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Updated over 3 years ago, 08/05/2021
Bathroom door coming off the hinge
Tenant just notified us that the door in the bathroom is coming off the hinge on the second on third hinges. The 1st one apparently is already off. We have in our lease, tenant must maintain all appliances, equipment, furnishings and furniture. Who's responsibility to repair is this? If we didn't have the eviction moratorium, we would had already ejected her. However, with the delta variant catching steam, we're not sure if Connecticut will suspend evictions again. The tenant is on a month to month. We were going to inform her next month that their lease will not be renewed the following month and they need to move out. However, with the COVID restrictions, we're not sure if we'll be stuck with this tenant or not.
How would you guys proceed? The tenant is a nuisance to say the least.
#1 Rehabbing & House Flipping Contributor
- Contractor/Investor/Consultant
- West Valley Phoenix
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#1 Rehabbing & House Flipping Contributor
- Contractor/Investor/Consultant
- West Valley Phoenix
I use a knife to whittle off a piece of wood from a 2x4 or tree. Add a little wood glue and pound it in. Wait overnight, cut off the stick-out and it is actually stronger than new...
Yea, they finally admitted it's been like that for awhile now. I saw the pics and it seems the door may need to be replaced. I'm going there tomorrow to take a look with my tools. The door is no longer on any of the hinges and the tenant keeps it up with a book when the bathroom is in use. This is a building in downtown Stamford.. It's not a low income building and the tenant earns over 11k a month. Just amazing how they treat the unit...
@Mike Adams I´m not sure if you meant it this way, but insinuating that your broken door or a belief that they won´t treat your place well relates to their income level is very inaccurate, bias and stereotypical. When you have preconceived negative images of a specific segment of society it can subconsciously prompt you to treat them according to your bias. Also, if something so insignificant as a door is causing you so much uneasiness about paying for it, it´s very difficult to see what you would be willing to pay for. If a door off the hinges prompts eviction, you are in for a very turbulent career my friend. It sounds like you are new at this and I can tell you, the worst thing you want to be seen as is the difficult landlord that all the tenants cant stand. It leads to problems. I do wish you luck but I am giving you food for thought!
Originally posted by @Mark Cruse:
@Mike Adams I´m not sure if you meant it this way, but insinuating that your broken door or a belief that they won´t treat your place well relates to their income level is very inaccurate, bias and stereotypical. When you have preconceived negative images of a specific segment of society it can subconsciously prompt you to treat them according to your bias. Also, if something so insignificant as a door is causing you so much uneasiness about paying for it, it´s very difficult to see what you would be willing to pay for. If a door off the hinges prompts eviction, you are in for a very turbulent career my friend. It sounds like you are new at this and I can tell you, the worst thing you want to be seen as is the difficult landlord that all the tenants cant stand. It leads to problems. I do wish you luck but I am giving you food for thought!
Not exactly sure if you misread or just gunning for me. However, I will reword and rephrase. One, the building was purchased last year. Two, we redid each unit and installed NEW DOORS. Three, the tenant, earns over 11k a month or 132,000.00 per year. Please, tell me how am I being bias, inaccurate or stereotypical?
As a person who treats everyone the same, whether they are black, brown, white, red, blue, green, yellow, etc. In addition, me coming from basically living in the street to running a real estate company, I am a bit offended that you think I am judging them by their race. All tenants are hispanic, as am I. So again, I am not sure what on heaven you are talking about.
As for my experience, I've been doing this for better part of a decade. Started in the Bronx and worked my way up to Westchester NY, some in Jersey and in to Southern Connecticut. While I may not be as advance as you may be, I can hold my own. All I asked was if this is something that the tenant should pay for since it was a relatively new door and the tenant just allowed it to deteriorate to where a door, which is pretty new, now needs to be replaced.. probably.
I do not appreciate your accusations or kander. Please, stop trying to misread everything.
@Mike Adams Not gunning for you at all. I just assumed you were new at this and was providing advice. I only mentioned the bias comment when you alluded to the notion that your tenants were not low income and made a lot, which for some reason surprised you that they broke the door. There are screwed up tenants at all income levels and should not be some sort of expectation you assume is for the low income types. People tend to formulate biases when there is an assumption or expectation certain groups will do negative things while other groups wont. Either way, no offense intended.
I would just replace the door with longer screws...
Are there any other major wear signs on the door?...Sounds like there are a lot of instances where the door is being slammed shut, or someone is trying to keep someone out as they are trying to get in (horse play, or domestic violence?)..... Have you gotten any noise complaints from the local neighbors there?
#3 Investor Mindset Contributor
- Handyman
- Pittsburgh, PA
Originally posted by @Terrell Garren:
Originally posted by @Jim K.:
You take the door off and and use body filler (Bondo).
Upvote on Bondo!
My granddad told me a man only needs 2 tools -
If it doesn't move and should, use WD40.
If it moves and shouldn't, use duct tape.
"And if you can't fix it with WD40 and duct tape, you're not using enough WD40 or duct tape."
@Scott M.
Scott is right. Be a good Landlord, fix the door. While there, be a better Landlord and inspect the balance of the property. Take your phone for notes and pics.
Gather your information and decide if its normal wear and tear, or damage. If damage and you have to evict, they can't accuse you of being a slumlord.
One other option- I had a tenant drop a weight in a sink. "She" and "He" had a fight. She left. I told the tenant to get a qualified plumber that I would approve to fix the sink, tenant would pay. Worked out OK.
I believe in meeting tenants where they are. Normal wear and tear from a good tenant, that's the business we are in. Goofball tenant, hopefully you are not in that business, but some have that business model, and that's ok too. Just more headaches.
Agreed w/most everyone’s reply @Travis Tuttle is right why didn’t they let you know ahead of time. Something like this could’ve been an easy fix before it got worse, safety first. @Bruce Woodruff I’ve used a similar trick for hollow/solid core doors where they get out of wack. Remove the door, get a plastic zip-tie cut into place of existing screw hole & insert back all regular screws. But on the other hand if you’ve no time to go over to the place & do this bc of a busier schedule a possible handyman/door installer would do it. After their payment take that bill to the tenant for full reimbursement. Be prepared for them to only have electronic payment too. So have a Cash app or PayPal app on your phone just in case no cash.
Originally posted by @Santiago Marquez:
Agreed w/most everyone’s reply @Travis Tuttle is right why didn’t they let you know ahead of time. Something like this could’ve been an easy fix before it got worse, safety first. @Bruce Woodruff I’ve used a similar trick for hollow/solid core doors where they get out of wack. Remove the door, get a plastic zip-tie cut into place of existing screw hole & insert back all regular screws. But on the other hand if you’ve no time to go over to the place & do this bc of a busier schedule a possible handyman/door installer would do it. After their payment take that bill to the tenant for full reimbursement. Be prepared for them to only have electronic payment too. So have a Cash app or PayPal app on your phone just in case no cash.
The door was basically off the hinges and cracked. Had to replace the the door and new hinges. I asked why they didn't inform us when this first happened, they said they didn't want to bother us until it got worse. ??