The joys of being a landlord, Part927
 

So today is the first full day of our vacation. We arrived yesterday in a downpour, which continued most of last night. I wake up this AM to bright sunshine, and it's
going to be a beautiful day at the beach. At 9, my phone rings, and it's our tenant and there's no water in the house. I'm 3 hours away, so this sucks. So I call our plumber, who doesn't do well and pump work, just to get a good referral. He's away for the weekend, so I'm on my own. I checked home advisor online, and got the name of a well rated company. I gave them a call and they had someone out within an hour. $189 trip and diagnosis fee. Now, I'm not enjoying the beautiful day.

2 hours later I get a call that the submersible well pump has **** the bed. $1700, but will be fixed today. Now I'm really not enjoying the beautiful day. I spend the day angsting over this, while sitting on the deck watching the ocean, and consuming copious amounts of beer. I finally get a call at 6 this evening that everything has been repaired, and all is good in the time/space continuum. My wallet is lighter, and I probably got a few more gray hairs, but such is life.

Rant over.

Sorry to hear, but that's just part of the business. Just think, someone is buying you a house when you sit ans drink beer. The next time you drink beer looking at the ocean, there will be no plumbing headaches and that tenant is still buying you a house.

Yep....had the same kind of thing. Just got to work when one of my tenants calls about the sewage spilling out of the toilet all over the floor. Ben Franklin plumbing to the rescue. $450 later and all I have to do is drive three hours and replace some carpet and pad. Oh well...S..t happens.

Reminds me of $5K in repairs one absentee mom's two teenage kids cost me 7 years ago. All new carpets, total interior repaint, 3 handrails in staircases pulled out of the walls, and..... what a nightmare. The only good thing is the appreciation. Last week replaced the fringe. Last year, washing machine and stove, all new siding and paint. Year before that new comp roof. Hoping to actually get ahead this year.

When we buy these things, first thing we do is yank our all wires and panel, plumbing and some of the drain pipes. After that, we go after the kitchen and bath so I know its solid, not more chicken chit leaks that will do damage over time. This way, I know I can go away with my family and actually enjoy the beer. I know, This is an absolutely PITA. Glad its fixed now

That's not bad. I've had three tenants that have passed in their apts in the past 6 years. They weren't found until a week or two later...in the summer.

Furnace installed, 7/2013. Tenant calls me 3/14, heat is not coming on. I call my furnace guy. 2 hour later, he calls me. Can't check furnace because it's underwater. Furnace was in the crawl space, sump pump had failed. Yeah, THAT set me back a few bucks.

However.....said house is in Seattle. And I bought it at the bottom of the market....I've got no complaints. :D

Look forward to the day you sell a rental. Kinda the same feeling you get when you sell a boat...

Yep. When I read these stories, I wonder what these guys think being a landlord is? Just buy a property, let someone else pay the mortgage and never have to fix anything? :confused:

This is why being a landlord isn't for everyone. It's probably the easiest path to wealth in the world yet most people avoid it like the plague. It sucks unless you have a management company or team that handles this type of stuff and collects the rent, pays the bills, etc., you are that guy.

I knew exactly what I was getting into.

Purchase price in 2011, $258k. Sank in another $40k in updates and carrying cost. Price on Zillow today? $645k. Rent is $500 more than the mortgage payment. Yup, stuff is going to go wrong. You have to take the long view.....

It's the 10/10 plan.
Every year, something breaks and costs ten grand. Next year it's something different.
Then after ten years it's a brand new house again.

Yep, but many management team and repairmen are in bed together to help lower your blood pressure and your wallet too. I helped an old friend with her apartment in Silverlake last year. The management co. handed her (parents bought the apt. in the 60s and she's now trying to get a handle on this place) an estimate to re-pipe, foundation and a huge retaining wall for 190k. I looked at the place and got my subs to do all the necessary work for 90k. I didn't make any money from her but still, that's not a 100 k worth of profit. This included repairing a section of the foundation was undermined by water. I had to deal with the management co. on logistics with the tenants and such. He was not happy to see me or talk to me. He btiched to the inspector about me but thankfully we die everything by the book. Hey, so he lost out on a 100k:o

Good for you, man. Nothing feels better than blocking a scumbag from ass raping a friend.

Sold my rentals about thirteen years ago. That was a happy time for me, but over all I can't say the landlord roll was overly negative - over a span of 25 years. It's basically a business, and I always looked at it as such and my relationship with it was that it was just another job. For me, I felt having a hands on approach without farming out things to management companies was the best. I kept on top of things and was able to anticipate some problems to mitigate them up front.

This is the key. Most owners aren't willing to do that. They wait until the problems arises then its too late. I just changed out a 13 year old water heater a couple weeks ago. The renters were happy I did that, but I really did it for my own sanity and not for them. I know for a fact that its going to go south in the next few years so to save me from a lots of btiching from my wife, I just get rid of it now that I have the luxury of telling my plumber to do the job when he has free time.

Most owner don't want to spend the money to get rid of potential issues from the beginning. I try like hell and spend the time and money up front to get rid of any problems for a smooth sailing in the coming 10 years. Sure, things will come up, but small stuff that can wait a day or two.

My biggest issue is people dumping crap down the sink or call us because of hair getting stuck in the trap.

Yeah, thanks Dennis. She's an old high school friend.

How you doing with that place in the arts district?

I just did the same thing. Replaced a ten year old water heater after the unit became vacant. The water heater was trapped in the utility room by the newer furnace I had installed ten years ago. Had to open adjacent wall and install an access door just in case anything ever goes wrong. I did buy the best water heater I could find hoping I'll never get the call in the middle of the night.

Denis, sorry to burst your bubble, but we bought this property late in 2013 in a short sale, for cash. Half the building is our office. The other half is a residential rental, which we renovated first, to be able to rent it out. Then we renovated the other side, our office, which used to be the village general store and post office. We spent close to 75K to renovate the two sides combined. I have no expectation of the rent "paying the mortgage", but I just don't like having **** like this happen when I'm 3 hours away on vacation, since I live 1 minute away, walking. The money isn't the issue, just the stress of having it happen when I'm not there.

Try to get together with your trusty contractor and see about the things that need to be replace in the near future and start changing out those items to prevent screwing up your vacation. Lots less stress that way. For some strange reason, chit always happens when you are away.

About $12000 in already in legal fees into getting rid of a tenant who has legal aid(ie free lawyers, top specialists in their field) and hasn't paid any rent for about 2 years, and has ruined the house. The English legal system is very pro-tenant, and judges find for them with the least excuse. This cunning cow always succeeds in putting in a defence on the last day possible, this time just before the courts summer break which is July-September inclusive believe it or not.Next hearing for us is October, several more thousand dollars in lost rent. We will have to get rid of mould then completely redecorate because she has probably never opened a window in ten years, new kitchen, new one and a half bathrooms, new carpeting throughout (due to her dog which is against tenancy rules).Already she has been through three fridge/freezers, two central heating boilers, and the cooker repairman refused to work on the appliance because he said it was far too dirty-his photos prove this. None of this will convince the judge to get rid of her. Many things that you may think of mentioning are against the law in England and carry jail terms for landlords, eg cutting off power or water.
If she is ever finally ordered to evict, she will wait for us to use bailiffs( more expense), because then she will just take their letter to the city and they will re-house her.