All Forum Posts by: Vern M.

@

Linda Weygant

is absolutely spot on about the walls.  My lesson learned was, if there is a very strong pet smell in the unit upon move out, (or they had a couple of cats) I would pull the carpet and pad and and drop in an ozone machine over the weekend. If it still smells, I go extreme and treat like mold remediation. Cut 2' up on drywall, Wash then Kilz (or Binz) the studs and subfloor 2Xcoats (remove the tack strip for the carpet, btw) Ozone machine again.

Then reassess. The humidity needs to be low. 

If there is still a strong smell,  set fire to the house. Smoke damage smells alot better than cat pee.  :') (Just kidding about the fire!!)

There may be a little smell, but just let it air out.

I had a unit down 3 months just because of this issue. But I initially treated like a regular issue. expensive move.

FYI  courts like paperwork. All documentation of complaints, how you tried to address it, how you went out of your way(and out of pocket) to help in trying to resolve the issue. I have found that as long as we have this documentation, and appear for court, it works out pretty well.

he's getting $100 for just walking with you? I would list out what you expect during the visit on a checklist and make sure that he completes that. Bigger issues and concerns should be documented on an other sheet. I would not pay more than that

I you are not comfortable in your knowledge about identifying current and potential problems, then only bring a handyman that you trust (will always find 10 more probs than are really there) give him $50 to change filter, clear drains with zipit, flush boiler, hwh, check outlets etc. And then have him give you prices (broken down by t&m) for issues. Then decide if they are worth doing 

right. Can't charge fees for service (comfort) animals. But you can most assuradly charge for damage. Make sure before they move in there is no urine or pet stains in the apt and state that the unit they are about to move into is indeed free of it (put this in all of your leases) also keep an eye out for damage to door jambs and the bottom of the doors

Service animals do have documentation and you could ask for it

imho, you should send out a letter stating that you will be doing a PM. In my experience when I've sent out letters to change filters, the leave their bedrooms locked. (After changing the door knobs...violation) limiting my access to just the furnace.

When you send an inspection letter, they get defensive and hide serious problems.

PM letters that state that we will be doing repairs allows them to complain about everything, while making it less of an intrusion when you are going into their master closet (and the noticing the water damage stain caused a loose screw in the overflow plate when they take a bath. It's leaked in there 3 times, but they forgot to mention it."

don't tile on subfloor. Wood is not good to tile on. 

First install subfloor,

Construction adhesive

Cement board

Thin layer of thinset

Then tile

you can Glaze the ctop. They are relatively cheap to get done, and are easy to repair (even after having a hot pot set on it)

is it rentable?

So how do you guys schedule your time. 

I have a high paced day job, parenting (which should count as 2 jobs) and the REI job. Calling lenders, agents, looking up properties, calling comps, researching previous sales, etc.

How do you juggle.