Long Term Tenants Are Usually Considered A Blessing

Anesia Springborn over at The Landlord Blog has a great write-up on the loss of a long term Tenant (8 years!) who pretty much destroyed the place. It will need an ENTIRE remodel as soon as this Tenant vacates the premises. And of course, they were a month-to-month renter, so 30 days is all she had in order to inspect for, estimate, and conclude what will likely be a complete interior rehab project.

I cannot put enough stress on the need to do periodic inspections of your properties. No need to be overbearing, but a twice-yearly walk-through based on any circumstance available, or simply stated in the lease (unless it violates state law, which I can't imagine that being the case, but one never knows), can do wonders to avoid rehab disasters like these.

This is especially germane to one of my properties because I have a 10+ tenant on a month-to-month who has had some interesting issues during my ownership of the unit. Fortunately those issues afforded me the opportunity to check up on the unit itself. I simply did some cursory peaks at the rooms, while the plumber fixed the toilet or what-have-you, as the Tenant stood watch. No big deal. But it gave me a good basis for figuring out what exactly I’m going to need to save up for once the Tenant chooses to move on.

Most of the issues are the same as they were when I purchased the place, but have understandably deteriorated since then. Bathroom issues, kitchen horrors, ceiling problems, and all sorts of creative landscaping corrections all need to be addressed. Little by little, I am fixing what the Tenant allows, but only because I am able to get in there periodically and check the environment for future hazards that I can head off early (such as the leaky gas stove I replaced a few months back).

Planning ahead, I started a small fund, and have been adding to it ever since I purchased the place, expecting that rehab to hit me like a ton of bricks at any given moment. The lost rent during the rehab process, whenever it occurs? Well, I’m just hoping it won’t take too long. Whatever it is, it’ll just be sunk.