So You Want To Be A Landlord Part II Story 2

Part I
Part II Story 1

Stories Of A Landlord in Fresno CA.

BEWARE WATER DAMAGE:
Story 2

I had the house rented to a tenant that for all intents and purposes was a good tenant: rent paid on time; trouble free tenancy.

When the tenant moved out I noticed a small leak in the bathroom at the shutoff valve under the stool. The tenants never bothered to inform about this problem and the water was soaking in where the floor meets the wall. The caulking around the tub was also faulty and this water, and water that escaped the tub when they bathed the kids, had soaked through under the tub. The end result was serious water damage.

I had to remove the toilet and tub/shower, tear out the floor, replace all the damaged sub-floor structure and then replace tub, toilet, and install new linoleum.

Story 3

House was rented to good tenants who took care of the home and paid the rent on time. Whenever there was a problem they would call me and explain the problem and usually they would take care of it themselves and deduct it from the rent.

One day I drove by the house to check on things and noticed the hose bib on the front porch was shooting out tiny but constant stream of water. I spoke with the tenant about it and he said he would pick up a hose bib at the hardware store and take care of it. So what’s a hose bib cost? Less than $5.00. Anyway, I never gave it a second thought. My bad!

About 6 months later when the tenants moved out I went down to check on things and found that he never did put in a new hose bib. The wood skirting on the entire left front of the porch was rotted as a result. Not a big deal really. But when I tore it off I found out that the beam under it that supported the entire front of the house was also rotted. I had to go to a specialty lumber store to get a beam sized to match the old house. Then I had to go rent house jacks to jack the house up. Then I had to get a crew of helpers together to jack up the house and replace the beam. I would dread to think what a contractor would have charged me to do the above. All because of hose bib that could have been replace for next to nothing!

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If you’re stuck with a home that you have to sell or rent call me – I can help.

© Randy “Lazarus” McAtee Owner/Broker
Lazarus Realty
559-301-1647email me