Landlord push over or hard a$$

[Luck_Club]

I currently find myself in a bit of a pickle.

1 rental the tub cracked and being out of town called in a plumber, and trying to get it repaired. Plumber was a waste of time and money. However I found a guy who will remove the old tub and re-tile the bath and floor as a walk in big shower. Nice job from what I can tell at a bit under $5K including 10 hotel nights, I'm like sounds great get it done.

Then the tenant let me have it. 1 bed hotel isn't good, because his live in girlfriend and 1/2 time son, needs two rooms or a suite. Can stay at Air BNB for about $130-$140 a night. My choice "extended stay" would have it under $100 a night. should take 10-12 nights to redo the bathroom. so we are talking an extra 300-500 bucks.

Now I find myself arguing over $30-$40 a night, but the alternative, is when I get home I repair the tub with epoxy, it's ugly, but functional, and only will set me back about $100 and 4 hours or so, and will save me the hotel updating when he leaves, since I'll have to go through the entire place for a couple of weeks anyways. (run on but who cares)

The tenant has a long lease 6/20 expiration. Should I say take it or leave it do the epoxy repair, and fix the bath when he leaves if needed, or capitulate and pay the extra $300-$400 for him to stay someplace he wants. OH another thing the girlfriend isn't on the lease so technically he is in violation of his lease.

I can re-deploy the tile guy to my personal residence to update my own bathroom.

Thoughts and comments welcomed.

 

[RobbieB]

Spend the dough and do it (both your tenants and the job) right.

Sure you can epoxy it and it might hold for a while, but it might leak too and make some mold?

Do you really want to chance mold for $400?

 

[ChiliPepr]

How big is the apartment you are displacing them from?

 

[JDARNELL]

How good is the market? Also who is on the lease? Just him or his girlfriend etc. I would fix it right but I would not go overboard with accommodations. What you select should fit the needs of the person on the lease no one else. They are free upgrade at their expense. I have told my tenants that is they needed to break their lease I would work with them. I let one break their lease for their convenience they offered their deposit as consideration. I then turned around raised the rent $100 mo and rented it in 4 days.

I look at it this way. I risk my capital to provide them a nice safe comfortable space and I am not very understanding about attitude. It’s like playing Texas Holdem. You don’t bet into the big stack if you are not prepared for their next move. Things are gonna break and I fix them right away however things do take time.

As for attitude one time I had a tenant and my big issue was no pets as I thought I might move back into that house. . Well she got a dog did not let me know and then got smart about it. I would have worked with them. I then did not renew their lease due to the pet. Turned around raised the property rent by $525 a month and rented it to their acquaintance who had a dog.

 

[Luck_Club]

The lease was to a single man with child visitation on weekends. Has been with me 4 years, and I actually lowered the rent for 1 year because of the fact he stayed on. Raised it last lease 5/2017 by $50 a month from the reduced rent (about $25 from original), and agreed to 3 years, with a tax rider. He is below market rent.

The unit is a large 3-4 bedroom house, but he is the only one on the lease.

The issue is his girlfriend around his kids. I get it mixed family crap, but not my problem.

None of it is his fault per SE, but every year since he has been a tenant, I've faced some miscellaneous maintenance cost of around a grand or so. Other properties NOTHING!

I'm truly torn between the $100 fix which should get him through his lease and the $1000+ hotel bill.

 

[Another Reader]

If there is a kid living there, he will not be happy about removing the tub. Kids are bathed, not showered. Mutual termination agreement with some help for moving costs might be a possible solution. I would epoxy if he insists on the tub.

 

[njhowie]

By the sounds of it, you've been an extremely good landlord. In my mind, it's obvious that if he is in violation of the lease, you hold all the cards.

It's really what your preference is. If the $100 DIY job will suffice, then go for it - don't inconvenience him, and don't deal with the additional hotel costs or his demands...do a good enough job until the lease is up, then decide if you want to pay to do the full job.

 

[Franklin]

I agree with Robbie!

 

[Luck_Club]

If there is a kid living there, he will not be happy about removing the tub. Kids are bathed, not showered. Mutual termination agreement with some help for moving costs might be a possible solution. I would epoxy if he insists on the tub.

Kid is in high school. The epoxy is a solution viable and reliable. Being around boats notice my dog.. I know it will hold for many years, but I like what the proposed solution is and the price is right. JUST STUBBORN

 

[38Chevy454]

I agree with njhowie!

 

[Winemaker]

First things first. The shower/tub needs repaired. The girlfriend is a violation if she is not on lease. Lease is for single male and part time kids; if anything above that, their nickel. Repair shower as required by your lease; back to original condition or improvement. Sorry about their luck if not convenient for them. $hit happens. What would he do if he owned unit and tub broke? I'm sure he, his kids and girlfriend would be taking sponge baths out of sink.

