Rentals and Repairs: Knowing your Budget
For the first time in our marriage my husband and I are renting an old house. I am not going to lie, I really hate it.
I know, that’s a strong rental statement coming from someone who truly lives by the mantra “everything is fixable.” Generally, we are a capable fix-it sort of family. I tend to lean into the belief that it is easier for us to fix minor repairs than go through the hassle of contacting the landlord, scheduling repairs, documenting it.
I have said before, as a renter, I find it to be a balancing act between working on a rental to make it “home” and financially investing in someone else’s investment. For my sanity, spending $20 on a part to do a quick repair does not cross that threshold, but living in an older property has put me face to face with the question, “What is that threshold?”
Older properties, especially rental properties with higher turnover, require an increased rate of upkeep. This summer when our AC had gone out for the third time the landlords sent a repair man but not before commenting on the fact that none of their other renters had had issues with the AC. The truth of the matter is nothing in a property wears out…until it does.
We have floors that creak, door hinges that need repairs, door nobs that have broke, bad patch jobs on walls, cabinets that are chipping, random telephone wire connectors that are broken, peeling mirrors, a sink with a crack, the list goes on and on. They are all things my husband and I would happily and easily repair, but in an old house when the list seems infinite, where do you draw the financial line?
We drew it at a $15 door knob. It sounds insane to me when I say it, but the $15 and $20 were adding up on an extended lease. As renters’ budgets come in all sizes, some would say, “the threshold is $0, if something is broken, the landlord can fix it or not, but I won’t be paying for it.” However, I have also known renters who fix EVERYTHING because they would prefer it over talking with their landlord. You need to know before you start fixing things how far down the road of financial responsibility you are willing to walk.
Today when I closed the latch on the dishwasher soap dispenser, it snapped off. I will put that email off until tomorrow, but I can assure you, it has probably never broken for any of the other renters in this house.