new landlord question: what to do when out of town
New landlord of a 2-family here. What do other landlords of small, owner-occupied buildings do when they’re out of town? What is the contingency plan if something urgent comes up? Is there such a thing as a temporary management company that can be on-call, or do you ask a friend be on-call, etc etc.
ps158
in Landlord 10 years ago
14
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14 replies
cityrat | 9 years and 11 months ago
I’ve done this with subletters as well. They have all of my contact information and can call or text me anytime. I also give them the contact info of my regular handyman, plumber and a backup, locksmith, roto rooter, sears/amazon appliance repair etc. and the neighbors. They’re to contact us first, of course. But if for some reason we’re not reachable and there’s like water pouring out of something, they know what to do and who to call, ASAP. And they know who the people are so if I do send them they’re more likely to let them in, etc. In the winter you can hire someone to shovel walks/steps etc on a regular basis (i’ve seen many such individuals posted here, also ask your neighbors–in my brownstone neighborhood I swear most of my (owner occupant) neighbors are gone half the time), but again best to have the tenants be familiar with them, there’s more accountability all around.
GoodProspect | 10 years ago
We own a 2-family we live in, with a tenant on the garden floor, as well as a couple of other small buildings in the area. When we go away, we do not tell tenants in the other buildings — and for sure sometimes it is a pain in the ass, as when I had to play phone tag last summer with a new tenant and exterminator when the new tenant saw some bugs. Ruined my walk around the art fair and some time on the beach for sure, but that’s the price of being a landlord. However, when we’re away we do tell the tenant who lives in our garden apartment. They take in our mail and newspaper. We give them a key to the front gate in order to grab the mail, but not to the door that opens into the house. And of course, I am always reachable by email and cell phone. If we are away for a week or more, we’ll ask them to deal with the garbage as well. I bring them a jar of artisanal jam or fancy lotions or chocolates, or some other small treat every so often as a little thank you for helping out.
northslopian | 10 years ago
Seems strange to have someone living in your home if you don’t trust them to know that you’re gone. Maybe you don’t have the right tenants. Most of you are probably thinking of a scenario when you’re away somewhere within the US. Well, what happens if your travel is outside the US? Not so easy to get ahold of you then. When we were away in Europe during the Spring, we gave our tenants the keys and asked our regular babysitter to come and get mail and water plants twice a week. We asked a neighbor to take out the garbage once a week. I have to admit, it was nervewracking thinking about what would happen if there was a fire or someone got injured–we would not be immediately reachable. But we covered as many bases as we could and everything went smoothly. You an only do so much. But not letting your tenants know that you are gone is just strange.
anotherposter | 10 years ago
I agree with not necessarily telling them you will be gone. When our next door neighbors go out of town and give the tenants warning, their current tenants have had some insanely loud parties until 3am or worse, complete with karaoke in the backyard of our quiet brownstone block. We are on good terms with the owners and I told them what had happened and it hasn’t happened since–not sure if they had a talk with the tenants or just don’t tell them they are gone, but the latter seems easier.
workisfun | 10 years ago
An emergency contact is not a bad idea. I just have to hunk to do it when we’re NOT about to go away. Between my partner and I, for better or worse, at least one of us always has a phone on. And we have a dedicated email address for them.
cmu | 10 years ago
Why wouldn’t you give your tenants an emergency contact or two? Else what if there’s something urgent & your phone’s dead or your in the subway for two hours? Being out of town is irrelevant.
snowman2 | 10 years ago
no-permits, maybe you forgot what it was like the first time around. The point of the forum is to exchange information and the op is appropriately asking advice. If you don’t like all the questions, then don’t answer.
no-permits | 10 years ago
btw you’re really overthinking this whole landlord thing with all these different posts.
workisfun | 10 years ago
we don’t even tell our tenants we are going away. If something comes up, we will deal with it. We like and trust them, but we see no reason to tell them our apartment will be vacant for an extended period of time. Better off having them think we’re around. We have a couple friends with keys, and my phone is always on.
ps158 | 10 years ago
Thanks all!
snowman2 | 10 years ago
2 family homeowner here. I give the tenants the number of a friend for emergencies. The friend has good judgement and is a long time homeowner. I am reachable by that friend. I explain to the tenant what an emergency is – drippy faucet, not an emergency; broken water pipe, emergency. I too ask the tenants to put out the garbage and take in my mail.
shahnandersen
in Landlord 10 years ago
To add to to Arkady’s suggestions, we ask our tenants to put out the garbage and collect our mail. Things are easier now with cell phones and email to handle unforeseen difficulties.
Arkady | 10 years ago
Leave a list of emergency contacts w/ the tenants &/or a friend – your on-call plumber, electrician, etc. Tell tenants you’ll be away & encourage them to text or phone you w/ true emergencies.
no-permits | 10 years ago
cross your fingers. leave a key in a lockbox is the best advice i can give you. it the summer there’s not much to worry about, enjoy your trip. winters are another story.