All Forum Posts by: Cathy B.

Generally, it sounds like your landlord doesn't want to deal with the hassle of being a landlord and is trying to pass off wear and tear to the tenant.  Not cool.  I would wonder what else they might try to do this about.  I'm not sure where you are located, but there are sometimes tenant rights groups that can provide good advice on these sorts of issues.
Good luck!

Check with a carpet cleaning company if they use steam that is hot enough to kill dander.  They should have equipment that can get down and deep in the carpet, but I'm not sure if the temperature gets hot at the carpet pad or not.  Also, if there are curtains or other fabrics, they will need to be addressed by cleaning too.

For your kitchen, you probably got lucky on the flooring material not being carpet if that is where the urine is.  Clean with an enzymatic cleaner . . Amazon has one I like that doesn't smell too strongly:  https://a.co/d/7OC5Pif

Jason,

Some thoughts and my answers are geared towards the assumption that you have verbally directed the scope of work (no drawings or specs) and signed a simple contract with description of the work.

1) Assume you are there in person, what are you doing day to day? Are you meeting with the contractor in the morning to review what will be done that day? Are you reviewing the work that was done yesterday to see if it was completed to your satisfication?  I would be reviewing items that I care about such as finish work, wall locations, etc. at the end of the day when the Contractor is gone.  I would let them know first thing the following morning if I had any questions or concerns. On one hand, you don't want to be too much of a helicopter owner, but on the other you don't want them continuing forward with something you are concerned over. .  This may not be required, but I'm pretty particular and unless you have a top notch Contractor, it would be a good idea.

2) Say you already have an agreed upon list of items to fix with expected costs. What happends when a new issue comes up? Do you have the contractor send you a new agreement to sign with the updated total? Do you take a day or two to think about whether you want the issue fixed or not?  Usually they will provide an estimate or change order, not an entirely new contract per se, but yes, you would have to agree formally to something.  If you wait too long, the window for completion would get pushed and it may affect the Contractors scheduling with other clients or the work needing to be done is on hold without any progress.  It could affect their bottom line.  Communication is key if you need time to think about it.  Hash it out with them so you understand their concerns on schedule and needs for completion.

3) Say you don't want to work with the contractor anymore, but in the original contract there is still remaining work to do. How can you end this transaction? Is there a clause in the contract saying you can back out? Have you ever faced retribution because of backing out?  Usually the contract would spell this out.  Its possible small time contractors may not use the most thorough paperwork.  Normal thing to do is to inform the Contractor in writing to stop work then they can bill you for the work that has been completed as well as any materials purchased.  You would both need to agree on what % complete it is.  It would be best to get this in writing, signed by both parties to avoid any future issues.  I've never had this issue myself.

4) When picking out materials, do you usually buy the materials and deliver them on site or do you let the contractor buy it?  This is usually negotiated and spelled out up front and either can be the case and its likelihood of owner purchase and delivery may depend on the type of item.  In some cases, I've asked Contractors to pick items up from the warehouse that I've purchased from. I always make sure they know that before they give me a price. If it was not written out on the contract or discussed then its possible both parties (Owner and Contractor) assumed the other was purchasing.  If you brought your favorite tile sample to the Contractor when you were asking about the job . . . they may have assumed you have already purchased it, so its best to be explicit where there is room for confusion.

Agree with getting more estimates.  It sounds like this sub is trying to throw everything out there to make it sound like it will cost a lot regardless of whether or not its needed.

I'm reading that the water heater is electric, not gas "With an electric heater, the two drains lines would also be required", correct?   Which utilities are gas, vs. electric?  it would be good to know if electric is a better option.  There also might be more rebates for electric these days as part of the Inflation Reduction Act.

https://www.rewiringamerica.org/press-release/doe-proposed-g...

That being said, in my area, the gas utility will often run the line from the street to the meter on their dime as they want your business.  You might consider seeing if this is possible to avoid that cost ad. I guarantee, it will be a hefty sum to run a line from the street to the house.

