I'm in the midst of doing another round of maintenance and safety visits. I always text the tenants in advance to ask of any problems that they're aware of. Inevitably, I find problems that they haven't reported. Of course I fix the wobbly toilet and the leaky pipe in the basement. But which of the following would you fix if they haven't reported it?

--interior door missing doorknob

--shower diverter stuck in the up position

--particleboard vanity starting to swell and lose paint due to water

--torn screen on storm door

--front door sticking a little on the bottom

--missing pull chain on basement light fixture

--squeaky hinges

None of these are a health or safety issue. They won't cause damage to the house if not fixed.

The perfectionist in me wants everything in good functional order. The cynic says, "As soon as you fix or replace it, they'll break it or the wear and tear cycle begins." What is your metric for deciding which repairs to do?

If I were a tenant attorney, and tenant was behind on rent, I might claim that:

--tenant was suffering from repeated insect bites from torn screen,

--peeling paint on vanity was a health hazard,

--missing pull chain on light caused tenant to fall in dark room,

--etc

So you should not be so quick to assume there is nothing requiring attention.

Several are likely to be quick fixes.

If you do them all, some maybe sooner than others, you protect yourself.

I also like everything in good functional working order so unless you are not concerned if tenant moves....

Robin,

We fix them all. Be blameless.

It’s “broken window syndrome” - once a window is broken the kids and vandals think it’s OK to break another, and another…pretty soon the neighborhood is a slum.

In a house the residents will not do their part to care for the home.

We stick to my 200 point checklist as our standard. Decision made. No need to agonize over lists or the helpers to not know what to do. Just keep up the checklist.

Fix it now or fix it later but lose the credibility while it’s broken.

A biggie is that we don’t rent it until everything is repaired and clean. Helps us get better people.

Also, people will complain and leave over the most petty items. Jeffrey teaches that lack of repairs is the #1 reason people leave.

I just read a National report showing that prompt repairs was in the top three reasons renters renewed and referred their friends.

Plus they will have photos for court.

Git er done!

I would take digital pictures with a time and date stamp AND print them out and save in the tenants file. Then I would send the tenant an email asking why they didn't report these repairs to me and "Who broke them".

Only serious problems that are health, safety and damaging my property would I fix that day. The rest I would schedule a return and save receipts and take more pictures.

As others have said, you'll probably need to fix them.

BUT, first give them written notice that they are in violation of the contract that says they will keep the place clean and in good repair & notify you quickly of item needing repair. (as long as it says that, of course) Remind them that they are responsible for the damage & cost of repair of: (list everything)

On SFH's. WE don't call for the "HONEY DUE LIST" 2 times a year we get inside to do the fall and summer visits. Check filter in furnace/ac test smoke alarms. Turn either heat or ac on to make sure it calls up.

Fix is one part that you have heard.

It depends on the tenant and the item. Normally if it see something that needs to be repaired I fix it.

But when I see their animal has destroyed a blind that still functions well enough I’m not going to go through the trouble of replacing it so it can be damaged again.

Had one totally ruin a custom made laminate countertop by putting hot pots on it. Too big of a job to tear out and replace to have to do it all over again when they moved.

Dog scratched to death door trim, no sense in replacing until dog is gone.

Ripped screens, cabinet knob falls off, rotted fascia boards, sticking door, broken AC return latch, missing fence slats, loose towel bar etc….would get fixed.