Garage Door Replacement

[Amanda Sartor]

Hello all,

I am looking for a little advice.  Our tenant put in a maintenance request with our property management company to fix the garage door.  My husband and I were surprised when the estimate came back at about $700.  The estimate is for full replacement of the door.  We asked for a second estimate and this one came in at $500 but this time we were able to talk to the technician and they explained that the two lower panels needed replacement.  We asked if this is from normal wear and tear or if someone damaged it.  The said it was probably driven in to.  

Should we be responsible for the replacement door?  Is it worth asking the tenant to pay for part of the replacement?

Any advice would be helpful.  Thanks in advance!

Amanda

[Nathan Gesner]

The property manager has a responsibility to determine if the door stopped working due to ordinary wear-and-tear or if it was due to tenant abuse/neglect. I would talk to both technicians and ask them for their expert opinion on how the door was damaged. I would also ask for pictures from the manager and the technicians so you can see yourself.

If this is damage due to abuse / neglect, the tenant is responsible for the cost. If the tenant claims they didn't do it, ask them to provide evidence of who did. The burden of proof is on them, not on you.

I don't think your property manager is doing you any favors. The estimate should have raised red flags with the property manager and they should have investigated further before passing it on to you. In my office, we would have looked at the door, taken pictures, and talked to the technicians to get their opinion. Then I would contact the owner and give my professional opinion of the damage, what caused it, what repairs are necessary, and who should pay for it.

I recently had a two-car garage door with two broken panels because of bad design and age. But in most cases, door damage is caused by tenants driving into it, abusing it, or neglecting to report a problem until it results in a completely broken door.