Basic toolkit for new landlord

S

Shann

Joined
Sep 2, 2004
Messages
5,250
My wife and I just bought two rental properties from her parents. Despite not being handy, I'm now doing "repairs" such as fixing a toilet, fixing a screen door, etc.

What's in a good basic toolkit for these little types of repairs? I won't be doing any major work (i.e., not going on roof to fix shingles, too scared and too fat:D ) and can't do any electrical work due to codes or plumbing other than fixing a sink, toilet, etc.

I've noticed that my cordless drill and 4in1 screwdriver handle a lot more than I would have expected, but I'd like to actually have a basic kit.

Thanks.
 
My family has owned apartments for years. Some tenants were great, some horrible, but that's another story. Most of the general repairs we do are as you listed, but also include alot of painting, fixing small holes in sheetrock, replacing carpets, replacing broken window panes, replacing recepticles, unclogging toilets and sinks, etc.

My suggestion is to head to Sears and buy the following:
paint brushes, rollers, roller pans
several putty knives (different widths)
screwdriver set- flat tip and phillips assorted sizes
small and medium size channel locks
set of vise-grips
claw hammer
dikes (cutting pliers)
small, medium, and large adjustable wrenches
regular pliers
small and medium pipe wrenches
cross cut hand saw
hacksaw
25' tape measure
utility knife
toilet plunger
drain snake
That should get you started in the right direction. Get the rest as the jobs come up.
Good luck!
Scott
 
step 1.
but norm abram's book on what tools you need

Step 2.
buy those tools.
 
Hire someone else to do it for you.
 
K.V. Collucci said:
Hire someone else to do it for you.
Click to expand...

Ditto!

My family owns close to 10 rental properties and we always hire someone to do the major repair jobs. Of course labour here in Malaysia is so much cheaper (I have an Uncle who actually paid someone to change the lightbulbs).

Anyway, most of the major repairs in our properties are done by our family contractor. This is usually the major plumbing and all electricity stuff. When the contract ends (before the next tenant comes in), he goes in and also does the small jobs since he's there anyway. But during the tenancy if there are any niggles like loose taps and minor leaks and all those things...that job goes to my mom.

She has had her Bosch corded drill for so long. Way more than 10 years. This is more practical since she can just go straight away and do the job. She's refused to buy a cordless 'cos she's afraid she'll get caught out and the thing is not charged.

Other than that there's just the basic screwdriver set, spanner set and a hammer. I'd advise getting a cordless screwdriver as well. I've found this to be invaluable when fixing 'cos it's so much faster than actually unscrewing by hand. Plus the batteries are quite good that you can leave it a few months and it'll still have some juice left in it.

If you have more than one property it makes sense to get some identical bits like toilets and all that. You can get different colours but if you have the same set you can just keep one type of spare.

Oh...try to find a reliable contractor and stick with the guy.

And i've never found use for duct tape in this situation.
 
K.V. Collucci said:
Hire someone else to do it for you.
Click to expand...

I've got a good and reliable plumber and master electrician. And my father-in-law will help with stuff like laying new carpet and installing drywall, etc. But we are just getting up on our feet with the buildings and paying somebody to do stuff that I can do with a little studying isn't in the cards yet. Besides, buying new tools is always fun :D
 
duct tape is fine for jury rigging things in the field
but when you're doing things at home, you expect them to stay fixed
ergo, not much use for duct tape
 
Most toilet clogs are within the first couple of feet. There is a wonderful tool called a toilet snake which costs about ten or twelve bucks and will solve most of those issues.

Most sink clogs are actually in the trap. A pipe wrench and a bucket are what you need here.

Garbage disposal jams call for a special wrench which can be purchased for a couple of bucks anywhere disposals are sold.


Oh, and for each of your buildings, make sure you know where the shut-offs are for water, electric, gas, etc. It's a good idea to show these to the tenet when they move in too. If a pipe bursts or something, it's always good to know where those valves are.
 
One thing you will want is a set of spare lock cylinders for each property, keyed alike - and if they are the same make for both places, so much the better. Then as each resident vacates, you get out a sharpened pocket screwdriver, pop off the knobs/levers, and change the cylinders. Especially since so many don't leave all the keys, even if you surcharge them $50.

