All Forum Posts by: Paul Salmela

As a landlord that owns several properties I have standardized on Valspar (Oatbran) with a satin sheen.  All my properties have the same color/sheen so when I have a turn I typically just have to go in a do some touch ups as opposed to painting the whole property.  

Just wanted to provide an update.  I talked with an attorney and was told that I should not be responsible for any of these costs since I acted quickly to remedy the issue.  I offered my tenant $1,000 to help pay their bill and they accepted.  

Appreciate all the responses! 

I have the insurance bills that they had to pay.  No indications that they were bitten but they talked with the CDC and DNR and since the bat was in their bed they recommended getting rabies shots.  

Maurice - thanks for the chart! 

Talked with my Insurance agent and they wouldn't cover this no would the renters insurance my tenants had.  

Yes, I require that they have renters insurance but I'm not sure that their insurance would cover this.  I called my agent and I'm waiting for him to return my call.  I'm thinking he'd be able to let me know if insurance would typically cover this.   

A few months ago my tenant e-mailed me and said "We've had 3 bats in the house in the past 2 weeks and this morning one was in our bed when we woke up." The went on to say that they got their rabies shots.

5 days later I get a pest control expert out there and he gave me recommendation for installing one way bat doors and patch up a bunch of small holes on the outside of the home.

A couple weeks after this I was able to get a contractor out there to patch the inside and outside of the home and install one way bat traps. I didn't hear of any more issues after this.

Now my tenant asked me to reimburse both of them for their rabies shots. Their insurance covered some but they still owe $3300. They are good tenants and have been here for several year.

Is this my responsibility? What would you do? 

Appreciate the responses.  I am not going to go with another home warranty plan based on what I've heard! 

I own several rental properties and have had them under a repair plan through Xcel Energy (our local utility company).  I had been paying $14/month and they will cover most repairs on my furnace and three appliances for this cost.  I live in MN and I primararly get this plan so that my tenants can call in an issue with their furnace and have a tech out there in a matter of hours (this is needed when the temps drop below 0).   I just got a notice that they are increasing their cost to $20/month and I'm considering dropping this or changing to another plan. 

I just got off the phone with American Home Shield and it sound like they offer more of a cadillac but the cost is $40/month and they charge $125 per call (more than I'm paying).   Does anyone out there use this or anything else like this?  If so, what has been your experience?

Thanks! 

Seeing what you wrote is getting me motivated to become more automated!  Here's one big change I made...  Two years ago I requested an account with Knockrentals.com and they gave me one for free.  I use this to schedule all my showings and it has been a real timesaver.  All my units are occupied when I do showings so I work out an hour window (once or twice a week) with my tenant, put the timeframe for showings in knock, and all the showings automatically get scheduled during the hour window (and I don't need to respond to e-mails).  I typically have multiple people showing up during showing which isn't ideal but I average 2 showings to rent a property which is a big timesaver for me.  

@Jordan Moorhead I'm out of town on January 18th but if you have another meetup I'd be glad to attend.  Send me the meetup or facebook group for any future meetings. 

@Ken Lorb - I'm still active managing my rental properties (I now own 25) and have a good feel on this market.  I haven't purchased anything for a couple years b/c properties here have gotten a bit expensive (although it's much cheaper here than in San Francisco).  I'm glad to connect with you and help out!