Charging tenant for stove repair that equates to replacement

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Charging tenant for stove repair that equates to replacement

Nerissa Marbury
Rental Property Investor · Richmond, VA · Member since 2017 · 71 posts · 10 votes

Hi there,


ISSUE: A tenant informed me she is responsible for cracking my glass top range and wants to know next steps for getting it repaired. The glass top / cooktop part is no longer manufactured. If the part was available for purchase, part + labor is almost $500. Since the part is not available, a new range must be purchased.

QUESTION: How would you propose I charge the tenant for this "repair" that has now turned into a complete replacement of the appliance?

MY THOUGHT: Take what part + shipping + labor would have cost the tenant and compare it to the new range + delivery + installation fee.  If the installation fee and delivery fee are higher than shipping and labor, I will charge the tenant for installation and delivery given I wouldn't have had these expenses if the tenant had not cracked the glass top in the first place. However I would pay the difference between the part and the cost of the new range since I will get benefit of having a new range for the life of the appliance.

ADDITIONAL DETAIL: 

I spoke to an appliance repair guy who told me it's possible to repair the cracked glass top, but in actuality the repair requires the glass top to be replaced for it to be "repaired". Unfortunately, the part is no longer made by the manufacturer and I haven't been able to find an extra part "laying around" via the Internet. 


Based on one brick and mortar merchant in my property's city and one online source that still had pricing available, the part cost between $326.21 and $355.42 excluding labor. The appliance repair guy I wanted to use for the repair told me he would charge $125 for labor if I'm able to find the part.  So the repair would have cost roughly $452 - $481 based on the data I was able to uncover.

Per a search on BestBuy.com, the cost of a new range is roughly $500 + tax + installation given the current Black Friday discounts. I will look at other stores for range pricing, but Best Buy was good for now since I could easily filter options based on the features of my current range to get pricing comparable with what I already own.

Appliance details in case it's helpful:

  • Frigidaire stainless steel electric glasstop range
  • Purchased in 2007
  • Other than a loose oven handle I was notified about today, the range was fully functional prior to being informed of the cracked glass top.



Thanks in advance! I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

1Reply
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Most Popular Reply

Max T.
Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2015 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
7y

buy a new stove, charge them the 450, you pay the difference

15Reply
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  • Nerissa Marbury
    OP
    Rental Property Investor · Richmond, VA · Member since 2017 · 71 posts · 10 votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Daniel Brown:
    @Nerissa Marbury so I've looked up the part and it looks like it's on a factory back order. Not no longer available. Not sure why your appliance tech told you other wise. It looks like repairclinic.com can have it shipped to you but probably not till December if you feel like waiting that long. I'd have the tenant pay for the repair. Hope this helps. Dm if you have any more questions 😁😁

    I looked at repairclinic.com as well as called them yesterday to confirm the mid-December delivery date was a real date given the part was no where to be found anywhere else. Two other companies (Cashwell & Sears Direct) told me the manufacturer was no longer producing the part. Several additional companies simply said it was out of stock and they had no idea when more would come in.

    I'll send you private message with one question I have. Thanks for help. I really appreciate it.

    0Reply
  • Jim K.
    Handyman · Pittsburgh, PA · Member since 2018 · 5k+ posts · 13k+ votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Nerissa Marbury:

    @Jim K. I don't understand why you recommend this = "It would be wisest with an older stove like this to replace the power cord when you connect your new stove. Buy a new cord with your replacement range."

    Why wouldn't the replacement stove have its own cord?

    Nerissa, your accountant should have told you that you can deduct the entire cost of a range as a loss over five years on your taxes. This range was 11 years old, and you're here trying to figure out how to pass as much of the replacement cost on to your tenant as possible. Plainly put, getting your tenant to pay any share of this replacement would be at best a grasping move for a professional landlord.

    You also clearly have never learned the first thing about replacing a 240V electrical appliance like a range or an electrical dryer. These appliances have detachable cords, most notably for fire safety. It is always recommended by the powers that be that you should always buy a new cord for every new appliance. I've reused plenty of cords that were in good shape -- all landlords do, but a cord of that age and likely condition? Probably not. Ovens and multiple burners running together eat up a lot of power, You don't want that power running through a cord with insulation flaking off and a couple of nicks in it from routinely moving the range out of place to clean behind it.

    I realize that appliances costs money to replace. If you can't find a $250 used or dented electric range without a glass top to replace yours with, you're not looking hard enough. If you don't have $250 in reserves ready to go to deal with this, you're in the wrong business.

    The tenant will know other people who have other landlords, some of whom will be significantly better at dealing with something like this than you will. If you make a tenant pay you to replace an 11-year-old range, sooner or later, your tenant is going to tell another tenant who will know someone who knows something about depreciation and explain that you're trying to profit greatly from this situation (from a tax perspective). That sort of bad faith is part of the reasons why landlords end up with concrete in their drains and then come on BP to complain about just how horrible and mean all tenants are.

    A professional landlord also knows that tenants without the use of their range will occasionally try all sorts of novel solutions to cook their food, and these solutions are very often nutbag fire hazards. Ergo, the professional landlord will change out that range post-haste. But here's you, with the part on backorder, the tenant frying up a mess of pancakes on a propane camping burner in the living room and barbecuing chicken nuggets on skewers over a makeshift charcoal grill in the bathroom sink (with the vent fan on, of course).

    So get that range changed tomorrow with a new or used range without a glass top. Be thankful it lasted 11 years. Don't wait a month for a new part to come in, don't wait two weeks to get 50 people on BP, half of whom know less than nothing about landlording for profit, to help you decide on a dollar amount to pass on to your tenant for the range. Get it done, get it over, count your blessings, and set aside money for when the fridge or the washer goes next. When the tenant leaves, shake her hand, wish her well, give her as much of her security deposit as you possibly can back to her, and run a lot of water down the drains.

    Good luck learning more about this business.

    3Reply
  • Nathan Wankel
    Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2018 · 57 posts · 30 votes
    7y

    @Nerissa Marbury

    I would eat the bullet and buy a new stove and charge the tenant however much it would cost To fix the old one. This way you have a new stove in the property, and you hopefully won't have to worry about it for a while.

    0Reply
  • Nurzhan Abenov
    Rental Property Investor · Fairfax, VA · Member since 2017 · 39 posts · 73 votes
    7y

    Repairing old stove doesn’t make any sense, waiting one month for part and paying the price of a new one Is insane.

    I would find new on sale for around $500 and offer my tenant split the cost. If nessesary devide it on 6 month payments on top of the rent. And you will get new stove for $250. Tenant should be happy as well.

    1Reply
  • Bryan S.
    Rental Property Investor · CA · Member since 2018 · 225 posts · 180 votes
    7y
    @Nerissa Marbury you know one place you could check is the sears outlet stores, there are usually stoves available. They are new, but get the ones that are sent back from a delivery - for instance a new stove and when the buyer sees a scratch they send it back. Saves a few bucks for aesthetic damage, I have bought 2 fridges that way, put a magnet over the slight damage and no one notices.
    0Reply
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