All Forum Posts by: Russell W.

During pre-covid times it was a bit more feasible, though not easy, to do work while the unit was occupied. Now with more people at home (although that seems to be changing) it makes it much more difficult. It really depends on what type of work you're having done. If a new bathroom, is there a second bathroom tenants can use while the other is out of service? If a kitchen, how do you ensure the tenants have a functioning kitchen during a renovation? Cabinets and countertops can be a one-day install if scheduled properly. It all depends on what you're doing, if the tenant is home during the day, and whether or not you want to deal with the coordination. One option I've heard before is to offer putting the tenant in a hotel or Air BNB for a week or two while renovations are taking place, and pay for that cost. You get the renovations completed and the tenant comes home to a nice, new apartment. Just something to consider. 

Wow... breaking pad locks and seemingly picking other locks, this person is determined, and destructive! Seems like she is more hassle than what it's worth, so I would try using the "happy clause" to let her out of her lease (if you feel like you can easily fill the apartment). Confront her about the issue, mention that you understand she is not happy with the apartment conditions and that she can terminate the lease. If she declines, I'd mention that fiddling with building equipment is a breach of her contract (i.e. you can move to evict). I imagine that would get her to stop. 

Short of all that, you can hire a contractor to relocate the temperature controls to an inconspicuous location and disconnect the current control to become non-functional. The placebo effect works wonders

Yea I would say fumigation is a big leap at this point. Appease her and help yourself avoid a bigger issue down the road by placing some bait stations and borax where pets can't get to them (if you allow pets in the building) and reassess in a few weeks. 

Just sent you a PM 

Plumbing is what I always look out for. I mentioned my experience with it in this thread here, there's a lot of good information to consider from everyone. 

Something else to throw in- as you're looking at various products be sure to look at the thickness of the "wear layer". Don't go right for the cheapest product. It'll have a much thinner wear layer and thus scratch/gouge much more easily. 

It's funny- I have a unit with an old cast iron tub (which yours appears to be, based on the flaking near the overflow drain) and it seems to pool in the same area. I'm not aware of any topical product you can put on the tub to fix the slope, nor would I be willing to try it out. In my opinion it's not that big of a deal. I would just give it a good cleaning before showing/renting the unit. Short of that, if you wanted to replace the tub you'll find yourself removing at least a couple courses of the tile to get the tub out. Seems like far more work that what it's worth. 

It's interesting how certain platforms can have varying quality of leads amongst the responses. I'm with Jefferson- I use Zillow and begrudgingly pay the $9.99 but tend to get the most leads, and they tend to be good leads too. Something else that hasn't been mentioned (perhaps its market specific) is Apartments .com Also free and a quality platform. 

Given that you discussed hiring a plumber to potentially fix the radiator I will assume these are hot water radiators rather than electric. That being said, it seems strange that one radiator would not be working while the rest are. I would search for a zone valve that might be shut off.

41 years old... that thing is on borrowed time. If I were in your situation I would replace it now rather than deal with the surprise break down when you have a tenant living there.