 

[Joylush]

I own 32 rental homes. I don't know where to begin. No way would I ever spend that much to replace a tub or pay for a hotel. That's what renter's insurance is for.

Tubs don't crack on their own unless perhaps it was plastic?

I'd tell him the repair is going to take X amount of days. For the loss of partial use of the home (he has access to water elsewhere in the home for washing) you will reimburse him for 50% of the rent for the days the shower is being repaired. If this is not acceptable then you will give him 30 days to vacate during which time he can use the shower but then must vacate so you can make the appropriate repairs.

Never in a million years would I waste my time or money for such an entitled person. His girlfriend is not your problem.

I had a house in Florida in August that needed an AC repair which was going to take a week. I reimbursed 50% rent for the days they had no AC. They were beside themselves thrilled as they never asked for or expected a thing. They decided to stay with friends or family temporarily.

Let me repeat, some things are beyond your control and can only be fixed as fast as they can be fixed. That's what renter's insurance is for. Are you going to replace their food if the fridge malfunctions? Good grief, we had a hurricane evacuation and no electric for a full a ten days last year and no tenant of mine would think it was their landlord's responsibility to pay for their accommodations.

A new bath tub only cost a few hundred bucks. I replace with cast iron which are more like $400. Might pay around $2500 for the surround to be retiled. An acrylic tub with surround is a pretty inexpensive and a quick fix. It takes a day, maybe two if you do the tear out the day before. And then you'll need the plumber to hook it back up.

 

[BeachOrCity]

Providing alternative housing during repairs is a financial sinkhole that could be endless. Don’t do it.

If the house is not habitable because of the tub you have an obligation to fix it to make it habitable. But in most places not all you don’t have to provide alternative housing.

I would do the required repair to make the house habitable asap. At the same time I would offer to end the lease early potentially with a sweetener for his hassle.

I would not offer to pay any abstract expense like moving etc.

Just repair the tub while he is there and offer something if he wants to move but make it time constrained like he has 30 days to decide and leave or offer is gone.

 

[Joylush]

I forgot to add that in almost all states not having a shower does not make a home inhabitable. The only state I know of where it does is MA. Do a google search on how long is reasonable to fix a broken shower and you will find more answers and opinions. And remember you are in charge here, the tenant does not dictate what you must do.
What your tenant has asked for is not reasonable. Again, I'd do the quick easy fix and not comp him a thing unless I wanted to do the more extensive repair now. Then I'd comp him 1/2 a days rent for each day he could not use his shower and let him decide how he wants to use the money. Typically 30 days is considered reasonable to make required repairs unless he had no water at all as that would be a an issue of habitability. In that case I would offer the option to move.

 

[latexman]

10 days for this job seems too long. I had about the same thing done last May before we sold our house. My recollection was it took less than 5 days. Get more bids.

 

[pb4uski]

....The unit is a large 3-4 bedroom house ....

A large 3-4 bedroom house has only one bathtub/shower?

Epoxy it as a temporary fix until you can find a better plan. Perhaps what you can do is to wait until he goes on vacation and have it fixed while he is gone and give him a little $$$ for his inconvenience... win-win.

 

[pb4uski]

.... As for attitude one time I had a tenant and my big issue was no pets as I thought I might move back into that house. . Well she got a dog did not let me know and then got smart about it. I would have worked with them. I then did not renew their lease due to the pet. Turned around raised the property rent by $525 a month and rented it to their acquaintance who had a dog.

OP, now you know what a hard-a$$ is.

 

[Mykle57]

I'd put you in the pushover category.

You've made a far more than reasonable offer. It was declined. I'd epoxy it for now.

Like another poster mentioned, fiberglass tubs don't crack under normal use.

After the repair is complete (either method), consider a meeting with the tenant to discuss a new rental agreement which considers the additional wear and tear of nearly tripling the agreed occupancy.

 

[latexman]

I've seen a fiberglass shower crack. At one of the inserts, the corners were square and not rounded, and the crack propagated from the sharp corner. Installation error.

 

[CaliKid]

I own a fair number of rentals and have never paid for a hotel room for a tenant.

I have found when you are too nice they keep asking for more, more, more.

Just say NO!

 

[calmloki]

You are renting to one person, not three. Epoxy while they are there, do the fix you like after they are gone. If not acceptable maybe let your tenant out of his lease early without penalty, but don't offer that as an initial option.

 

[Scuba]

I agree with Robbie!

Me too!

 

[GravitySucks]

Offer them a Planet Fitness membership for the month.
That's where I showered when my tub was broken.

 

[Luck_Club]

Problem solved. I'm getting a new bathroom and the tenant is getting epoxy!

 

[MrLoco]

And this is why I never wanted to be a landlord. HAHA! What a nightmare!


I much prefer REITS. One click you buy....another click you sell. Easy.