NSW Tenant moved in 2 months ago but has asked for 4 repairs of $2000

I'm a first-time investor and my tenant (lady in her 50s) moved in around 2 months ago. So far she has paid her rent on time. But she has requested 4 repairs worth $2,000 which is just over 1 month of rental income for me (which of course goes towards the mortgage).

The most expensive job is bathtub resurfacing: the enamel (that the previous owner put in) seems to be dissolving and the quote is at least $750 + GST. I googled the issue and saw that it's possible to remove the paint using detergent & baking soda etc. Is this ideal? Honestly I found the whole issue weird as I used the bathtub before and had no issues. I even went to the effort of cleaning out the bathtub drain (which was disgusting) so as to make sure the bathtub was in good condition for her.

Overall, I'm feeling overwhelmed by all the expensive repairs requested in just 2 months and am feeling quite trapped as I'm locked in a 12-month lease. Any advice on the above would be appreciated and much-needed.

 

Are you self managing?

 

If they bath and come out the bath with enamel on them instead of on the bath, you have a problem, fix the bath.....

 

Refinishing a bathtub should not be more than $400 or so.

You can buy a brand new bathtub for $289 from Bunnings and get someone to fit it for probably cheaper than $700 if they are skilled and can reuse the tiles. Tiles are cheap these days anyway and a bath wont even use that much tiles.

 

In another post it was recommended that a owner cleaned or repaired a bathroom vanity to show tenants the owner respects their property and expects the tenant to look after it.

Welcome to property investment. It's not all postive cash flow

 

This level of expense is very normal over the first 3 months with a new investment property / new tenants. These requests will most likely disappear soon enough once the tenants are settled.

 

Previous owner probably cheaped out to make it look good for the sale & painted it with acrylic paint rather than epoxy. As suggested, possibly need to replace if it's going to be more cost effective.

 

Today my IPs hot water system blew up and I received a quote for a new hot water system and it was $2000. The rent on this place is $220pw so it puts a big dent in the annual income. I managed to get the quote down to $1500 but it's not something I could choose to not fix and should then last another 10yrs.

Is this a house you used to live in then turned it into an IP. Some things you can say no to, some things you'll have to suck up as they are genuine.

 

These are 1 off expenses that will last well over 10+ years. I've had hot water systems last 20+ years which means they were installed early 2000s. Todays heaters have much more efficient technology and are using better materials they dont corode much and all the taps, thermos etc...are all different....much much better. These expenses only pop up probably once in the entire time you will own the house.

Even aircons these days with the new gasses and tech - they last 10-15 years no problems.

 

I'd say its fairly common when someone new starts living somewhere and they figure out what has been broken or not working properly. Possibly for some time.

As others have mentioned, I find it usually gets quieter from there.

 

Just look at the ''Positive'' side,the 12 month lease works both ways ..

Just have to ask with the contact you have with the Tenant are you self managing your investment or under a Property Management Company..

With the bathtub cost wise a new replacement will set you back between $300-00 and $600-00 plus labour to install -but talk to your Accountant first ..

As other's have said ,this is just a bump in the road ..

Just make sure you insurances are paid up,and registration of bonds leases and rental aggrements are in place--Because if you have a flood cyclone or any big ticket item a simple replacement of a bathtub and fit-off
is just the cost of experience..good luck and welcome to real world of property investing..

 

I’d personally double check all those repairs.

You could have an anti landlord tenant or maybe a tenant who expects the Taj Mahal in suburbia.

Oh yeah of course the ol’ dissolving bath tub lol. What’s the other repairs I wonder? A talking wall that won’t shut up till it’s painted? lol

 

I'd suggest this is what's happened here.

You've only just bought this property. If the previous owner has done some dodgy repairs, then these will show up as the tenancy progresses. Genuine repairs will have to be done. If, however, the tenant starts asking for things that improve the property (not repairs), you are within your rights to say no.

Once you've had the property for a while, you should notice that, so long as it's well maintained, the costs will drop significantly.

 

Termites? Low frequency munching sounds - a coat of lead paint will knock out the noise.

 

Ask your managing agent to inspect the bathtub and give their professional advice. That way you'll know whether bathtub had shoddy workmanship before or not. I would be voicing my concerns to managing agent.

 

Yup I'm cool with that. I have an annual kitty for repairs because I know there is always things that will need repairing.

 

So far she has requested the following for the 2br unit in 2 months:

1. fix the mailbox lock (strata issue, fixed)
2. balcony sliding door mesh fix (fixed)
3. resize the built-in wardrobe sliding panel for easier access to drawers & storage (finding another solution as it's too expensive & complex a job for a small issue)
4. drawer slides/tracks need fixing (inspecting)
5. bathtub resurfacing (inspecting)

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I believe they are genuine but none are urgent or majorly disrupt her life. The property manager has consistently responded to her promptly but the tenant is complaining that the property "is not in leasable condition" and that she can't believe she paid this much in bond & rent - generally being extremely rude to PM.

 

Its part and parcel with owning properties, just like owning cars, that certain items need replacing regularly and certain items stop working occasionally.

We've found a pattern with repairs is that most of them come up during the early stages of each tenancy. This is because thats when things are discovered. A tenant who has been there longer may not use a certain item or doesnt care about it because they're used to it.

Obviously there's things that wear out or stop working over time with age or chance too.

Then there's a couple other properties where there's repairs nearly every month. Buying run down falling apart properties be like that.

 

Mailbox lock, fair enough, tenants deserve to have their mail secure.

Mesh - fair enough

Resizing wardrobe - im not entirely sure what you mean by this, perhaps attach a photo? My first thought is that if thats how it is, thats how it is.

Drawer slides / tracks - How old are they? Are they really tough to move? Might just be dust in it? Otherwise might be the rollers that need looking at

Bathtub surfacing - how old is it? How bad is it? If its really unusable then do it as tenant deserves to have a bath available. But if its just cosmetic and they saw it at the initial inspeciton then thats just how it is.

Things do get old. Its definitely worth updating them regularly to attract better tenants and better money. But old is not cause for repair, as long as usuable.