All Forum Posts by: James M Smith

Very good point, I would rather error on the conservative side considering the Treble damages clause in Section 92 for unjustified deductions from Security deposits.   

Do you know of any precedence of cases like this in Texas?  I honestly, have no idea how to start research on previous court cases to determine if I am being "reasonable" by a previously tried case.

I know I am far less than the contractors were charging, but don't know if that is considered reasonable for a "DIY" solution.  I should mention that between my mother and I we have flipped about 25 houses (most work completed by us) all in the 300k+ price range (which is above average homes in Texas).  So DIY might be short changing our work a little bit if you use the standard definition.

Thanks for the helpful insight!

I understand your point about use contractors then get your money in court and I also understand that Canada is pretty harsh, in some respects, on landlords.  Honestly, this would typically be our preference.  This particular tenant is likely a no pay given the amount of late notices and repossession notices that have been received since move out.  As such, it seems like taking this person to court is kinda like throwing good money after bad and we are trying to document reasonable costs for a bad-debt write off and not actually expecting to receive payment.... If we do, GREAT but that seems like a very unlikely possibility.  

For the work that was required a cleaning company quoted $700, carpet cleaner laughed and suggested we just scrap it (replaced 4 years ago), and a contractor quoted $4500 for sheetrock repair, painting that was required in most rooms due to large nails being used for hanging lots of posters, replacement of floors damaged by water leak under sink that was unreported, replacement of hot water heater stand for damage from a separate water leak that was unreported, so by doing the work ourselves (its done at this point) we reduced our cost considerably, and if the tenant decides to make us whole we reduced the cost to do so considerably.

I just can't believe a judge, or anyone could say your time is worth $0 or that because you own the property you aren't entitled to charge for work required to get the property in the condition they should have left it if you do the work yourself but you can charge if you pay someone to do the work.  Of course, this assumes it is properly documented with before/after pictures and before/after property condition reports.  How do apartments account for costs of repairs when their own staff does the repairs? 

Again, I don't want to be the "stereotypical" sleazy landlord and gouge people by charging for things that were not their responsibility or overcharging for repairs, but I don't feel asking to be compensated for my time to take care of tasks they should have is unreasonable or sleazy.  I do appreciate your input and comment!

Ok, lets get the "it depends on your state/local municipality" out of the way.  I am looking for a more general quesiton of what is a reasonable hourly rate (or per job) to charge for DIY repairs.  

For example, if a tenant chews up a few wall corners moving their things out and I am capable to doing the work myself what is a fair rate to charge, without waisting one of my contractor's time for a bid?  How about garbage collection/clean up of items left in a garage?  

Yes, I know if I pay somone to do it that is a tangable cost that I can easily justify by providing the invoice.  But should I be forced to work for free because I would prefer to save the out of pocket cost?  I am not trying to justify raking someone over the coals, just looking for what LLs with more experience in turnovers and SD retention think is a best practice.

We have been fortuniate that we have now only had 2 tenants move out of our homes in the last 7 years, one was our first tenant ever who finished her masters and moved for work and the other was an inheriated tenant of a home we bought in the 2Q of 2017.  The first one left the place imaculate (100% security depost refund) and this last one had leaks occuring for months that she never reported, and actually moved the moisture alarms without thinking to give us a call and notify us, as well as kids with permenant markers, nail polish left on the countertops, sheetrock damage, carpet trashed, oven gross, you get the picture.  

Normally, if security deposit retention is required, our plan would be to hire out the labor required to get the property ready again and just take it out of the security deposit and return the remainder.  However, in this instance the carpet alone was twice the SD and we are fully capable of doing the work to get the property back up and running.

We include the below text with our move out check list as a way to encourage tenants to ensure these items are clean and/or addressed prior to move out.  We also dont expect to charge the full amount in all instances.  For instance, we are charging $100 for 3 hours of bagging trash that was left in the garage and loose in the drive way and $50 for cleaning the oven, which was filty on the inside (not the $75 stated in the move out checklist).  

