Broken Fireplace- Would you fix it?

[Dana R.]

I have a gas fireplace in my rental property that is broken and the tenant wants it fixed, but would you fix it?

For me there's two issuses:

1) The cost of fixing the fireplace.

When I got the complaint about the fireplace, I sent my handyman to take care of it. But, its not a simple problem that the handyman could fix.

I'm afraid of pulling the thread, and promising to fix the fireplace and it then escalates into becoming a major cost to fix.

Does anybody know how much it'd cost to fix a gas fireplace?

2) Fixing the fireplace won't resolve the tenant's underlying complaint that its getting cold without a functioning fireplace.

A fixed fireplace won't generate that much heat to warm the rental because the fireplace was designed for only low volume natural gas. I consider the fireplace more as a decoration than a heating unit.

To heat the rental, there's already forced air. That should be enough because the rental is in Southern California near the beach; we're not talking about a rental in Michigan or Ohio.