Silly Calls From Tenants In A Brand New Home
Hi,
I am getting ready to rent out my new luxury home and I wanted to know what are some of the reasons I would get a call for from the tenant during the first year(it could be silly stuff that they may call about). Keep in mind, the property and appliances are brand new and not much repair is expected.
thanks, Pam
Toilet over flowing, drains are clogged, noisy neighbors, ants, toilet seat breaks, fan making noise, plants are dying, light bulb needs changing, ...... they can call you for just about anything.
I reccomend reading Greg Perry's book on maximizing profits on rental properties.
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I would put in a clause/procedure that you will follow for these type of fixes. If you read Robert Shemin's MIllionaire landlord book (which I highly recommend) - he will show you how to avoid a lot of the "silly" calls to the landlord... One way is to have a deductible for everytime you have to go do "silly" maintenence to the property... They will give you $50 whenever you have to unclog the toilet, etc. This will take care of the little things...
Good Luck!
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And don't forget to add a $50 charge for every time they get locked out of their apartment or loose their keys and you end up having to let them in.
Certain things need to be done by you just because you're a responsible landlord and want to provide a quality apartment to your tenants. But many other things (i.e. changing light bulbs) should either be done by tenants or are caused by the tenants and therefore need to be paid for by the tenants. Good luck.
What I typically use is an attachment to the lease which is a Itemization of Charges. It lists out, in detail, who is responsible and at what cost for the types of problems and expenses that typically surface. Some of the previous replys have done a good job at identifying some of these more common problems.
Also, the books that have been mentioned are great reads and a must for new landlords.
While one might look for ways to reduce the number of tenant calls for "silly" things for an established property, the question is specifically about a brand new property.
Builders usually fix all the minor defects ("silly" things) that the new homeowner finds during the first year. My builder conducted a walkthrough to develop a punchlist 60 days after settlement, and then we did another one just before the one year builder's warranty expired. This gave us time to get acquainted with the property and to find all those "silly" things.
If your builder also fixes all the little "annoyances" you discover within a limited period after you purchase the property, ask the tenant to make a list. At some point in time, early in the lease, get the list from your tenant and walkthrough with the builder and the tenant. Generate the punchlist and get those things taken care of.