Maintenance Inspection for Long Term Tenant

Bruce hates doing maintenance inspections, but I really like to touch base with the property and the tenant.

The tenants in the 3 units we still self-manage are all long term tenants, so we visit every 18 months or so. As for today, we’ve seen better and we’ve seen worse. Overall I’m pleased.

She admitted to having her boyfriend over a lot (rental agreement violation) and asked for paperwork to get him authorized to stay there. She paid the $20 fee tonight, took the application, and I’m guessing we’ll be meeting to do updated paperwork soon. She's had others come and go over the years.  It’s her decision whether to have him be added to the agreement or just added as an authorized occupant. It is better for us and her to have him on the agreement, since it makes a second person equally responsible for rent. But, if she breaks up with him and decides he needs to move out, it is a lot simpler as only an authorized occupant. And, less paperwork to do as an authorized occupant.

Things she needs to fix:

• We purchased her security cameras back in May and they are still not installed. She paid someone to do it but they disappeared. Bruce is ready to take them back if she doesn’t get on it.
• Add battery to smoke detector in her sons bedroom. This is oh so common.
• One bedroom is for storage and she has the heat off to save money. It’s not getting enough heat and circulation, she needs to watch it closer.
• Replace an interior door that got banged up when they were moving furniture. A half dollar sized hole in it. She was hoping we could patch it. We offered her the name of our cheaper door supplier, told her she could replace it now and enjoy it fixed but maybe damage it again, or wait until move out to replace it, or let us take it out of her deposit. We don’t care, just want her to know that she is responsible for it.

Our follow-ups:

• The roof needs to be cleaned, has a lot of moss and evergreen needles accumulated.  This house is on a dead end street so we don't do enough drive by's.
• In the spring we need to patch/repaint the back concrete steps, there are big chunks of the top coat gone.
• Fix the back gate. Again. Gates are a continual nuisance at all of our properties.
• Drop off some Drano-like product to help her tub drain better.  We've given up on snaking them during the inspections.
• Install a whisper fan in the bathroom. She has the current loud one (and it is loud!) disconnected.

Not too expensive, labor intensive, or painful. If we had not come over would she let us know about her boyfriend?  One more inspection later this year, getting goals met…