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Common Repairs

Darren Holbrook • Nov 14, 2019

Top 8 maintenance issues in property management.

I could have a big list of maintenance issues but these are the the eight I deal with the most. I was a handyman before I got my real estate license and I do 98% property management of residential home.

I’ve had my own business, One Team Realty, LLC in Hawaii for about four years and before that was a agent in a small firm. I have always managed my maintenance calls and do not outsource it. I feel that I would get away from my owners and tenant issues if I outsourced it to a phone center.

I have worked a lot of issues when it comes to home maintenance and these are the ones I go over with owners. Here are my top eight in no particular order. (anyone can have a top 10)

    1. Running toilets. Easy fix and usually don’t need a plumber. Any good handyman can fix this. Toilets only have a few parts. Flapper, fill tube, handle, and seal between tank and bowl. It is usually the flapper. $8 part can solve this in a few minutes in most cases.

    2. Air conditioners. Different types here. a. Central AC or HCAC, systems. b. Split AC for each room or c. Window AC units.

    3. Garbage disposal. Not all foods are created equal. You can’t put some foods down the disposal or you or your plumber may see them again. Carrot & potato peelings and rice are bad for the most part. I show tenants how to unjam them and reset them during move in and send them YouTube videos when they tell me they are not working. Most of the time they can fix it themselves. There is a red reset button on the bottom of the disposal, it should not be out.

    4. Blinds: the best in my opinion is to put curtain rods up at each window and don’t put up or replace blinds. This does two. One it cuts down on the cost of replacing blinds because they do break. Two. it cuts down on wall repairs from tenant installing and removing curtain rods.

    5. Water Heaters: electric, solar, on demand are all types of water heaters you will find in a home. Flush them out every 2 years. Service them and change the anode rod every 3 years and this can extend the life. They can last 10 to 15 years in most cases.

    6. Garage Doors. The motor or springs will break after so much usage. Sometimes the sensors come out of alignment. I recommend services these every 4 to 5 years. Springs will break after so many years of usage and Jane to be replaced.

    7. Appliances. Glass top ovens look good but you should think about the looks of them. They look great but will get scratched or discolored if not cleaned correctly or regularly. Yes you maybe able to charge this to the tenant but you should think of it is worth it to you. Some stoves only come on glass tops now so just be prepared. There are issues with dishwashers that you have to decide if it is worth to repair or just replace. Dishwasher can be inexpensive so it maybe worth replacing by the time you pay the technician to look at it, order the parts and then fix it. Front load washer and dryers, again they look great, but if not cleaned regularly the seal on the washer will smell. Get a top load washer/dryer and be done with it. In all cases of dishwasher and washer and dryer get one that doesn’t have a control board in them. Get the knobs as they last longer and work just as well. Refrigerators are your biggest dollar item in the kitchen. They can and do fail after a power outage or surge. For a power outage make sure you tell the tenants to turn off the circuit breaker in the event of a power outage so when power is restored they don’t get overloaded and fail. If the tenant a are home they can easily turn off the breaker if they are labeled properly. If you have the date and time of the outage then some power company will pay to repair or replace the appliances. Advise renter to get renters insurance so if they ha e a refrigerator failure and the food goes bad they can file a claim on their policy. Ice makers are a point of failure by either breaking or freezing. They can leak on the floor and damage your floor and sometimes the unit below yours if you have and apartment. Make sure you have insurance that will cover that type of damage.

    8. Smoke Alarms: They go off at 2 AM and the tenant knocks them down with a broom stick and never calls you. Sound familiar? Most of the time the battery is getting weak. If the smoke alarms themselves are 10 years or older they need to be replaced. When replacing the battery you need to drain the stored energy or they will continue to beep leading you to replacing the alarm and you may not need to do that. To drain the stored energy, a. Unhook from ceiling wires, b. Take out the battery, c. Press and hold the test button until you no longer here a beep. This could take up to 10 seconds. d. Put in a new battery. e. Hook it back to the ceiling wires and connect it to the bracket. f. Test it.

I don’t think it makes much sense to have a home warranty plan unless you know you will have issues soon. The companies I have dealt with are slow to respond, don’t respond on weekends or holidays and do not know the vendors they are sending out. It is my reputation if something is slow to get fixed or doesn’t get fixed. The Tenants are looking at the property manager for the repairs and have no contact with the owner.

Owners need to be financially able to handle these issues when they happen.

Darren Holbrook (R)

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