Those Who Self Manage: Are You Present for Repairs?

Question

Hi all,

I recently got started in the game with a two-flat in a quiet neighborhood in Joliet, IL. I currently self manage.

Next weekend, some contractors are going to be replacing the windows in the upstairs unit. If the tenant is going to be home, would you be present for the work? It seems superfluous to me and I get the feeling that it would be training the tenant to expect me to micro manage every small repair, which I want to avoid. On the other hand, this is a somewhat big job.

What would you do?

Gail K. · Answer

I look at this from a different viewpoint.  My father was a building superintendent (fancy name for janitor) for a number of years for three apartment complexes in Chicago.   Each contracted for electrical/plumbing/painting work.  Each time repairs were required where tenants were present in the unit he was there to oversee this  not only to check the condition of the work but also to avoid any complaints/issues brought up by a tenant later of any items missing or inappropriate behavior/comments from the workers.   He was so careful about all of this that if he had to enter a unit with a female tenant to address a minor repair issue  he made sure my mother came with him.

I always meet the repair folks at my rental units but now that I am retired it's easier to do this.   The only time I haven't done this is when I had a tree removed from the front of one of my houses since there was no need for any of these workers to enter the house.

Gail

Timmi Ryerson · Answer

I see this as a two part question.  If you tenants were going to be there and you had used these installers before, you could just show up at the end of the day to check the work.  But when tenants are not going to be there and their stuff is in the unit, I would be there to let them in, and probably stay in some capacity to be sure that nothing in the unit is disturbed except the windows.  If there was no tenant, I would let them in, and come back as suggested earlier.  But when your tenant is in residence it is your job to be sure that nothing is stolen, disturbed or gone through.  Then I would do what the others suggest and take pictures of the finished repair.

Dawn P. · Answer

I would at least show up for a while the work was going on. I had a (highly recommended) contractor install windows in an empty house of mine...I went to the house that evening after they left to check out their work, and found that his guys were smoking weed in my house. Left seeds and all on my countertop. Super!

Yeah, they were fired.

Scott Trench · Answer

It depends for me. With a first time contractor that I meet over the internet or is not 100% positively referred by someone I trust, I want to be there. If it's a guy I've worked with in the past, or a really small job, I'll just have him do it, and send me a picture showing completion of the project.

Typically, the repairs are either done at the tenant's request, or during a transition, so if the tenant's are good with certain repairs (leaky sink, lawn, etc) I'm good too. If I'm preparing it for rent, I'm typically involved anyways, and just have folks come over all around the same times, so that I can keep an eye on what's going on.

David Dachtera · Answer

@Aaron Mikottis,

I agree with the others. Be there to get them started, check in later in the day and have them "check out" with you when they're done to verify the work is done to your satisfaction. Make sure the vendor knows what to expect when the crew arrives and before they leave the job site.

Aaron Mikottis · Answer

Everyone, thank you for your valuable feedback. I think that I will do as suggested and meet them in the morning, stop by during the work, and inspect the job before they leave.

Appreciate it!

Christine Swaidan · Answer

I always show my face for the big jobs. I also make the rounds and check in with all the workers not just the boss. we have a handyman of many years that we allow to go in units alone if the tenant okays it but any other worker who goes into an occupied unit goes in with the onsite manager for our multi-families. With SFR the tenant must be present.

Eric Schilk · Answer

For contractors that we have not used before or often we always meet them there.  If the tenant is not home then always so someone is present.  We do have plumbers and electricians that we have used for years that we do not meet and they will just send us a bill.

Kurt K. · Answer

Unfortunately, I'm not able to meet onsite with my contractors because I live out of state. All of my contractors give me before and after photos via Dropbox. Once I see the before photos from my PM, I get an estimate. Then I can talk to the contractor about the project. Once the job is started, photos are sent to me of the work in progress and then final photos. Luckily I have met all of these contractors in person and it seems to be working well. Documentation is the key.

Those Who Self Manage: Are You Present for Repairs?

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