Hi all,I would like some advice on an issue we are facing at our rental right now.We have a 2-storey rental home (built in 2005), where the tenant called us in early January saying they are seeing a 2ft by 2ft wet spot on the ceiling and adjacent drywall of an upper storey bedroom.

Mostly landscaping and replacing an old ceiling fan in the patio. 

Cap ex will go up  some as nicer finishes are needed with more expensive properties, but won't keep pace proportionally, as many things have a ceiling on the cost (like roofs) and repairs certainly shouldn't keep pace ( replacing a toilet will have similar costs regardless of property value)

Look for water stains on the ceilings, or obvious drywall repairs, potentially indicating a leak.  

This could be on the ceiling or in the attic if it is the roof leaking.

Some of the time however they will have a guy not put on an angle stop back on correctly during a rehab and leave for Disneyland*** so that you cannot reach them when your downstairs tenant calls you in a panic at 11PM on a Sunday night right after the ceiling collapsed in a big waterfall. 

I purchased the paint for another job had $150 in the 2 5gallon buckets of behr ultra, $46 in ceiling paint, 2 shower valves at $55 each, drywall at $64, insulation $60, plumbing fittings at $23, tile was $100, $60 in door knobs, I payed my employees for cleaning all 4 units out, painting 1 apartment and half other, tearing out paneling and insulation, re install new insulation and hang and finish drywall, install 2 shutoff valves and install scald proof valve.

I worry about a renter with a leaky washer destroying my floor boards and ceiling.  

It's not a bad way to go…. but most people don't like the low ceilings.

You can look at the same 'for sale' and 'sold' properties to guage the range and find the ceiling.