Tenants asking for a lot of items to be fixed

[Bob Drew]

I am a newbie landlord with my first tenants who moved in last week.

Today I get an email asking for a list of items to be fixed (from ceiling fan to water heater to hinges on the door). They are asking if they can get it fixed and deduct it from the next months rent.

I know some of the appliances are not brand new but they are in a working condition. But bringing up a hinge on the electric panel is absurd.

How do I approach this request? There's no way I can fix all the items but want to show good faith in fixing some of them. But the tone in the email is concerning. 

[Max Gradowitz]

Every state has specific laws on the repair/deduct arrangement, non-payment of rent, etc.  But, in general I'd recommend having your OWN handyman go there, right away, to make repairs and test any items claimed to not be functional.  YOU should pay for it and have it fixed right away, before they can repair and deduct from the rent.  Why?  Because they may exaggerate the amount of time/work it cost to repair those items, or maybe exaggerating that they are in disrepair at all, possibly making things up, etc.  If your handyman goes out there and fixes everything that needs to be fixed and takes pictures of everything, it's typically a better position to be in rather than letting the tenant dictate the repair/deduct arrangement.