A cautionary tale for those of you with 2nd homes or rentals

[motion]

One of my rentals in Albuquerque has been vacant for about 8 months. I couldn't find a suitable renter, so kind of gave up, and then spent most of this year traveling out of the country, which makes it difficult to answer calls. I finally turned it over to a property management company and they rented it within 45 days.

Tenant moves in. 2 days later, sewage is backing up everywhere into the house. Brand new carpets are soaked in sewer.

Roto Rooter came out and cleared the sewer line, which fixed the problem.

Turns out that if a house is vacant for a while, the stuff in the sewer line solidifies, which blocks new waste from exiting the house.

I had no idea. Lesson learned.

[GH85Carrera]

That sucks for you and the tenants.

Hopefully insurance will help you out.

[asphaltgambler]

You may have an issue with your insurance as the home went un-occuppied for that long. Ask me how I know................

[fastfredracing]

Been there, it makes sense ...seems like as soon as we rent one that has been sitting for a while, we instantly have sewer problems. Clean out the pipes, and we are good to go ...
Although , sometimes, we have also found chicken bones, 2 pounds of pasta, diapers, sos pads, paper towells, tampons, etc. you name it .

[VFR750]

Sad but so true. My wife and I rented a townhouse that had been vacant for a while. Couple of days after moving in I Found my wife on the floor in the kitchen caused by the shower(overhead) overflowing the drain in the kitchen sink.

They cleaned out the drains and never had a problem for the next 15 months.

Luckily no injuries. Just wet clothing.

[porsche4life]

Damn. Sorry to hear that Richard. Hope the tenant isn't too pissed!

[HardDrive]

Thank you for posting. Our house in Seattle needs the first 30 feet of the sewer line replaced, and frankly I forgot about it. There has been a single gal living there, so it hasn't been an issue.

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by porsche4life

Damn. Sorry to hear that Richard. Hope the tenant isn't too pissed!

Maybe too $-hitfaced to be pissed?

(That's bad luck, Richard; I hope the aftermath goes well...)

[dtw]

Man, Richard, that is a really *****ty situation. Good luck.

[john70t]

So get the rental mains snaked and scoped every five years, or more.
Couple hundred bucks.

Problem solved. Good post.

[Craig T]

I'm sorry to hear that. What a hassle.

…I have to ask. How did you end up with a rental in Albuquerque??? Don't you live in California?

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Sorry everything turned to poop on that deal!

[JavaBrewer]

Originally Posted by motion

One of my rentals in Albuquerque has been vacant for about 8 months. I couldn't find a suitable renter, so kind of gave up, and then spent most of this year traveling out of the country, which makes it difficult to answer calls. I finally turned it over to a property management company and they rented it within 45 days.

Tenant moves in. 2 days later, sewage is backing up everywhere into the house. Brand new carpets are soaked in sewer.

Roto Rooter came out and cleared the sewer line, which fixed the problem.

Turns out that if a house is vacant for a while, the stuff in the sewer line solidifies, which blocks new waste from exiting the house.

I had no idea. Lesson learned.

Curious what the property management folks are charging you. PM me details. I am close to pulling trigger on some light remodel work for the Santa Barbara home of my parents. Plan is to lease it in support of their (substantial) assisted living/nursing needs. Its a small town and I have had management folks out of the blue contact me offering their services. I'm leaning towards finding a long term lease on my own - the area is pretty hot these days. Also had realtors, guessing they saw the U-Haul truck out front, come out of the woodwork looking for a listing. No way Jose.

[LWJ]

On topic, I have some rentals and switched to a property managers. I should have years ago. If I had, I would have more rentals today as the hassle of managing them cause me to sell some off.
I pay 8% and 5% for managers. I recommend getting a good manager, not a cheap one. I want to fire my 5% as they are not a great company.

[WPOZZZ]

Originally Posted by LWJ

On topic, I have some rentals and switched to a property managers. I should have years ago. If I had, I would have more rentals today as the hassle of managing them cause me to sell some off.
I pay 8% and 5% for managers. I recommend getting a good manager, not a cheap one. I want to fire my 5% as they are not a great company.

What do you mean 8% and 5% for managers? I pay 6% for my condos, and my apt bldgs are on a flat rate.

[Tobra]

You got it rented though

[aigel]

Very common. Happened to me before when I was the tenant. I guess a smart property manager would tell the tenant to take it easy the first few days on the sewer line and not run the washing units unattended ...

NM housing must be tough. Not the best clientele and one of the few states with steadily decreasing population ...

G

[vash]

yuck.

what is involved with cleanup? they have to go and sanitize everything? or the renters just not gonna ever invoke the "five second rule" if any food falls to the floor

this house doesnt have that mushroom looking thing right outside the home to divert the backflood outside?

[DanielDudley]

Filling the tub to the top and draining it after the renters move out would probably prevent this issue. You want to push the solids out of the pipe.

[pavulon]

Never mind. TMI.