In summary, we want to do the right thing and save money by not hiring out work we can do ourselve.  As such we would love to get the opinion of the more seasoned investors as to how we can acheive this without putting us at risk of looking like we are gouging to a Judge if we are ever challenged on our itemized invoice.

For those of you who hung on this long I have included a copy of the invoice being sent for reference. I would love to get feedback that is specific to these items if anyone has an opinion.

@Yvonne Santiago, PM me and I will happily send you the information I have.  Also, I did post some info above if you look a couple replys up.  Either way, I wish you the best of luck with your foundation repair.

Richard with integrity has done a couple foundations for us in the recent past and gone above and beyond our expectations for a fair price. 817. 671. 8351

     Thanks for your input, what sources would you use in Texas to set your rental price?  We seem to have been lucky since we get a fair amount of interest but never have folks knocking down our doors. We have 3 units and all were priced using those tools.  Specifically, we use the current homes for rent not the "Zestimate" from Zillow.  However, if there is a better tool I would love to know about it. 

     Also, I agree 30 days would be the minimum and I personally think 60 to 90 is where I am comfortable.  Based on the input from the other users I will probably start my research at 90 days and plan on delivering it before the 60-day mark.  

     Perhaps I am too nice but If I were in their shoes, especially if there were a big increase, I would want some time to assess my options.  We want people who want to be in the house and recognize the value they are getting.  Not people who think they didn't have any other options.  I know we give our renewals a fair renewal rate and one that if they want to stay in the same market they won't be able to beat (like for like) and I want them to have time to figure that out for themselves instead of me having to tell them.  This also gives me advanced notice if they won't be renewing so I can start my marketing campaign. 

I would like to thank everyone for their contributions to this discussion.  I really do appreciate the different views and ideas around this topic.  It has been very helpful!

@JD Martin, That is exactly what I did. (Good to know it wasn't a mistake)  I suggested they look on Zillow and Rentometer.com to see what comparable homes are renting for in the market.  They sent me some pretty heated texts after that (they are paying 1,350 and market is around 1,750).  With late fees, they are paying about 1,500 per month now.  We were considering renewing them at 1,600.  Since carpet needs to be replaced and the interior of the house needs to be painted we figure we wouldn't ask top of the market price.  The struggle with this tenant is that they signed a 2-year lease about $50 per month lower than the market at the time they signed. So, any attempts to get them close to market makes them feel like it's a ridiculous increase.  

I am in agreement that non-renewal is a very tempting option in this situation.  If they are chronically late now what makes us think they can pay on time when we increase the rent.  However, I can also see my partners position that if we don't renew, we incur turn costs, (renovation, vacancy, etc.)

@Jim Adrian,  I absolutely agree.  I actually researched in the Texas Residential Property code before I even posted on this forum.  Considering my state doesn't have requirements I was wondering what the more experienced landlords were doing.  I have made it a point to read the Texas Residential Property Code cover to cover multiple times and always refer back to it when I have questions or feel like I need a refresher.  

 Hi Kim,  Thank you for the information!  I did check the Texas Residential Property Code and there are no restrictions around renewal notice, only that you provide 30 days before the termination of the lease.  I was in the same line as you that 90 days was probably a little too long of notice but also want to ensure that I am following the "Golden Rule". I bought my first house at 18 and have never been a tenant but I would want advanced notice of rent increases to allow me to survey my options.  No matter what, requesting it 5 months in advance and being upset about 90 days is a bit absurd.  

Hey Thomas,  Thank you for the quick response and I agree with you but also have a partner. I would have already evicted at this point but partner wants to see if we can get them shaped up with proper management (late fees, notices to quit, etc).  When do you start providing renewal notices with rate increases on your leases?  (I understand Canada can have some strict requirements about notices). Thanks again