Here are a few landlord tools that I would not be without when I drive around to my rentals. In fact, I always have them in my tool bag in my truck. They are indispensable tools that I use regularly.
My Most Used Landlord Tools
Here are some landlord tools I consider indispensable. I carry them with me all the time when I visit my rentals. They are in my tool bag, so when I go into a place and am not 100% sure what I need, I have at a minimum, these tools. These are pictures of my actual tools, not some stolen web pics.
Here is another indispensable tool. If you only have one tool to bring with you to a rental, bring this tool. If you have a loose doorknob, you can tighten it. If you have a loose outlet, no problem. When you need to change a switch or outlet cover, this tool makes it easy. Not sure if you need a Phillips head, a slotted head, or are able to use a nut-driver, this one tool in your pocket covers it all.
When I am working on any appliance, this tool has most of what I need. I especially like the multiple nut drivers that are available on this tool. It has a 1/4-Inch Nut Driver, a 5/16-Inch Nut Driver and a 3/8-Inch Nut Driver. That covers most of what you will ever encounter that you can tackle with a nut driver. After that, you need wrenches or sockets. You may as well be a mechanic if you need a larger tool than this. Of course, I have a full selection of tools when I need it.
Stripped Screw heads, No Problem
When you have a slotted or Phillips screw that is also hex-sided, a nut driver is the way to tighten or loosen it. It will not strip the top of the screw. If you have a rusted screw and it will not come out, you can ‘force’ it with the nut driver and either get it out or twist the head off.
If you want to attach the new cord to an electric range, it is the perfect tool for those wire connection screws. Attaching a pigtail electric cord to a dishwasher, this tool can remove the Torx hex-sided screw that holds the electric cover easily. It saves me a trip to my toolbox to get my Torx driver out.
Simple screwdriver tasks are also easy, and you do not have to wonder if you have the right type of screw driver. It has a #1 Phillips bit, #2 Phillips but, a 3/16-Inch slot bit, and a 1/4-Inch slot bit.
It also has a #2 Square drive and a #3 Square Drive, which I rarely use, but I have had to use it when I come across a square drive screw.
You just have to remember when you take one of the inserts out to use it as a nut-driver, to remember to pick up the insert and put it back in the tool before you leave.
Gardner Bender Gfi-3501 Ground Fault Outlet Receptacle Tester & Circuit Analyzer Review
Wondering why your light is not working, plug this thing in and you can see if the outlet is working properly.
Does the GFI outlet work that you just installed? Yes, this tool will test that.
Did you wire the new outlet correctly? This tool will light up and tell you if you did it right, or made a mistake.
Troubleshoot Problems Quickly
Do you have an outlet that doesn’t work, or you do not know if it is a switched outlet? Or maybe a outlet that has one side switched and the other un-switched? Plug this in, and try some switches.
Is the outlet solid in the wall, or is it lose? Once you plug this tool in, you will feel any looseness that may need to be addressed before a tenant moves in.
When your tenant tells you the outlet doesn’t work, and they just replaced the bulb, you can save a lot of time and aggravation. You can find out right away if the problem is with the fixture, or with the outlet. The fixture is the tenants issue, the outlet is your issue.
Every rental inspection I have ever had, the inspector had one of these. They make sure all outlets are working and any outlets near the kitchen sink, garage or bathroom are GFI protected.
Have one of these in your tool bag.
Have you ever used these tools? Or a similar one? What tools do you find are indispensable, regardless of what occupation you are in? Mechanical or technical tools?