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Updated almost 5 years ago on . Most recent reply

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20
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13
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Ting Lai
  • Rental Property Investor
  • San Francisco, CA
13
Votes |
20
Posts

Tenant threaten to appeal to legal

Ting Lai
  • Rental Property Investor
  • San Francisco, CA
Posted

This situation is in Tucson, AZ. My tenant reported a malfunctioning water heater a week ago. Immediately my property manager has contacted home warranty and scheduled a technician visit. The technician brought the wrong part for his first visit, and concluded that he needed to order the new part in his second visit - now still waiting for the parts to arrive. This has resulted in no hot water for tenant for a week (and counting). Tenant now is threatening to "talk to his lawyer" for the pain he / his family (wife + baby) have been through, and that he is "collecting the evidence". 

For the past week my property manager and I have been discussing what else we could do to help. We also asked a second technician to visit the house today (Sunday) to see if he can fix it, but he couldn't because the first technician has taken out key parts for the water heater. 

I am concerned about the consequences - so I am seeking BiggerPocket's advise:

1. From your perspective, do I have a legal stance on this case (if it comes to the worst)?

2. What's a better approach / alternative approach to address this issue? 

3. Usually what's a reasonable amount of time to allow repairs? 

4. What's the responsibility of the home warranty provider

5. In thinking about long term / strength of my RE portfolio, should I also have a legal expert in my team? [Note: I am just a small player and have <10 units but I see how important it can be to have a legal expert in situations like this]

This is a very stressful situation for me and I appreciate the potential implications and learnings I can take away from and strengthen my system. I look forward to hearing from experts in this forum. 

Thanks,

Ting

Most Popular Reply

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17,442
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30,110
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Russell Brazil
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Washington, D.C.
30,110
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17,442
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Russell Brazil
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Washington, D.C.
ModeratorReplied

Hot water heaters should be replaced within say 36 hrs if they are not working. A week without hot water is not acceptable. 

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