Tenant as Helper/Employee

[Lois Ginter]

I will be inheriting a tenant who is a retired custom car builder/mechanic and his wife.  Their unit is well maintained, and they currently do cleaning and yard maintenance on the side for other properties.  They have been picking up the trash and shoveling the snow at the property for the seller.   

I will need help with yard maintenance and small repairs, and having an onsite person seems like a good idea.  But, I can also see the potential problems with having a tenant help out.  Life if a repair isn't up to my standards, or he doesn't like taking directions from a woman.  

If I would use his services, I would not go the rent reduction route, but pay him like any other service provider on a as needed basis. 

What has been your experience with having a tenant perform yard work/snow shoveling and minor repairs?     

[Jeremy Tillotson]

@Lois Gintergenerally this is a bad idea, however I have seen it work very well in one case, (out of maybe 100+ deals) Make sure you have a workers comp policy for him, even if you 1099 and he gets hurt without workers comp there a high chance you would be liable.