Suggestion about how to hand a Tenant Issue

[Val J.]

I have a tenant who is faithful with her rent. She's been with me for 15 months but during this time. I've had to replace 2 stove elements and repair the same issue for the same  sink twice. When she moved into the home everything was brand new. I suspect that she has been using the stove to heat the house. She seldom (until things are almost out of control) calls me about repairs. When I have to enter the house for whatever reason, I began to note various things that need to be addressed but I hadn't been informed about.  Recently, she finally did call and told me that the house (it's an old house) wasn't getting warm and she was using space heaters and the central heat. The following day I sent an hvac guy over only to discover that the system has a dual something or other and on the first one was working and it was repaired immediately.  This weekend I had to have a kitchen sink repaired again. She had been placing a bucket under the sink to catch the water instead of informing me. The repairmen told me he found straws and lots of hair in the pipes.  I have a text message/written to her stating my concerns that she is not helping me by not informing me.  I have a mind to tell her that I won't be repairing the stove or sink again and that I will not pay for repairs that linger for months that she fails to inform me about. I don't want to micro-manage her by going in every month to check on what the house is in need of.  What would you do if you were in my shoes.  

[Thomas S.]

Do regular quarterly inspections, this is a routine requirement, not micro managing. Landlords can never rely on tennats reporting issues.

If you are not already doing quarterly inspections you are neglecting your property. Inspect all plumbing, water connections, HVAC filters, smoke alarm batteries etc.