Back from Salt Lake City
August 8th, 2007 by KenricThe Tale of Two Townhomes
I bought SLC townhomes #1 and #2 in July 2005. I have had one tenant in each townhome since September 2005. Last weekend was the first time I’ve seen them since my initial trip in May 2005.
Townhome #2 is the one that is currently for sale. It has the Section 8 tenant who was supposed to have moved out on July 31st. When I stepped into it, I was bracing for the worst. My first impression was that the carpet was ruined. I’m not sure if a cleaning would help it. The next thing I noticed was that the washer, dryer and fridge were gone! Those were mine. Walls were dirty. Few budges in the wall, turned out to be water damage. Some water damage on the ceiling. There was still junk in the yard and in the garage.
Then the ex-tenant walked in. Apparently, he was still moving out. He seemed overly concerned about getting his whole deposit back. The biggest issue was the appliances. He claimed that they were his and he had supplied them. Honestly, I was unable to refute this since my PM was suppose to buy the appliances (back in 2005) and have them installed. I assumed that they did this and charged me, but I couldn’t remember if they did. I had to wait until I got home and checked my financials to see. He asked about the water damage and if he was responsible for them. In my opinion, he probably isn’t. It looked like a broken cleanout caused one and an outdoor common hose spiget caused the other. The third one however was in the ceiling. Checking the upstairs there didn’t seem to be any visible signs of water leakage. This one will be harder to diagnose. Overall, the condition was better than I expected.
Then I walk into Townhome #1. Here was this emaculate place looking as new as the day I bought it. It’s nice to have good tenants! Their month to month lease expires at the end of this month. Because of its condition, I’ve decided not to raise their rent and sign them to a long term lease.
Posted in Real Estate | 
Stumble it!
the first two water damages you mentioned should be covered by the HOA, correct?
I had similar damages before.
In my case, even a damage in a ceiling was covered by the HOA as the broken pipe ended up being common area and not part of my property.
By Andres on Aug 8, 2007
Hey, Kenric,
Did you ever figure out if those appliances were paid for by you or the tenant?
By Trisha on Aug 8, 2007
Andres, I’m not sure if the HOA covers it or not. They might because one leak is in a common wall between units. The other leak is to an exterior wall. The ceiling leak is inbetween floors of the unit so I doubt that one will be covered.
Trisha, I checked my records and I don’t have any receipts for the appliances so it appears that my tenant was right. I need my PM to confirm.
By Kenric on Aug 9, 2007