"who cares the landlord will pay for it"

[Josh Stevens]

I have a duplex where I live in one half and rent the other. My tenants oil furnace went out and they could not get it to fire back up. I went over and did some basic troubleshooting. Realizing I did not have the time or knowledge to fix it, I called a local plumbing and heating Co. The tech finally made it over a day and a half later, diagnosed the problem and fixed it.

I did not introduce myself as the owner of the property when he arrived, but I did let him into the neighbors garage, where the furnace is. I caught him as he was leaving, and I asked him what the problem is and how much the bill will be. His response "who cares the landlord will pay for it" was not what I wanted to hear.

Be careful with vendors and rental property, some do not realize or care that a real person has to pay for their services. Too many people assume that rental property owners are the mystical "one percent" and have all the money in the world. In realty, most LL's I know are hardworking people that are having enough trouble with the housing market and economy right now.

The great thing is I am currently vp of our local 175 member strong rental owners association and will make sure I let everyone know what this companies technicians think about LL's at our annual Christmas party next week!

Cheers,

Josh

[Jon Holdman]

On the other hand, he didn't know who you were. As far as he knows, you're a tenant and have no responsibility for the bill. "who cares the landlord will pay for it" does not necessarily mean "I'm going to charge your rich landlord an arm and a leg for a small service". It could have just as easily meant "its none of your business, Mr. Nosy."

I suspect you'd have gotten a much different response had you made it clear that you were the one paying the bill. I can understand being a little evasive with tenants about whether or not you're the owner. Not sure why you would do that with a vendor.