What is considered wear and tear in rental house?

[Charles D.]

My tenant has called me twice already for things broken in the rental house. About 2 weeks ago, the facuet of the bath tub not working and water won't shut completely. I just paid $600 to fix it by a plumber. Then today she called again and said the deadbolt get stuck and difficult to turn. It will be another $150 to fix by the handyman. So what is considered wear and tear? How do I know the tenant broke something and complains it is wear and tear? Need some advises please. Thanks in advance.

[Satyam Mistry]

@Charles D. Hello Charles, when having rental properties you are going to need a good list of contacts that you can call on for various tasks. Take the time to develop a list and call around for plumbers, handymen, painters, HVAC techs, etc. If you find and call 5-10 of each of these you will have a few to shortlist and begin to use. Any contact that I have used and been pleased with I ask them for referrals for any other work that I am looking for that they themselves do not do. 

I strongly recommend reaching out to a few local plumbing companies and developing a relationship with one that you can trust and call on when needed. Try finding a local company that you can reach the owner when you call, not that he will always be the one performing the work, but in my experience they will be more cost effective. In the lease I have included a paragraph that talks about tenant caused issues being the responsibility of the tenant. For example if a plumber is sent out and finds the cause of the issue to be from the tenant then they are informed of this and will be billed from us for the service. When you receive the invoice from the plumber you can share it with the tenant for full transparency. Plumbing is one of the most important aspects of a property so it is something you want to take seriously and find a contact you can rely on. Any time I buy a property even if it is turnkey I first schedule my plumber to go through and take a look to ensure everything is correct. I have often times been able to text him and just bounce ideas off on things I have read that other landlords do to tenant proof their properties, etc. 

Before renting a property out there are always small jobs for a handyman to do and one of the last things I request them to do is go around the property and ensure everything is working properly and looking neat. Also when a tenant moves in we go over the move in checklist and I give them a couple days to note any cosmetic or functionality issues. These are good to know about and then also to be able to refer back to at time of move out for deposit purposes. 

Make a list of 10 handyman contacts that you find through facebook, google, craigslist, nextdoor, your local real estate group, newspaper, etc. and call them and explain that you are a rental property owner and you are looking for a regular contact that you can call to do small jobs as needed. Ask them what their rates and availability usually is and start shortlisting a couple of contacts that you can then try when needed. For small jobs I send a handyman out to the property about every 6 months to look around, check drains, change HVAC filters, etc. and email the tenant a few days before notifying them and seeing if there are any maintenance requests. If there are small maintenance requests before this time that are not urgent I let the tenant know that they will be addressed at the next scheduled maintenance service. 

Always add to your list for these types of contacts as it is always good to have a list of a few contacts for each type of service in case one is not available when needed. Ask others who they have used for such jobs and if they would recommend them. Best wishes.