Should Residents Be Allowed to Do Their Own Maintenance?
Should Residents Be Allowed to Do Their Own Maintenance?
As an investment property owner, you’ve probably had at least a minor maintenance issue or two at your property.
And once your resident notified you of this minor issue, chances are that you were met with the statement:
“I don’t want to wait for a vendor to come out. Can’t I just repair this myself?”
Well, that depends.
Essentially, the blanket answer is no, but there are exceptions to every rule.
Professional Maintenance of Your Property
When it comes to the maintenance of your property, you want to ensure that you’re utilizing skilled professionals that know what they’re doing.
If you allow your resident to perform repairs at the property, a couple of less-than-desirable outcomes could occur:
- They don’t do the repair correctly, causing you additional maintenance and additional expense
- The resident can damage your property if repairs are done improperly
- The resident gets hurt while performing maintenance, which causes a liability to you as an owner
But when using a professional, you have the peace of mind that they can perform skilled work because they’ve been trained in it.
The cost is a little higher up front, but will ultimately save you money in the long run.
Licensed & Insured Vendors
An important item to note is that you want to ensure that the vendors you work with have appropriate insurance and licensing in their field.
If the vendor you hire does something wrong, damages property, gets hurt, etc. their insurance will cover it.
With hiring properly licensed & insured vendors, your liability is greatly reduced in a number of ways.
Examples of Maintenance that Residents Should NOT Do:
- Any major mechanical repairs involving:
- Plumbing
- HVAC
- Appliance
- Electrical
- Roof repairs
- Flooring/carpet installation
- Siding or window repairs
- Gutter clean out
- Lawn maintenance and snow removal when there are multiple units at a property
This isn’t an exhaustive list of everything that residents shouldn’t do maintenance-wise.
However, it does serve as a brief summary of some of the most important items that you don’t want to risk a resident handling themselves.
Examples of Maintenance that Residents Can/Should Do:
- Small routine maintenance that would be expected when living in a home
- Change out a furnace filter
- Water filter
- Changing light bulbs
- Lawn maintenance for a single-family home
- Cutting grass, trimming trees, shrubs, etc.
- Snow removal for a single-family home
At times, an item may need to be purchased to aid in small routine maintenance, like a dehumidifier or space heater.
You can allow the resident to purchase the item, provide you a receipt, and you can reimburse them if there is a need for that specific item (that doesn’t require professional installation).
Any good lease (like ours) covers these topics and puts the responsibility on the resident for these routine service items.
Overall…
It’s in your best interest to hire professionals to handle most major maintenance items/repairs at your property.
Professionals are best when considering liability concerns, properly done maintenance, and long-term care of your property.
After all, your property is a big asset that you want to protect.
But, with that being said, there are always a few minor things that the resident should be responsible for outlined above.
The list does not include anything major, but just what would be regularly expected of someone occupying a home.
If you’d like to discuss any of this, please contact us about your specific situation. We’d be happy to walk through your situation and property needs with you!
What To Do When an Evicted Resident Leaves Belongings Behind
What to Do When an Evicted Resident Leaves Belongings Behind
Evictions: Unfortunate, But Sometimes Unavoidable
As you may know, evictions are an occasional obstacle that we deal with in property management.
Maybe you’ve dealt with an eviction before as an owner, and maybe you haven’t.
If you haven’t had any experience with evictions, check out our blog post on the timeline of an eviction.
In that post, we detail out the course of the whole eviction process.
But, whether you’ve had to evict a resident before or not, you may have asked yourself the question:
“What do I do if the resident I evicted leaves their belongings behind in my property?”
While each eviction case is unique, we’ll try to break this part of the process down into the simplest terms.
What to Do if the Evicted Resident DOES Contact You
Chances are, the evicted resident will want at least some of their belongings back.
If that’s the case, the resident has 10 days to contact you and let you know that they’d like to retrieve their belongings.
If they do contact you, you must arrange for them to have access to gather their personal property within 30 days.
Note: This 30 day period begins the day of the eviction.
Once you’ve confirmed that they’ve retrieved everything they want, you’re legally allowed to do what you see fit with the the items that they leave behind.
What to Do if the Evicted Resident Does NOT Contact You
If the evicted resident fails to contact you within the initial 10 days, they forfeit their right to retrieve their belongings.
After the 10 day period of no contact, you are allowed to do what you see fit with the items they left behind.
However, to be on the safe side, we recommend you hold onto their items for the full 30 day period.
In Simplest Terms:
Eviction occurs → Resident has 10 days to contact you
If you are contacted → Resident has 30 days to get their belongings
If you are not contacted → After 10 days, you can handle their belongings how you see fit
All in All…
While evictions are not a “fun” part of owning a rental property, they do come with the territory.
