Quote from @Jim K.:
Quote from @Ryan Legat:
Being proactive helps in these situations. I would recommend next time update your lease to account for these situations. Writing a clause such as "All minor repairs under 500 dollars (or whatever dollar amount you choose) is the responsibility of the tenant" will prevent the tenant from nickel and diming you. Make sure with the wording you make it clear it doesn't matter whos' responsibility it is. Those small repairs add up over time.
To be perfectly clear, "gotcha policies" like the above are why the best long-term tenants always prefer to deal with a self-managing landlord running a small portfolio who does most of her/his own maintenance. This is where our business model provides what others will not. This is what I'm selling when I show the apartment, this is what I'm selling every time I show up to do a maintenance fix, this is what I'm selling every time I tell one of my tenants that they can call me in the middle of the night if they need to know the time. I'm committed to this life, I'm committed to rental income, and I can provide superior service and support compared to any hands-off hobby landlord running rental properties as an alternative investment strategy easily.
Hands off? How exactly am I a hands off? Or a "hobby landlord" or whatever that means? I literally house hack/hacked in a class D neighborhood/s as we speak. I'm knocking on their door if they are too loud, FIXING THINGS, and experiencing the ups and downs of a landlord/tenant relationship first hand. I"m down in the thick of things everyday, living in a neighborhood most people are "too good" for , but personally believe has a bright future ahead of it. And yes, I work as a landlord, and in real estate, full time. Explain to me how that is a side gig, or "hobby".
You're free to agree or disagree all you like, I certainly welcome the dialogue. But...saying things about me that are untrue is unacceptable. It's called lying. Is there a particular reason what I said won't work? Or did you just want to take the opportunity an make yourself look good, by lying about other people, for upvotes and badges on an internet forum?
Doesn't matter how high quality the tenants are, writing a strong lease agreement that protects YOUR interests, and being proactive (preventing the problem before it happens), will do nothing but help prevent liability and tenants who want to abuse the system.
Where in my post did I say you should never fix things yourself as a landlord, or that I running rental properties as an alternative investment strategy? I said absolutely nothing about maintenance, or investment strategies in my post. My post was about lease agreements. Again your making a claim about something I didn't say, which is totally dishonest.
There are many ways to manage a rental property depending upon your life situation. Some people do it as a full time job, some to diversify their investment portfolio for the future. Some can self manage, some can't. It is all situational. It is not just for the ones that "manage themselves" and take an elitist approach. It doesn't automatically make your way "better" because you self manage. There are problems, than there are solutions to those problems. What if you can't self manage? Does that mean you will never run your business like someone who does? I know plenty of slumlords that self manage, and large investment firms that are honest and fair. Your argument makes no sense and runs counter to many real life examples.
