Should I make these repairs to my rental?

[Justin Self]

Hello, first time poster here.  Thanks in advance for taking a look at my situation.

The house I am renting out (through a property management company) has had the same tenants since 2015.  I lived in it right before they did.  I noticed a crack in the window of the front door and another crack in the front door itself sometime in 2014.  These cracks are purely cosmetic and don't waste any significant level of energy or pose any security risks. 

However, just last week the tenant put in a maintenance ticket to have it fixed.  My PM quoted me $150 for the fix. 

My gut is telling me that this is something they should have brought up when they moved in, or at least within a reasonable amount of time from when they moved in.  But on the flip side, I don't want to piss off my tenants and lead them to putting in tickets for all kinds of little stuff.

My PM asked me if I want to repair it or not (and is letting it be my decision), but I just don't know what the expectations are for this.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[Bill B.]

$150 is a great estimate for a cracked window and a cracked door. It’s something you coulda/shoulda fixed before they moved in to make a good first impression to prospective tenants. You know they didn’t cause the damage. I assume we’re talking about 3 days worth of rents? Fix it up. If you weee to sell in the future those buyers would probably request you fix it, and you would. This way it’s fixed all that time and probably for less than some guy out of the yellow pages, if you’re old enough to know what those are. 

Congrats on decent long term tenants. 

[Aaron K.]

Pictures would be helpful, but it will probably need to be fixed eventually anyway, if they haven't made frivolous requests on other things thus far it seems unlikely that they would start 5 years into a tenancy.  The tenants that do that show their habits pretty quickly usually.

[Caleb Heimsoth]

@Justin Self I would fix it. Unless tenants abuse maintenance requests, I usually fix stuff as requested. Good tenants are nice to have and those that stay a long time are also nice

[Michael Robbins]

If the item was previously notated on the inventory condition form upon move in then I would normally decline the repair request.  But, it being a crack in the window of the front door, I would 100% take care of it right away.  Its a liability even if it does not appear to be.  For example, someone might kick the door in and the tenant claims that it "was that much easier to break in" because of the cracked window in the door.  

[Bill B.]

$150 is a great estimate for a cracked window and a cracked door. It’s something you coulda/shoulda fixed before they moved in to make a good first impression to prospective tenants. You know they didn’t cause the damage. I assume we’re talking about 3 days worth of rents? Fix it up. If you weee to sell in the future those buyers would probably request you fix it, and you would. This way it’s fixed all that time and probably for less than some guy out of the yellow pages, if you’re old enough to know what those are. 

Congrats on decent long term tenants. 

[Russell Cazeault]

@Justin Self

If you want tenants to take care of your property, you have to show that you care about it as well.

Cracks get bigger over time. I would fix it

[Frank Geiger]

$150 is cheap. If this is their first request after 5 years, I wouldn't even hesitate. 

[Justin Self]

Thank you all for the responses!  I am leaning towards replacing the door now.  I will include some photos below.

To answer some questions: 

1) No this is definitely not the first maintenance request in 5 years. Each year when the lease is renewed (and the rent increases) there is something that goes wrong that has to be replaced or plumbing that has to be unclogged.  There are also other repairs at random times.

2) The $150 only replaces the window.  The crack would still be in the door, and any caulk or repairs wouldn't be painted.  I do not think this is a very good price for how poorly I think it will look afterwards.

3) I think part of my post was grieving against the PM company as well.  They have had a history of fixing stuff (>$300) without my knowledge (contract says anything over $200 they would notify me), ever since they brought their repairs in house and no longer get bids from different service companies.  It feels they are partially encouraging repairs, but I don't have any evidence of that.

Here are the photos of the door crack and the window crack.  They put a piece of tape over the window.  I believe a BB or something is what caused the hole and caused the window to crack.  I can include before pictures if anyone wants to see those, but they would be identical, just a different piece of tape.

Door Crack

[Andrew B.]

Since this is an entrance to the unit, I would replace it. My concern would be that it was now formally brought to your attention, so if something happens the fingers will get pointed at you.

While I don't feel that is 100% required otherwise, I think it's a good idea to maintain a certain level of maintenance to show you are attentive and taking care of the property. When you let things break and stay that way, the tenant may feel less inclined to "handle things with care."

[Timothy Hero]

Definitely worth the fix. Of course we all view money differently, but in terms of real estate, $150 is petty cash. It'll keep tenants satisfied to have it fixed and it can be a tax write off. Not a big one, but still a business expense.

[Jaron Walling]

Fix it, make tenant happy, sleep easier. 

[Calvin Ozanick]

I would say to repair it. These situations typically just fester and create more friction between tenants and management when they go on without being repaired. Tenants will appreciate you caring for their home. 

[Basit Siddiqi]

@Justin Self

I would make the repair.
It is a small dollar amount
The tenants don't appear to make many frivolous complaints since they are long-term tenants. 
Failure to fix it can result in them being upset and potentially leaving.
It is a tax-write off on top of that.

[Account Closed]

I would just replace the entire door it’s probably cheaper and you get in a better quality product for just $100 to $200 More.