A Landlord Experiences
His First Repair Problems

Jeff Jones thought everything was under control at his South Seattle rental property: The tenant had moved in, her rent check had cleared and the appliances were working. The only problem thus far was trivial: Persistent sumac shoots had spread across the yard. Mr. Jones and his tenant were able to tame the weed with a few hits of chemical weed killer.

Four months after closing on the two-bedroom lake-view property, Mr. Jones was feeling so confident about his investment that he'd begun eyeing another purchase.

But all that forward motion came to an abrupt halt August 21. A weekend of unseasonably abundant rain kicked off a series of disasters at the house on Taft Street. The tenant called to say the roof was leaking. He arrived to find an overflowing kitchen sink and a basement washing machine that didn't drain during wash cycles.

Welcome to Mr. Jones's $7,000 weekend. In two days he spent more than $1,500 on repairs and replacement appliances and learned that he'd need to spend $5,200 on a new roof within the next year.

"Everything kind of hit at once, which in a way is good because you can attack everything at one time," says Mr. Jones. "The circulatory system of the house just failed."

Mr. Jones tackled the problems one at a time, with a little patience from his tenant and help from plumbers. In the kitchen, his tenant called a handy friend to run a "snake" down the sink. They couldn't discover the source of the clog, so Mr. Jones hired a plumber.

The plumber and Mr. Jones were able to discern the source of the clog. Painters Mr. Jones had hired a month earlier had poured oil-based paint down the drain. Replacing the length of pipe affected was inexpensive.

Mr. Jones and the plumber went downstairs and examined the washer's water connection and drainage. The connection worked, but the washer's drainage mechanism was failing. Mr. Jones decided he'd be better off replacing the old washer and dryer rather than repairing them. Price tag: $700.

When the sun returned a few days later, Mr. Jones climbed on the roof and sealed the leak with roof-caulk adhesive. He also got an estimate on a new roof, which he'll have to pay for within the next few years.

"It's not more than I thought I'd be spending on the house," he says. "It's just sooner than I thought I'd be spending it."

Mr. Jones calls the weekend his "baptism by fire." He'll postpone a major landscaping project. Instead, he'll continue to pay a church group that does yard work and odd jobs to raise money for charity to do basic maintenance, grass cutting and pruning.

But as for the Taft Street home, Mr. Jones has made profuse apologies to his tenant and the two agreed to run some experiments before winter hits. He's told her to leave the lights on overnight (easy, since she works a night shift at an area medical center) and kick the tires on the home's electrical capacity by running multiple appliances simultaneously.

"I've told her to get out in front of it so we can repair things now, before winter comes," he says. "She knows she's stress-testing this house."

His tenant, who would like to buy a home, is using her experience to learn about the work involved in maintaining an older home. She's asked whether an electrician relative can bid on some wiring upgrades.

"She's been contemplating a newer versus an older house," Mr. Jones says. "She said to me, 'This type of experience makes me think twice.' "

Despite the surprise expenses, he's still thinking about buying another property in the near future. He's crunching net-operating income numbers on homes in seven different neighborhoods, trying to figure out if he can buy a multifamily on his own or whether he should team up with buddies. He's wondering if another single-family home out there has his name on it, or if he should buy properties for sale in his own neighborhood. He knows that in Seattle, the returns on investment real estate aren't as high as they are in other cities, but they do, over time, materialize.

He is determined not to get discouraged by the recent problems at the Taft Street house.

"I read somewhere that 85% of real-estate investors get out within three years," Mr. Jones says. "My goal is for that not to happen."

-- Ms. Hodges is a free-lance writer in Seattle and writes the Investor Profile and Landlord Chronicles columns for RealEstateJournal.com.

Email your comments to rjeditor@dowjones.com.