage you could always sell to a used appliance dealer or on Craigslist and then buy one the same way when she moves out if she decides to take hers with her. 

I would definitely not cave to her requests, next month there will be another request.