Hello,
Need some advice (quickly). I have some renters in Denver who mentioned awhile back that there was a slow, occasional leak coming from bath area down into basement (unfinished). At the time, he noticed it was not a major leak-just occasional. He mentioned it again, I had a plumber look at it, and was under the impression it was fixed, as I had a manager at the time look into it. Long story short, I never heard back from the tenant that it was or wasn't fixed. The plumber is now gone (can't find any receipts or records I kept). The manager doesn't remember exactly the scenario because it was over a year ago. In any case, I just need to move forward and remedy the situation soon!
I took over and recently had a couple of contractors look at it and believed there may be major water damage behind the walls, as the tub was not sealed properly.They strongly suggested to retile, as they dont know the extent of the damage behind the walls, rather than just recaulking/grouting/ and sealing again. Repair would take anywhere from a few days to a week, at worst case scenario.
The tenants are upset, as it's the only bathroom. I offered a discount on rent to compensate (25% off monthly rent). They told me they only have one car, which each parent uses for work. They do have older kids in the metro area but stated that they did not want to "impose-" although I know she sometimes takes care of the grandkids. Would it be fair to suggest that maybe her kid could extend the courtesy back to her and let them shower at her house? But, even if they did, they had no car, as it was taken for work (one for night shift, and one works day shift.). I thought about renting a car for them for a week instead of the discount? is this reasonable? too much? They just told me they are at a loss, as they have no place to go. I'm at a loss because I need to get it fixed but wondering what I should do? Dont want to lose them as tenants but again, need to have it fixed. Any advice? Please help.
My suggestion would be to pay for them to stay at a hotel until the work is complete. This would be a pain for them, but at least they would have a working shower.....which is sort of a necessity.
I had a similar scenario when I was a property manager (what a lousy job!)
Frankly, it depends on how much you like your tenants. You can:
1. Declare the place uninhabitable and let them move. You can do repairs/upgrade and get new tenants.
2. Offer a voucher for a local motel. Nothing high end, just cheap/moderately comfortable. It get the tenants out while the work is being done. Just make sure the workmen are insured/bonded.
3. Discount off rent
4. Have them come up with a solution and compensate accordingly.
GL! When contracting with your workmen make sure to have a deadline in there so they pay you if they take longer than XX days to fix the issue. No need to have them lollygag and it takes two weeks to fix things and your tenants are really miserable :)
You sound like a very caring landlord. I agree you need it fixed. The discount or the car rental would be very generous. Renting the car would probably run you less ($25 a day, or so), but you're also running a bigger risk with your name on their driving abilities. I hope you can work something out. GL! I hope the repairs go quickly and smoothly.
Wow! Usually this scenario is the other way around where the tenant wants the landlord to do something and cannot get it done.
So here is the deal, you cannot get in trouble for taking care of your tenants home for them - good grief. Also, if you are only doing the tub surround, that is a very quick project, your contractor will demo, re-drywall and reset tile the first day and grout and caulk the second day. Basically, if your tenant took a shower and got ready the morning of the 1st day of the project, they will be able to shower again the next night. If the rest of the bathroom has come in question, then just do it in stages and she has a sink in the kitchen.
Another issue to take in to consideration is mold. I am not sure what the extent of the damage is but if there is black mold you MUST get it removed properly. This is for the safety of the house and the tenant (do not even mention this to her by the way, just a note to you). You would not believe the lawsuit you could have on your hands if you did not fix a property that you knew needed fixing, especially with mold as part of the issue.
In short, you have to take care of the property legally. The tenants need to make arrangements around this. I am sure they can drive each other to work for a day and a half so they have a vehicle to get out of the house if need be. It is not your responsibility to help them ask their children for a place to stay, we are not talking about weeks here, it is a day and a half maybe 3 days max if there are any problems. Give them several options of time that will work for your contractor and offer those times to them for construction. Explain to them that this has to be done and they need to work it out. Your offer of 25% off is unheard of, they should be thrilled, so keep that offer to them if you like.
One last thought, if you have a contractor that takes a week to do this you probably have the wrong contractor.
Good luck.
