All Forum Posts by: Marvin Q.

Linda,

Thank you so much for your feedback.  I feel a little better.  

Marvin

Scott,

That did the trick!  Thanks Scott!

Hi Everyone,

I feel a little uncomfortable that my full name appears in these forums is there a way to change that so it shows my profile name instead?

Kelly N.

According to my Handyman about 3 window need to be replaced ($55 each from Home Depot).  

3 window screens ($55 each)             165

New Screen door with Metal shield 125.00
Rear Sliding Door Metal Screen. 165.00
Plus his estimated labor for the day (but he'll lower it if it only takes an hour or two) $300.  which equals $755.

I should add I do trust my handyman and he's done some good quality work for me in the past.  But, I guess I can negotiate his fee down...  I'm just aggravated by having to deal with this stuff.

Linda,

Believe me I've argued with the wife about refinancing the property. It was the house we moved into when we got married. the other small upside is our kids love the pool... since we pay the HOA they still get to use it. I know it sounds small, but seeing my kids happy about that helps some of the sting.

I'm planning on re-financing the property. The only problem is my wife isn't working steadily so we're worried we won't qualify. She's more of the opinion of just paying the house off so we just have to worry about the HOA and Property Tax. We're about 5-6 years from doing that.

Also, we've had a hard time finding a property that will give us positive cash flow without us having to put down a huge down payment over 20%.  

I've rented my property twice already.  

Both times I stated in my ad 'No Pets', but ended up liking and renting to tenants that had pets.  My wife and I just liked and felt more confident with 'those' applicants.

Each time it was fine I had no problems.  I think the next time I look for tenants, I'll add a pet fee.

Marvin

Hi Everyone I'm new here and wanted to ask anyone's advice about knowing when and when not to do requested repairs on a property. I'm in California. I have 'good' tenants. The problem is they ask for a lot of repairs. Some were necessary like the dishwasher breaking down. Some not so necessary, like a fence that was getting a little old.

Now they are asking to repair several window and door screens. My handyman quoted me $755 for replacement plus labor.  $755 just to replace screens?  I'm sure some of you that have smaller pockets can attest, sometimes things can be a little tight.

I'm halfway thinking of just selling the property. This property used to be my primary residence, so with the rent collected, plus HOA fees, plus Property Tax we're still under a couple hundred a month.

Can I tell my tenants no for this repair?  There screens were there when they moved in. What's the best way to handle this situation? Or should I seriously consider just doing the repair and keep the property quality up? On the other hand if I do the repair and something more serious breaks down like the AC I'm in a deeper hole.

What do you guys advise?

Thanks
Marvin