WWYD? Rental Property ?

[Tricky Grama]

We have a small frame rental home in a small town n. of us. Good 'kids' renting altho they seem to be short on $$ maybe due to a couple new vehicles & NEW BABY.
Renter called last eve, says when toilet flushes, some comes out an open pipe in the yard?? (house is on city sewer) We'll get a plumber out today.
BUT- DH thought: "What if they're flushing diapers or something you shouldn't & its clogged? Should we make them pay part? All? Tell 'em & say 'next time...'"?

[Laura Zone 10]

Eat it this time......then draw something up on paper explaining what is and is NOT supposed to be put down the toilet, and if the clog happens again, they are responsible for the bill.....
And have them sign it.

[Alice In TX/MO]

What Laura says. My lease has that provision in it. The first $25 is paid by the renter.

[Michael W. Smith]

Hmmmm. I remember the one time we went on vacation to a State Park cabin. The first one who used the bathroom said - "The toilet is plugged" so my Dad let the park rangers know.

That whole week while we were there - the plumbers kept trying to find the plug. (We had to use a nearby outhouse.) The day or so before we left, they finally found the plug (down in the crawlspace under the cabin) they cut the pipe open and found a diaper.

How can people be so stupid?

[chickenista]

Originally Posted by Tricky Grama

"What if they're flushing diapers or something you shouldn't & its clogged? Should we make them pay part? All? Tell 'em & say 'next time...'"?

Wait until you find out for sure. It could be a diaper, but most likely it is a tree root or something or just time.. and if it is.. split it with them.
If they are 'good' kids, try to not kick them out. Good renters (like I used to be) are very rare! Who knows what kind of nightmare could take their place.

[Tricky Grama]

Originally Posted by chickenista

Wait until you find out for sure. It could be a diaper, but most likely it is a tree root or something or just time.. and if it is.. split it with them.
If they are 'good' kids, try to not kick them out. Good renters (like I used to be) are very rare! Who knows what kind of nightmare could take their place.

We'd wait til we knew, for sure. Never would kick anyone out-unless they were criminals or destroying something!
Been VERY lucky the near 30 yrs we've rented this. Had a 'cat lady' in & learned that lesson!!!

[beccachow]

Originally Posted by chickenista

Wait until you find out for sure. It could be a diaper, but most likely it is a tree root or something or just time.. and if it is.. split it with them.
If they are 'good' kids, try to not kick them out. Good renters (like I used to be) are very rare! Who knows what kind of nightmare could take their place.

Not sure they can make the renters pay any part of the bill if it is due to a tree branch or some other natural plumbing catastrophe. And I had one of those nightmare renters, one day I will tell you guys about it. Paying two mortgages for a year is what helped us into our financial ruin. Never was able to reclaim the money, couldn't kick her out. SHe skated, left me with nearly $30,000 in damages that can never be recovered. And so began our downhill slide. Selling the house was barely enough to break even on what we were owed through the lost rent and damages and other fines SHE had collected while she was there.

If you have a good renter, hold on to them.

[DaleK]

If there's a sewer pipe outside in the yard at or near the surface so that they can actually see sewage coming out, it's a pretty poor setup, whether it's plugged with diapers or someething else. You need to make sure it's fixed so it's buried an appropriate depth, then you can worry about whether or not they're plugging it.

[fantasymaker]

Originally Posted by beccachow

Not sure they can make the renters pay any part of the bill if it is due to a tree branch or some other natural plumbing catastrophe. And I had one of those nightmare renters, one day I will tell you guys about it. Paying two mortgages for a year is what helped us into our financial ruin. Never was able to reclaim the money, couldn't kick her out. SHe skated, left me with nearly $30,000 in damages that can never be recovered. And so began our downhill slide. Selling the house was barely enough to break even on what we were owed through the lost rent and damages and other fines SHE had collected while she was there.

If you have a good renter, hold on to them.

Come on now ya gotta tell us this story We ALL wanna know how to avoid THAT!

[Wolf mom]

When I'd write a lease, the tenant had to pay the first $35.00 of any service call. Today, it'd probably be more as service calls average $60.00 here.

I'd also put in an amendment any special things a tenant had to do/was not to do. Have them read it, sign it then give them a copy.

With drug laws here, I'd also set up a date/time to "change the furnace filters" monthly. That way you get a chance to talk to the tenants about IE; cold weather coming, don't forget to..." and to look around......A few hours time could be considered an investment...

[Bearfootfarm]

If there's a sewer pipe outside in the yard at or near the surface so that they can actually see sewage coming out, it's a pretty poor setup

It's probably a clean out plug/pipe

[edcopp]

I would rather see than be one, (Landlord that is).

[fordy]

Originally Posted by Tricky Grama

We have a small frame rental home in a small town n. of us. Good 'kids' renting altho they seem to be short on $$ maybe due to a couple new vehicles & NEW BABY.
Renter called last eve, says when toilet flushes, some comes out an open pipe in the yard?? (house is on city sewer) We'll get a plumber out today.
BUT- DH thought: "What if they're flushing diapers or something you shouldn't & its clogged? Should we make them pay part? All? Tell 'em & say 'next time...'"?

.....................Ask them too have plumber call before he starts , after he does the rooter boogey , if he finds normal "stuff" , maybe you pay , IF , he finds diapers or equivalent , then I'd ask them too split the bill , this time ! Next time , comes out of their pocket ! , fordy

[TheMartianChick]

I'm a landlord... We allow that things will happen from time to time. If something like that were to happen and it was deemed to be caused by the tenant, then we would provide a letter letting them know that if it happens again, then they will be forced to pay for the damages.

However, if they were generally good tenants, then I'd probably tell them a fictitious story about tenants who threw all manner of things into the toilet and the trouble that it caused. By the end of the story, they would know what is appropriate and inappropriate to discard in the commode!

[ELOCN]

Our toilet was clogged up and we went to work on it. You will never guess what we found -- an empty tube of toothpaste. A former friend had used the bathroom and just tried to flush it! How stupid can some people be?!?!?

[mountainlaurel]

We have rental houses and a duplex we own has that set up. It surfaces in the yard.
And guess what, we own the plumbing company. So it only costs time for us to snake it.
It's old plumbing, inside the house and outside. We had to go under the kitchen sink in the downstairs apartment, I mean dig it up and remove the dirt, the house is on a crawlspace, and snake it that way and then go out into the yard and snake it that way.
It still clogs up when it's very cold outside. It freezes. (This is WV) We really need to redo it but haven't had the time.

So wait, it might not be the tenants fault. Ask the plumber to show you what he got out of the drain. If it's red mice, (plumber talk for tampons) tell them under no circumstances to flush them, they should never be flushed despite what you hear.
If it's tree roots, you have to take care of it. Diaper wipes are also a big culprit. Those things jam sump pumps up quick than you can blink.

[Tricky Grama]

Originally Posted by Bearfootfarm

It's probably a clean out plug/pipe

Yup-that's what it is...got capped today.
Update is-after $125 of plumbing costs, our property was CLEAR-problem was the city's! Wish there had been a way to know this 1st.
Not the fault of our renter's anyway!