[clutchcargo777]

Originally Posted by SouthernSarah

When I lived there, my apartment manager had a clause that I paid for any repairs under $50. I thought it was fair and I think such leases encourage people to take care of the property so things don't break. If I were in a house, I would have no problem with the $250 either. I would not rent the home if it was not in pristine condition, so as long as I took care of it, there should not be a problem.

So me paying for repairs makes me take better care of my hot water heater? My air conditioner?

What next, if the shower stops working in my hotel room, I have to pay to fix it?

Come on, this is a scam by landlords.

[lvoc]

Originally Posted by clutchcargo777

So me paying for repairs makes me take better care of my hot water heater? My air conditioner?

What next, if the shower stops working in my hotel room, I have to pay to fix it?

Come on, this is a scam by landlords.

I would think real hard before I rented an apartment that required me to make even small repairs.

Once we are off into SFRs and Condos I don't see it the same. Then it is more a question of arriving at a reasonable compromise. If the water heater goes or an AC compressor fails it is the LL task. But no I am not going to change a bulb over your vanity. And you negotiate where the line is drawn.

If you get into fancy houses I have seen 50 page addendum to cover who fixes what...

[airics]

Thats exactly why i put a minimum in my leases..... definitely not going to change a lightbulb for you

[ddrhazy]

Originally Posted by clutchcargo777

So me paying for repairs makes me take better care of my hot water heater? My air conditioner?

What next, if the shower stops working in my hotel room, I have to pay to fix it?

Come on, this is a scam by landlords.

Sure. If you use the air conditioning a lot, you are putting more wear and tear on that device and decreasing it's life span.

Or just find a LL who won't charge maintenance on those sorts of things, there's plenty that won't, I'm not one of them though.

[airics]

Originally Posted by ddrhazy

Sure. If you use the air conditioning a lot, you are putting more wear and tear on that device and decreasing it's life span.

Or just find a LL who won't charge maintenance on those sorts of things, there's plenty that won't, I'm not one of them though.

exactly....same here

[delgadobb]

Originally Posted by clutchcargo777

So me paying for repairs makes me take better care of my hot water heater? My air conditioner?

What next, if the shower stops working in my hotel room, I have to pay to fix it?

Come on, this is a scam by landlords.

While some landlords may abuse this, there is a basis for having the tenant take ownership & responsibility for basic maintenance items. It can provide a more stable & simple living arrangement for the tenant & minimize headache for repairs. When more serious work is needed, the landlord will know the tenant's made a basic effort & will generally make the call in short order. Not every situation is like this, but if there's a decent relationship & good communication it helps.

After 12 years of being a landlord, I've heard just about everything. A couple examples:

#1 - Rather large female tenant who's very anal-retentive calls insisting & hollering that I need to get a plumber out to clear the bathroom sink. Upon further discussion, I learn she's been washing her soiled undergarments in said sink. When I mentioned it would then be her responsibility to clear it (draining slow, not clogged) & she should avoid doing so in the future, her response was "I guarantee you every girl living here does it." Whether or not that's true, doesn't make it OK. She failed to make the connection that washing soiled undergarments could have any effect despite this being the first time it's ever happened in years.

#2 - I get a panicked call from a tenant because their power is out & the refrigerator isn't working. By now it's apparently been out for a while & it's the evening. I ask some questions to try to understand what may have caused it, sounds like they were running the disposal when it went out. Should be different circuits, but it's an older building so no guarantee how it's wired. I ask her to humor me & go check the (labeled) circuit-breaker box, running her fingers down the breakers to see if there's a 'bump'. She goes off on me & says she knows what it is & how to check & she's already done that. She wants someone out within the hour or insists I pay for $300 in food they 'just bought' that's now ruined. (Never mind a refrigerator should hold a seal & keep food for 24-48 hrs as long as it isn't opened multiple times. Getting bags of ice to buy some time is an option as well.) I explain I'll get someone out as soon as I can as I'm using someone I trust vs. just calling someone random I don't know who will get there within 1-2 hrs & charge an insane emergency charge. As it is, I call in a favor with my handyman, pay the $75 trip charge to have him show the next morning and ... he's there for 30 seconds to flip the (tripped) circuit breaker back to its normal position.

Fire/Flood/Blood are emergencies. Everything else falls in line after that for priority. Yes, it's important if the A/C goes out at the height of summer & I'll get someone out as soon as I can, but tradespeople don't sit by the phone waiting for my business. You do what you can. I have many, many stories like the above & it's why I include clauses in my leases & riders to clarify general priorities & costs that are tenant responsibilities. Some tenants are reasonable & understand there's a give & take in dealing with such things; I tend to give them the benefit of the doubt. Others call every time a light bulb flickers or the neighbor makes a little noise - then I get very literal & follow what's on paper. Despite having on paper that normal wear items like light bulbs are tenant responsibility, I've had tenants insist that I pay for light bulbs AND show up from out of town to install them.

Yes, I'm sure there are some landlords who push the limits too far. There are also many tenants like that. I'm one of the 'nice' guy landlords - in order to survive, you need to develop a BS detector & learn to say 'No' occasionally. My $.02.

[ddrhazy]

I understand that women will not be as savvy with home repairs but a basic working knowledge of the electric, water and gas systems should be learned by all. I now show all my tenants on moving day on how to turn off these 3 utilities in the hopes that I don't get a frantic call at 3 am at night.

[Kay Effzee]

We don't pay for maintenance repairs and we deduct things from the rent when things need fixing. All with the permission of our landlord of course.