All Forum Posts by: Michael Nahm

@Michael Nahm

They also make humidity sensing fans that have automatic modes. I just wired mine to power without a switch so it is fully automated. (I do have to throw a breaker if the power ever goes out, to reset it back to the automatic mode)

For your application, I like the light switch idea. If you were worried about them turning the light switch off too soon, you could probably add a relay with a built in timer, so the fan would run for a set time after the light was turned off.

@Michael Nahm  I've dealt with this issue before.  Here's a few ideas for you (in no particular order) that should help:

- Clean/remove all the visible mold.  One product I've used previous is called Concrobium Mold Control. It comes in a spray bottle and is designed to stop/prevent/kill mold and mildew.  

- Repaint the bathroom but add a Mildewcide additive to the paint to prevent future growth of mold and mildew.

- Replace the current bathroom fan with a newer/higher CFM fan.  I really like the Panasonic Whisper fans.  They're well built and very quiet.  If they're too loud your tenant won't want to turn them on.  A work around for that is to buy a quieter fan or just wire the fan together with the light so it always comes on when the light is turned on and then the tenant doesn't have a choice.  However, there is a good reason to have them wired separately (see my next bullet point).  

- Put the fan on a timer switch so the fan can be set to run for a predetermined length of time (10, 20, 30, 60 minutes).  The advantage to this is that the fan can continue to run even after the tenant is out of the shower and continue to remove moisture from the room.

Anyway, that's just a few ideas.  None of them are expensive and if you did all of them I'm willing to bet you'd see a big improvement.  

Defiant deadbolts, which is what I use on most of my properties, are twelve bucks each for double cylinder and ten bucks for single cylinder. I keep the large key ring in my backpack manpurse along with my most basic tools.

I think @Erik W. is making a good point about having screws that make it difficult for tenants to replace your locks with theirs, but all you need is a decent drill bit on a cordless drill and three minutes to get through any deadbolt. In my property class, with my limited number of properties, and since I'm my own handyman/locksmith, going through plenty of new deadbolts available at any Home Depot or Lowes makes more sense for me.

That being said, yes, I try to hold on to old deadbolts and move them to other properties, but often that's just too much work for me. My long-term tenants almost never give back two keys and they often scratch up the old deadbolts around the keyholes, which limits their reusability given how cheap new ones are.

They are more expensive up front but the Kwikset Smartkey landlord locks are sooooo helpful and very much worth it.  Change locks between every tenant.  

We keep a stock of locks and simply rotate. Out with the old, in with the older. 

Yes , with every turnover. 

5 minutes. Zero dollars.