Common Rental Property Emergencies (and how to handle them)

Leaking toilets at midnight are a common reason people don’t want to invest in real estate and become a property manager. That’s great, more properties for me! I have owned many types of properties during my investing career and major emergencies are extremely rare. However, they do happen and when they do, you will need to respond quickly. The first step is to make sure your property is buttoned up before a new tenant moves in. You will want to make sure all plumbing is secure and not dripping, all outlets work, there are no safety hazards (no rotting wood on outside steps), etc. Here are the most common and most destructive issues and how to prepare for them.

FIRE!! This is a scary one and something you can’t do too much about. Just make sure everyone has evacuated and is safe. From there, let the professionals do their job. I learned from personal experience to not allow renters to have any flammable liquids on the premise. I would also recommend keeping a small fire extinguisher in the kitchen strapped to the side of a cabinet. For a large fire, you will need to get insurance involved, but for this, I paid for the new fence out of pocket.

Water Leak: A water leak can be as simple as a drip from the kitchen sink drain or the dishwasher flooding. The most destructive would be the small drips that no one notices. You want to make sure you are walking through your properties every 6-12 months. Make sure you check all water connections and toilets for signs of leaking. I had a unit whose dishwasher flooded because the disposal where it drained into was backed up. It made a huge mess and damaged the unit below. By the time I got there a few hours later, the tenant fixed the issue and his insurance covered the damage.

Broken Appliance: While a broken oven might not seem like an emergency, a broken refrigerator or freezer could be. I had this happen to a tenant that needed to keep medication cold so time was of the essence. In this case, it is good to know the measurements of the appliance ahead of time so you can purchase a new one and have it delivered. Don’t try to have it repaired, it will take too long. While that might seem drastic, it is not cost-effective to keep fixing an old appliance.

No Heat: Many cities have a minimum temperature that units must be kept at. If your property has an HVAC system you will most likely need to call a repair company. In the meantime purchase your renter a space heater for each room or pay for a local hotel until it can be repaired. If you have Cadet wall heaters, you might be able to limp along without one for a few days until you can get someone to replace it. These are inexpensive and easy to replace.

Flooding: This is the one that keeps me up at night. Flooding can cause a huge amount of damage to a property. Flooding could be caused by a nail in the wall at just the wrong spot, a cracked pipe (CPVC is known for this and common in some areas built in the early 2000s), or from rainy weather. When there is a flood, the first thing to do is turn off the water supply to the property so make sure you and your tenants know where that valve is. Catching it early can save you thousands in damages. From there, contact a plumber and have them search for the water leak.

Major issues will occur. Your best defense is to make sure your properties are in working order before a tenant moves in. When the unforeseen does happen, call a professional ASAP. These events can be very expensive so make sure you require tenants to have renters insurance. You should also have a good umbrella insurance policy so you can sleep well at night.