4. Fix a Leaky Faucet
Did you know that
the average home wastes roughly 11,000 gallons every year on drips and leaks? That’s enough to fill a swimming pool! Talk about wasted money and natural resources.
Leaky faucets are an incredibly common landlord repair. They irritate tenants, and cost a boatload of money for whoever’s paying the water bill.
They’re also reasonably easy to fix. We’ll focus here on compression faucets, since they’re the most common.
What causes leaks in a compression faucet is the rubber washer, the O-ring, designed to seal the valve. So, fixing the leak is typically a matter of replacing this little circular piece of rubber.
Diagram Courtesy of Hermann Services
First, shut off the water to the sink, as described above. Cover the drain, to catch any parts you accidentally drop.
Before taking apart the handle, make sure you have a clear area to lay out the different pieces in order, so you’ll know what order to put them back!
Start by unscrewing the faucet handle. The screw will be hidden, often under a decorative cap, but it’s there.
Unscrew the packing nut. This will require pliers or a wrench, and it may put up a fight.
Next remove the stem, and remove the screw holding the offending O-ring in place. Pull out the O-ring, and swap it out with one of similar size.
Note: you can either take the old O-ring to the hardware store to get a replacement, or you can buy a standard kit with a bunch of different sized O-rings.
Before re-assembling, coat the new O-ring with plumber’s grease.
Not as scary as it sounds, right?
5. Patch Drywall Holes
We talk extensively about tenant-proofing in the Property Management Pro course, and on how to make sure you can deduct even small drywall holes from the security deposit. But if you do the repair yourself, you can still charge the tenant for the cost!
For small holes, you can use spackle, or even toothpaste. For medium-size holes, you can use a drywall patching kit.
Pick up a drywall repair kit for $7. They involve a solid patch that adheres to the wall, which you can then sand and paint.
No muss, no fuss.
As common landlord repairs go, this is one that must be in every landlord’s repertoire.
6. Silence Creaky Floor Boards
No one likes creaky floors. But this can be especially damning when it comes time to sell your rental property – many buyers (and renters, for that matter) hear creaking floors and worry there could be structural problems with the property.
Fortunately for you, it’s usually not caused by structural problems, but rather to the floorboards settling slightly over time.
Before you do anything else, sprinkle talcum powder in between the offending floor boards. It’s a simple, straightforward fix that often works.
If that fails, you may need to add a fresh brace under the creaking spot. This is also easy, but may involve cutting away the ceiling drywall underneath in order to access the squeaking board.
And, of course, repairing it afterward, which will require more than the adhesive patch described above.
7. Paint!
Painting itself is easy and fast. What’s not as fast? Prep work.
Anyone can figure out within five or ten strokes how to evenly apply a roller of paint to a wall, or how to brush along a corner. As they say, it’s not rocket surgery (or does that line go differently…?).
But the taping requires patience and precision if you want clean separations between colors on different walls, or between the walls and ceiling.
One trick? Use the same off-white paint for every surface of every room.
That way, the only taping required will be around the cabinets or floor draping, if that. Make sure you protect your floors with proper coverings before you start splattering paint around!
Also, be sure to remove all hardware, such as light switch covers, outlet covers, curtain rod holders, etc. It will only take 2-3 minutes per room, and will save you hassle once you start applying the paint.
Clean any dust or dirt off the walls, then prime, then paint.
One last tenant-proofing tip: consider using semi-gloss or glossy paint. It’s much easier to clean off and avoid scuffs and marks.
Common Landlord Repairs or Life Skills?
Sure, these landlord repairs are useful and will help you save money on maintenance costs. But guess what? These same repairs plague homeowners as well.
Even learning how to do these few, simple repairs will give you a confidence boost that you’re capable of doing more around the house. Whether it’s your own home or a rental property, these “gateway repairs” will start you on your journey to be a more self-sufficient homeowner and landlord.
And as we mentioned above, you can
deduct from the tenants’ security deposit for your own labor and repair work! Which means you can charge market rates for the work, and make the sweat worth your while.
Just make sure you document all labor and materials carefully, and charge no more than market rates for your work, and you can earn the same margin on the work as a contractor.
Have any common, easy repairs that you want to share? We could all stand to be a little handier, so share your tips!
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I’m not very handy. Ok that’s an understatement. But the next time one of these repairs pops up in a rental property of mine, I’ll give it a try.
Life skills, like you said!