All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Allen

Updating. It's been a few weeks, now, but I followed up with my turnkey provider and simply asked to help me understand the situation. They were happy to walk me through the repair requests, and they confirmed that they had actually taken care of one of them (the paint on the porch). The sliding door issue had been attributed to tenant damage. So, there seemed to have been some miscommunication between the provider and the property manager. Now I'm working with the property manager to get the sliding door fixed, and it makes a lot more sense that the door problem happened after the tenant moved in. I'll be asking the property manager for a copy of the move-in condition checklist to confirm that, too.

Good lesson that calling for clarification is never a bad idea.

Thanks, @Chris Clothier. That makes sense (and thanks for the reassurance). Looks like I have some calls to make, and if they don't change the situation much, that's why we set aside for cap ex, right? (the property would be in the B range)

Hi BP folks,

I could use some more experienced eyes on this.

I bought a fully rehabbed "turnkey" property from a turnkey provider in a Midwest city 7 months ago. A tenant moved in 5 months ago. I just got a notification from the property manager (different company than the turnkey provider) that they received service calls from the tenant, so they went to see. The manager said that the sliding glass door was improperly installed and is now broken and inoperable. The handle is broken and the screws are stripped. They say that a whole new door needs to be installed and the framing redone. Estimate: $1,700.

Secondly, the porch was apparently painted in the wrong kind of paint and is now peeling. They suggest we strip it, sand it, paint and seal it. Estimate: $1,300.

The property manager also said that they sent the claims/requests to the turnkey provider, which were denied.

That's the situation.

So, my question is whether I'm solely on the hook for the repairs. I don't think the repairs are frivolous, but I definitely wasn't expecting such things quite so soon after buying a "fully rehabbed" property (so I'm disappointed in the turnkey provider). And I suspect that the sliding door wasn't in such rough shape when the tenant moved in (so I'm a bit upset that the tenant didn't call right away, if the door was indeed not working correctly right away, rather than totally breaking it and THEN calling). I don't want to burn bridges or nickel and dime tenants or business partners, but I feel a bit taken advantage of.

What do you think? Do I just need to get over my newbie gut-check, or would I be foolish to simply sign a check for the full repair amount. And if so, any suggestions for a course of action? 

Thanks for reading,

Jonathan

Thanks for the welcome, everyone, and great advice. I will definitely have to check out the Madison meetup!

Hello! My name is Jonathan, and my increasingly voracious reading about real estate investing led me inevitably to Bigger Pockets (originally through coachcarson.com, I think). So, here I am, getting off the bench where I've been observing, and stepping towards the game!

My wife and I live in Madison, WI, which is where we are interested in investing. We love the area, and are interested in helping it to thrive. We have been long-time renters, and have been looking towards purchasing a primary residence when I stumbled upon a Coach Carson article about house hacking, which got me really excited.

It's a strong seller's market right now in Madison, so we have kind of been biding our time while saving up. In the meantime, I'm trying to learn more about the market, and investing in general, so that when things cool off a little, I'm ready to buy. Would love to find a small multifamily and live in one unit, and then look for buy and hold rentals after that. I guess that's one thing I'm hoping to figure out while here, whether it's wise to wait out a seller's market, or if it's better to get in early becuase you can't predict the future.

But, for now, I know there's a ton to learn and people to meet and help.