The good news is that we can help!
We’ve gained expertise in all aspects of property management, including evictions, over the past 40+ years that we’ve been in business.
Contact us today for a free consultation to discuss your unique situation!
Disclaimer: We are not attorneys, and this is not to be considered legal advice. We encourage you to contact your attorney for guidance on your particular situation. This article is meant to provide a general rule or procedure on how this process works.
This is the process as we understand it in Pennsylvania and may not pertain to other states or specific cities within Pennsylvania. We always encourage a consultation with a local attorney who knows and understands Landlord Tenant Law for specific locations.
Property Spotlight: Donnan Avenue Apartments in Washington, PA
By: Nicole Fandel, Marketing Specialist
Welcome to Donnan Avenue!
Are you looking to live in an area that’s close to everything that Pittsburgh has to offer yet still has the cozy hometown feel of Western Pennsylvania? Well, we’ve got you covered!
We currently have 2 apartments available located at 395 Donnan Avenue in Washington, PA. Each spacious unit is newly renovated and has 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom, along with plenty of windows letting in lots of natural light.
Our building on Donnan Avenue has a laundry room for resident use as well as a parking lot in the back – never worry about trying to parallel park on a busy street again! Not to mention, the building is just minutes away from I-70.
A Sneak Peek at Unit 6:
A Sneak Peek at Unit 24:
What Does Washington, Pennsylvania Have to Offer?
But, these apartments aren’t just close to I-70; they are within walking distance of different shops, restaurants, and businesses like Dollar General, Walgreens, Goodwill, PNC Bank, Post Office, Little Caesars, Subway, and much more! 
Not to mention, Washington County is the home of Washington & Jefferson College, only a 4 minute drive, as well as the Pittsburgh Tanger Outlets, only a 10 minute drive! Near the outlets, you’ll find Pittsburgh’s famous Sarris Candies shop, Chick-fil-A, Hobby Lobby, Sportsman’s Warehouse, Walmart, Target, Sam’s Club, and plenty more.
At 395 Donnan Avenue, you truly are just minutes away from everything you could want or need – don’t pass up this opportunity because it won’t be around much longer!
Interested in a Donnan Avenue apartment?
If you’re interested in filling out an application or learning more about living at 395 Donnan Avenue in Washington, PA, please take a look at the Appfolio pages for apartment 6 or apartment 24. You can also contact portfolio manager Karina Smoke at 412-930-4925 or KarinaS@arbors.com for more information or to schedule a tour!
Property Spotlight: Weston Arbors
By: Nicole Fandel, Marketing Specialist, and Glenda McCrary, Property Manager at Weston Arbors
Welcome to Weston Arbors!
Weston Arbors is a high-rise apartment building consisting of 8 floors and a total of 119 one-bedroom apartments, each equipped with a refrigerator, range, individually controlled heat and air conditioning, wall to wall carpeting, and a private balcony. We have onsite management, maintenance, and a resource coordinator, onsite laundry facilities, and a large community room and lounge for residents to enjoy – not to mention a gorgeous view of the West Virginia mountains!
In case you didn’t know, Weston Arbors was built in 1980 but has undergone recent renovations! Some of these updates include new carpeting in the hallways, new carpeting and seating in the community room, removal of multiple trees on the property to allow for more natural light, and more.
What’s Around Weston Arbors?
While we have the privilege of privacy, we are located within walking distance of Dollar General and Lewis County Park. We are also within a few minutes of local shops and restaurants like Giovanni’s, the Lewis County Convention and Visitors Bureau, Shop ‘n Save Express, and more.
About Weston, West Virginia
A fun fact about Weston is that it is the county seat of Lewis county, where General Stonewall Jackson grew up during the Civil War. Weston, WV is also home to one of the largest hand-cut stone buildings in the world. It was built in 1864 and originally was a mental hospital, but now serves as a National Historic Landmark and offers ghost tours. Weston is also known historically for its large contributions to the glassmaking industry (source, picture source).
A Look Inside Our Homes
About the Manager: Glenda McCrary
Property manager Glenda McCrary has one daughter and has been married since 11/11/2011 – she also is from a family of 10 children! Originally working as a nurse, Glenda thought it was time for a change and decided to jump into the world of property management. She has been a part of the Weston Arbors community since October of 2014 and hasn’t looked back since!
Interested in Weston Arbors?
If you’re interested in filling out an application or learning more about Weston Arbors and all we have to offer, please take a look at our property page or contact property manager Glenda McCrary at 304-269-7344 or westonarbors@arbors.com.
