Sugar Blossom

10-Step Program on How to Get Your House in Order

My friend, the owner of a sixplex, rented one of the units to a single working woman. She checked out well in the application for rent and the credit report. One evening she returned to her apartment and started preparing her meal on an electric stove. She left the kitchen, went into the living room to watch the news, and fell asleep. The stove burner remained on while the food was cooking; well, let’s say it overcooked. Eventually, with no one watching, something ignited and started a fire. The smoke awakened her. As she woke up, she discovered flames in the cooking pan and all over the burner.

She didn’t have a working fire extinguisher available, so, in a state of panic, she quickly grabbed the food pan by the hand and put it in the sink, ran water over it and put out the flame. By then the kitchen was filled with smoke. She called the fire department and fortunately they used a chemical rather than water to douse the flame. After everything was doused there was considerable smoke damage throughout the apartment. This included burned and scorched woodwork around the countertop, and the stove itself was ruined.

My friend, the owner of the building, filed a claim with his insurance company. There was no problem with the claim, and basically few questions were asked by the adjustor. The insurance company covered the fire loss in the apartment.

But what made this an unusual story was that as she picked up the pan that she put it in the sink, she suffered severe burns to her hands. She went to the hospital for treatment, and the cost was $500. Even though she was completely at fault, the landlord’s insurance company paid the $500 hospital bill.

The owner was out a couple of months’ rent because the fire damage throughout the apartment rendered it unusable, because it needed a considerable amount of repair and replacement. He, unfortunately, didn’t have insurance coverage for the rent loss.

The landlord asked his insurance adjuster about the $500 hos­pital bill, “Why should we be responsible for her carelessness?” The adjuster simply said, “It’s less expensive to pay this small claim rather than getting involved with any legal action. He said, “Once an attorney enters the picture, the cost doubles and triples, and you never know what we could end up with, loss of work time, psychological trauma, inability to have chil­dren. Who knows what all?”

I’m sure there are hundreds of stories about fires that occurred when the smoke detectors, fire alarms, or fire extinguishers didn’t work or weren’t available. Therefore, do whatever it takes and everything within your means to keep that property from being vulnerable to any kind of lawsuit.

Step Number 3: The next important inspection should be the kitchen. Check the floors, window coverings, curtains, blinds, or drapes for stains, dirt, and grease. Make sure the refrigerator is clean and in prime condition. Does the dishwasher smell from the previous tenant’s use, and is it clean?

Are the stove and air vents clean? Are there cracks and crevices on the stove filled with cooking grease from the previous tenant?

How are the kitchen cupboards? Think of this. Tenants are placing all of their personal eating utensils, probably a lot of them wedding gifts, into that cupboard. I’m sure you can understand that no one wants to see dirt, spider webs, or, worse than any­thing, mouse droppings in the cupboards.

The kitchen and bathroom are two prime areas that you want to present to the new tenant as being meticulously clean.

Step Number 4. How does the all-important bathroom look? Would you have second thoughts about using the bathroom if you lived there? If so, correct whatever you observe, smell, or find objectionable. Is it clean? Does it smell good? Is the shower or bathtub clean? A new toilet seat is a simple and inexpensive improvement. There’s nothing that will turn off anyone more than an ugly, cracked, or dirty toilet seat. Put in a new roll of toilet paper.

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