Tenant wants to Paint, wants me to pay for it

[bizaro86]

Hello all,

I have a tenant I`ve had for about 6 months, who now wants to paint her apartment, and wants me to pay for it.

The unit is currently a Robin`s egg blue, with one deep blue feature wall. (I didn`t pick the colors, but I did get a discount when I bought it because of them!) I had planned to paint it before I moved someone in, but she replied the first day I had it listed for rent and moved right in as soon as I approved her application a few days later. She has been a great tenant, this is actually the first time I`ve heard a peep since she moved in, and the cheques always clear.

She wants to paint it a light tan, which seems reasonable to me, since I definitely want a neutral color.

Now, given that I`ll paint it anyway when she moves out, would you buy the supplies for her to paint it herself? I`m a bit concerned about getting a quality job done, because if its terrible I`ll still have to paint it when she moves out, so I wouldn`t be any ahead. Part of me wants to just do it myself and/or have it professionally done, which would keep her happy and give me a good paint job for the future.

Any thoughts?

Michael

 

[REINteam]

Hi Michael,

From personal experience I no longer allow tenants to paint. I would only ever consider it if they were a professional and I had references...they do a bad job and it may cost you more to fix it than it would to do it now up front. Now, regarding paint and cost you have some options, I`m sure some will disagree and others will fill you in on what`s worked for them:

1. You were going to paint anyway, out of your pocket, so go ahead and do it to keep a good tenant happy. If you`re OK with the color then great, win/win

2. If she is requesting the unit be painted and she wants to pick the color offer a cost split solution - She buys the paint and you pay the labour (or paint yourself if that`s something you do)...something like that to cover some costs. For this I would require a certain brand of paint so she doesn`t just go with the cheap stuff.

It really depends on how you want to approach it and how she "requested" it. I personally would be inclined to paint out of my pocket if I was going to in the first place, I would take her color choice into consideration but I would ultimately pick a color that appealed across the board....that could be tan, that could be white, but I would decide.

Regards,

Ray Reuter
Real Estate Investment Network
1-888-824-7346

 

[housedoc]

QUOTE (bizaro86 @ Nov 26 2009, 02:47 PM) Now, given that I`ll paint it anyway when she moves out, would you buy the supplies for her to paint it herself? I`m a bit concerned about getting a quality job done, because if its terrible I`ll still have to paint it when she moves out, so I wouldn`t be any ahead. Part of me wants to just do it myself and/or have it professionally done, which would keep her happy and give me a good paint job for the future.

Any thoughts?

Michael

Chances are pretty good that you`ll have to paint again after she leaves anyway, regardless of who paints it now.

With all her stuff in there now, won`t it be a PITA (for you or a pro) to schedule and paint?

Buy the paint. How bad a job could she possibly do?
Painting`s not rocket science.

 

[jcab256]

I personally would not let a tenant paint.

How much extra will it cost to:
Clean paint off of the baseboards/floors?
replace carpet if there is paint on it?
Fix drips prior to repainting when they leave?

Since you were going to paint anyway, I would make this a win/win.

Offer to let her choose the color - with your final approval, and tell her that if she pays for material, you will pay to have it professionally painted.

She wins, as she does not have any labour to do
you win, as she is paying for materials, that you were originally planning to pay for.

 

[cm24]

If I had money saved up for improvements, I would pay for the painting to be done professionally. If I was strapped for cash, and the colours were horrible, and most importantly, I thought she could do it (is she meticulous?) I would let her, but she would have to OK the paint colour, to make sure it`s not something no one else will like.

 

[orei]

Let her `test-paint` a room, and if she does a good job, let her continue.

Overall, I would not allow a tenant to paint - the risk is not worth the bit of savings that you will see. A good painting crew does not have to be expensive and will be in and out without any problems ... whereas the alternative could be very `messy`.

 

[Nir]

Hi Michael, do it for her!
if it helps you psychologically - divide the amount by 6 to get your monthly expense with her being there. now you`ll also send her a Tim Hortons card in Christmas.

 

[Anonymous]

QUOTE (bizaro86 @ Nov 26 2009, 11:47 AM) Hello all,
I have a tenant I`ve had for about 6 months, who now wants to paint her apartment, and wants me to pay for it.

The unit is currently a Robin`s egg blue, with one deep blue feature wall. (I didn`t pick the colors, but I did get a discount when I bought it because of them!) I had planned to paint it before I moved someone in, but she replied the first day I had it listed for rent and moved right in as soon as I approved her application a few days later. She has been a great tenant, this is actually the first time I`ve heard a peep since she moved in, and the cheques always clear.

She wants to paint it a light tan, which seems reasonable to me, since I definitely want a neutral color.

Now, given that I`ll paint it anyway when she moves out, would you buy the supplies for her to paint it herself? I`m a bit concerned about getting a quality job done, because if its terrible I`ll still have to paint it when she moves out, so I wouldn`t be any ahead. Part of me wants to just do it myself and/or have it professionally done, which would keep her happy and give me a good paint job for the future.

Any thoughts?

Michael






Definately get a professional painting company in to do the work. Not only could your tenant do a poor job of painting but she could ruin carpets or other fixtures in the residence. Peace of mind is priceless!!

 

[christineruptash]

We don`t allow our tenants to paint either so I would do it yourself, or have it professionally done.
Re-painting ceilings and baseboards is huge time killer and costly - everyone`s version of a good paint job is different.