To make the tool, just grind or file to a point. It now fits 90% of the lock tabs on the market, residential or commercial. The cores are easily obtained already keyed from a locksmith; avoid any sales pitch for IC (interchangable core) locksets because that's what you're getting around - not paying $150 each for an IC lock, or charged that for a locksmith each vacancy. You are getting the same security.
 
We just had a new tenant come in to our brand new property. Korean. The rent is alright since the company he works for pays for it. We provide it fully furnished. Dishwasher, washer, dryer, tv, oven, fridge etc... basically he can just come in with a suitcase and live there. But our luck with koreans have not been good and the trend is continuing with this one.

This guy is a bit 'duh'. He didn't even know how to turn on the gas. Called our estate agent on a sunday evening complaining that there's no gas and all. So the lady estate agent had to go to the apartment and turn it on for him. This is a grown man working for a huge three letter multinational computer company.

We also had one of these type of taps for the showers....and he managed to break it off. Basically you just turn it up. What he did was totally flip it up till it broke off. He acted so innocent like there was something already wrong with the tap. We sent in the plumber and because a crucial part was broken...had to change the whole thing. Diagnosis by the plumber: HUMAN ERROR.

lotus_shower_mixer_big.jpg


Anyway, that was out of topic but yeah in the early days of being a landlord you have to do most of the stuff yourself. Once you get more and more properties you can afford to hire people to do it. Stuff like painting, minor plumbing should be done by yourself.
 
when you buy a saw get a stanley jetcut

dont do what everyone else does and waste money on a cheap one, then see one of your friends / contractors use a jetcut and end up going and buying one yourself anyway!!!

large water pump / slip joint pliers are very useful too especially when changing u bends (and car oil filters!) and turning on stiff stop taps
 
Think this way about tools. NEVER EVER EVER buy a cheap tool, it will cost you far more than you ever saved by being cheap to buy. cheap pliers slip and mark fittings, cheap wrenches round over nuts, cheap screw drivers slip and gouge finished surfaces. etc etc etc, If you are buying a cordless drill, pay 120 to 200 for a good one, they will work better, by a contractor grade anything, and do not ask the guy at the counter, but look at what contractors are buying,

Plumbing tools, Ridgid is still the name, even though Home Depot owns them they still are the class of the trade.

electrical tools, Klein. buy some basics and learn how to swap out a bad outlet or switch. save you thousands in a short time. vs paying electrician for same.

Power tools, makita, Bosch, Hitachi, milwaukee. at minimum a 12 volt cordless, at most a 14.4 V system, any less not strong enough, anymore too heavy for most. I currently use and really like the makita 12 volt 2.6 amphour tools, light, strong and long lifed, Stay away from Dewalt cordless, they have very short battery lifespans, and lousy customer service. Some prefer the panasonics and the FIEN tools, they are good, just not what i am used to.

Ladders, Buy only grade 1A ladders. buy a couple of good ones on sale. if you can find an electricians platform ladder and a twin step, you will be happy, also find a three foot folder that can go in your trunk and get you up to lights, etc inside the house and do it safely. One fall from a wobbly weak III ladder and you understand that extra 50 bucks is dirt cheap


hand tools, Craftsman used to be the bottom of the acceptable limits, now even they have fallen so far as to barely make the threshold. MAC and snapon are worth what you pay.

Painting stuff. Buy good extensions, brushes and rollers, Go to a painting contractor supply store and ask for contractor rollers and covers, the difference is amazing. for Drywall/plaster, walbord and Goldblatts are the names. Get a rock square too, just a 4 foot T square, but useful for all sorts of things.

carpentry tools. depends on your skill levels. buy a good level, a swanson speed square, a framing square (aluminum) a good hammer, I prefer Harts, a set of real Vise Grips, a set of real Channel lock pliers, a stanley or vaugh wonderbar. no reason to buy a hand saw yet, I would suggest a Sawzall and then a good circular saw when you get better aquainted to the job. Two Chisels, a 1/2 and 1 inch to start. ONLY use them to remove clean wood, they are not prybars not staple pullers. A stanleyknife with extra blades. a hacksaw if you do not get the sawzall.

I carry most of my service call tools in two containers, one is a Big Mouth bag and the other is a bucket boss bag that hangs on a five gallon bucket. with these two sets of tools I can fix 90% of face problems with out needing more.
 
A Shop-vac and a 100 foot extension cord are powerful time-savers.
Southerner's trick for a/c maintainence: Slurp the condensate drain to keep the algae at bay
HTH
Jorge
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top