help -my Property manager over spent on Repairs !

[Joshua Garcia]

Hey guys ! I have a question for how I should handle a situation. I live in CA . I have a PM for 4 units in TX. rents are not much but for the last 5 years PM has done a great job. No real problems at all. We have agree that he has to call me for anything over $400 in repairs to discuss. Rents gross are only $2300 a month between all 4.

I got a call out of the blue this Monday about a gas line that was leaking the week prior at one of the units. He said that the tenant called the gas company to shut off gas. Tenant then called PM and Licensed plumber to come figure out problem and repair (instead of allowing pm to handle). Over the span of 3 days, plumber completed job with permits and all.

I had no idea any of this was happening and my PM seemed like he had no idea of all of the work involved either. A bill for the work came in at $4800! approx. $3800 of that is Labour. seems crazy high. Any ideas on how to proceed?

[Payton Haight]

hey Joshua! That is a tough situation. Sorry to hear about that. From my understanding, your tenant had all of this work completed without you or your property manager's consent, correct? Do you have anything in your leases about how repair issues should be handled? 

A gas leak can be a major emergency so it seems reasonable the tenant called the gas company immediately to shut off the gas. Past that, I would have expected the tenant to call your PM and have them handle all of the repairs. I am assuming the work that was done was necessary so you would have been paying for SOME amount of repairs to get this issue fixed no matter what.

If you have a detailed summary of the work that was completed and your lease indicates that the tenant should not be handling repairs themselves, you could get the work quoted by 1 or 2 other plumbers. If the quote from the other plumbers is significantly lower, then perhaps you charge your tenant for the difference. OR maybe use this issue as a teaching moment for the tenant and your property management company. Just a couple of ideas..