The Evolution of Tenant Maintenance

Five years ago I bought my first rental property. It’s a single family home right next to my dad’s apartments. My dad is a hands on landlord and overall a very handy person. I still have the home and the same tenant has been there the entire time.

This was me five years ago: get a phone call from tenant and he says the gas woodstove switch isn’t working. It’s cold, like 40 degrees outside, so I change my evening plans and drive an hour to check it out. Of course, I don’t know what I’m looking at or what I’m doing. But my dad is with me so we tinker around with it for an hour or so. We don’t have the right part so we go back to the shop and look around and then go to the catalog to order the part. Once we get the part, we get all our tools together and tinker around some more and finally get it working. Hurrah!

10 hours and $20 spent, complete in 4 days

This is me 2 years ago: get a text from tenant and he says the gas woodstove switch isn’t working. It’s cold, like 40 degrees outside, but I know they have some electric heat too so they can manage for a while. Next, I call my local HVAC company and my husband schedules a time to meet the guy out there to get the work done.

2-3 hours (husband) and $160 spent, complete in 10 days

This is me today: get a text from tenant and he says the gas woodstove switch isn’t working. It’s cold, like 40 degrees outside, but I know they have some electric heat too so they can manage for a while. I tell the tenant to call the local HVAC company and schedule a service. I call the company and let them know the tenant will be calling to schedule and to send me the bill.

0 hours and $300 spent, complete in 21 days

The examples above explain that time is money. We all know that phrase, but it’s real, and since I’m not an HVAC expert I have no business spending my time on this matter. Five years ago I didn’t make as much money, and I enjoyed hanging out with my dad, so the fix was fun. Now I have kids and no time, so I don’t mind paying.

But the other thing to note is that the total time it took to complete the project. When I was young, I thought every issue was the end of the world and needed to be complete right away and that my job as the landlord was to be at the immediate service of the tenant. But once I put the ownership in the hands of the tenant, the work didn’t happen as quickly. I notice that they don’t even put the pressure on as much as I do, so now I realize that I don’t need to fret every time I get a call. It turns out that the tenant is okay to be without the woodstove for three weeks when he has to do the scheduling himself. So a note to a new landlord when you get a call, remember, it’s going to be okay.