Adam,

I use Flume for my own residence and love it!  I've thought about it for a rental property, but it would require an internet connection, conceivably the tenant, in order to provide the feedback from the meter portion.  So, I wonder if one could convince them to connect it and monitor it . . . it gives feedback on their water usage so they may be interested in knowing since they are paying the water bill.  If I did this, I would likely ask them to screenshot the app where it says there is water leak instead of invading their privacy on the water usage.  There is a way to do shared access if you are not concerned about this.

There may be other options out there, but this one does not require a plumber and is easy to install. Also my water provider gave me a rebate for my private home for this product.

https://flumewater.com/?sref_id=z0xwsdf

Feel free to ask me anything else about it!

-Cathy

Contact your jurisdiction's building department and ask.  I believe that may be here:

https://www.nyc.gov/site/buildings/dob/contact-us.page

Rob,

So sorry you are going through this.   Spray foam would likely help.  Also, caulk would as well. I'm trying to picture your construction and maybe its going into the walls too (depending on the framing), or a chase space . . . if so, look at the outlets/switches as well and see if you can seal them.  You mentioned the floor, but also, look at pipes coming out of walls . . . . behind the escutcheons.  I assume you have separate HVAC systems, right?

I would seal all penetrations, electrical boxes, and cracks/gaps in the drywall and floors on your side as well as theirs.  Maybe afterwards, if you have a friend with a dog, it could help locate any remaining smell locations if you still have issues.

Lauren,

Having gone through a water leak at my own home . . . I can say, it started as a small jump in the bill, but kept going up and the water company altered us to the issue.  By that time, there was water puddling in the yard and we got estimates in the $4-5K range for a whole new water line.  It would have been nice to catch it early and have the time to get more estimates and the right person for the job.

For your situation, maybe reach out to the tenants and ask if they would know of any reason why their water usage would have gone up . . .maybe its something they are doing.  If not, either you or they could take a walk of the property to see if there is water puddling outside.  Also, ask if they have heard any ghost flushing from the toilet, if they can hear any water running when everything seems to be turned off, or if any fixtures are dripping.

Visual inspection in and around all plumbing fixtures and lines might be warranted.  Look for dripping and/or mold in nearby drywall. 

There are a couple of things, depending on your meter, you can see too . . . there is a small spinning dial that, if the leak is great enough, will be rotating if there is a leak and no fixtures are being used. Here is an example:

Lastly, you would need to work with your tenants, but  checking the meter when people leave for the day, then when they've returned . . . see if the water usage has one up with no one home.

Sorry, this is probably way more than you asked about . . . I think I'm forever traumatized by that water leak. $$$

Good luck!

-Cathy

Hi!

Some minor things . . .  you have a couple of fuzzy pictures in your apartments.com ad.  Either remove them or retake them.  Also, since it says there is a fenced backyard, maybe a picture of that.  Oh and the front photo may look better at a different angle . . . one with the front door perhaps or more directly facing front.

I agree with Josh that allowing pets will help.  I've always allowed pets and I've been able to rent above the Zestimate every time.

You could add more language to the ad if there are nice nearby neighborhood amenities . . .like parks, library?, desirable grocery stores, a bit about the neighborhood . . is it walk able, etc?

I think one of the things working against you may be that it is near a university, but in the middle of a school year, so people may have settled a bit already.

Michele,

I took a look at your listing and I think you are correct about some of the photos . . . a couple of them are rather blurry.  The 3D tour does help.  The interior looks ok, the exterior looks like it could use  a little yard cleanup.  The bricks at the planting beds at the front door are a bit messy and there are vines in the back and some other plants near the AC that need trimmed.  Easy fixes, but may be red flags on the amount of care that your tenants can expect from renting there.

I would not drop the rent by $100.  I was able to move my rental property by dropping it $50.  However, the biggest thing is that Zillow will round up.  So, since yours is listed for $1250, it will show up as $1300 on the map.  I haven't verified, but I think you could list for $1249 and it might round down.  You could try dropping it by $25 and see what happens!

Another thing is that your PM is charging and additional $50 fee for some items that may or may not be desired by potential tenants.  Just something that may raise the overall cost for them.  It definitely does not read like its optional.

Lastly, it looks like you might have AC, but the listing says "contact manger"  There may be some potential applicants filtering by whether or not it has it.  I assume in GA this is desirable.

Good luck!

-Cathy