This is a list of the rental property landlord maintenance calls I have had. It is not 100% of all the maintenance that needs to be done, or 100% of the maintenance I did. It is a log of calls made to me by tenants, and what I had to do to ‘fix’ the issue. Some calls are simple, just answer a question. Some require an on-site visit, and no expense. Some require a bit of work and an expense. And some I may even forget to log…
All the calls need to be handled, and most are handled by me. I keep this log not only to show what being a self-managed property landlord entails, but to document my adventures and see how much time it really takes. At some point, I want to be able to leave the properties and manage from a distance. This will give me a reference point to be able to proactively maintain the properties and eliminate some emergencies.
Landlord Maintenance Calls
| Seq | Date | Problem | Resolution | Time (mins) | Cost |
| 21 | 01/05/15 | Hot water heater drain valve leaking | replaced Hot water heater drain valve | 30 | $7.00 |
| 22 | 01/06/15 | CO Detector going off | Checked out apartment. Brought new CO detector and more precise gauge. All appears to be fine. Noticed that furnace was not working properly, unrelated to CO. | 60 | $0.00 |
| 23 | 01/08/15 | Tenant texted me they left their keys in the car inside the locked garage. | Gave the tenants the number to a local person who could open the garage door with a screwdriver. This was the third time in about 2 months they had lock troubles. | 5 | $0.00 |
| 24 | 01/12/15 | Furnace not working properly. | Changed out pilot light module on furnace from #22. Fix did not make any difference. Ordered new circuit board and limit switch. Brought over space heaters. | 60 | $49.00 |
| 25 | 01/15/15 | Furnace not working properly. | Changed out circuit board and limit switch from issue #22. Problem still not resolved. | 90 | $65.00 |
| 26 | 01/16/15 | Furnace not working properly. | Called furnace tech out from issue #22. He changed transformer and said the issue was the gas valve or module powering gas valve. Issue not resolved. | 60 | $115.00 |
| 27 | 01/19/15 | Furnace not working properly. | Replaced furnace from issue #22. To repair gas valve on 30-year old furnace would have not been worthwhile. Original quote to replace furnace was ~$2,000. Heat exchanger on old furnace looked great. | 420 | $1,400.00 |
| 28 | 01/26/15 | Tenant emailed me about “The toilet appears to be having trouble again. It runs for very long time most nights, even after wiggling the handle. Is there something I need to do?” | I advised to chage the toilet flapper. Since it is a commercial tenant, I figure they can do some easy maintenace themselves. | 5 | $0.00 |
| 29 | 01/27/15 | Eagan water dept. called about excessive water meter reading. It was 3x normal. 176,000 gallons extra. Bill is ~$750, not ~$250. | Identified problem toilet float valve. Removed and replaced. | 60 | $7.00 |
| Total ’emergency’ repairs for January 2015 | 790 | $1,643.00 |
| Seq | Date | Problem | Resolution | Time (mins) | Cost |
| 30 | 02/06/15 | Tenant emailed me about “I replaced the flap in the toilet and it doesn’t seem to have fixed the problem. I also noticed a whistling sound – from the “fill valve” – so it seems to be leaking air, and when my husband looked at it, he said it also seemed like the stop valve didn’t stop the water completely when it was shut off.That is the extent of everything I even loosely know about a toilet. 🙂 Sounds like something more is going on, anyway.” | It sounds like another toilet fill valve. I will change that on 2/7/15 | 5 | $0.00 |
| 31 | 02/07/15 | Toilet Fill valve seemed to be OK, but toilet was filling slow. | removed and replaced the toilet fill valve. It fills faster and does not run as long. | 60 | $7.00 |
| Total ’emergency’ repairs for February 2015 | 65 | $7.00 |
| Seq | Date | Problem | Resolution | Time (mins) | Cost |
| 13 | 03/12/15 | Tenant called about furnace not working. | Stopped over. Cleaned furnace. Replaced pilot light module, computer board, two limit switched, still no go. Ordered new furnace and replaced. | 360 | $1,400.00 |
| 14 | 03/15/15 | Main common entry door slams too hard | Replaced door plunger with a surplus one from a friend in the business. Returned old one for warranty replacement | 60 | $0.00 |
| 15 | 03/15/15 | Tenant called about being locked out. He left his keys in the garage and was outside with the kids. He had the main door key, not the apartment key. | After I got home from my errands, I went over and let him in the apartment. | 60 | $0.00 |
| 16 | 03/20/15 | Tenant said refrigerator was not working properly. | I went over and cleaned coils and verified that refrigerator still did not work. Called Lowes for a refrigerator delivery the next day. | 60 | $591.94 |
| 17 | 03/23/15 | Tenant broke kitchen faucet. It was due to wear and tear. Tenant was at Home Depot buying another. | I offered to pay for faucet, and reminded tenant, a military person, that Home Depot has a 10% off policy for Vets. Tenant replaced faucet and I reimbursed. | 5 | $100.00 |
| 18 | 03/28/15 | Fascia coming off building due to wind. | Rented lift, repaired/replaced fascia | 240 | $170.00 |
| Total ’emergency’ repairs for March 2015 | 785 | $2,261.94 |
| Seq | Date | Problem | Resolution | Time (mins) | Cost |
| 1 | 04/04/15 | I started having trouble with main door master key does not work anymore. | re-pin lock to make master and tenant keys work. | 240 | $20.00 |
| 2 | 04/13/15 | Tenant may not make it through the night | Vancancy to follow. | 5 | $0.00 |
| 3 | 04/14/15 | Tenant texted me about nails in yard from previous siding job. | I will go over and see what I can do to pick up any nails from siding job last fall. | ||
| 4 | 04/15/15 | Tenant texted me about floow drain over flowing. Main drain line clogged. | Caller Rotor-Rooter for drain cleaning. | 120 | $249.00 |
| 4 | 04/18/15 | Meet Roter-Rooter guy to put camera in sewer line | Appears to be a belly in the line. | 60 | $75.00 |
| Total ’emergency’ repairs for April 2015 | 425 | $344.00 |
How are you getting furnaces installed for only $1400? In Maine, where we have similar temperatures as you do, it’s about $6000. Boilers are even more. I’ve tried various contractors and many are higher. Help!
Also, I have had toilet flapper problems similar to yours. I now install Niagara toilets that have no flappers whenever I need a new toilet. They have a trough that dumps water when the lever is turned. Cost is about $150.