On the Level
by Terry Meany
In a rent-controlled town with rules for tree planting, garage privileges, graffiti abatement and the presence of sex offenders in your buildings, it’s a wonder building owners do anything more than the minimal amount of maintenance. Why bother? Real-estate prices rise like cappuccino steam, defying all logic. According to the most recent U.S. Census, the biggest segment of the population is in the 25-34-year-old age bracket with 35-44 year olds coming in second; the two together accounted for over 40% of San Franciscans in 2000. No one straight out of college is going house shopping around here, so a steady supply of renters is more or less assured if these population trends keep up.
Many issues of this magazine offer examples of a wretched tenant and the associated frustrations and legal entanglements from, for instance, the discovery of a previously undiagnosed anxiety disorder and the accompanying physician’s note prescribing a companion pet in the previously pet-free apartment. What’s next, installing individual washing machines and dryers as the fear of public laundry rooms becomes an accepted and legitimate phobia?
The question remains, why do anything more than necessary to keep the joint from falling down? Just keep the rain out, and the water and lights running, and call it a day.
It’s a grand fantasy, but life comes with enough regrets; we don’t need to add deferred maintenance to the list. This is what sets an owner apart from many renters: you invested for your future and you plug along, responsibly, regardless of the regular city-initiated roadblocks tossed your way. Despite often being portrayed as arch villain Snidely Whiplash—a main character from Rocky & Bullwinkle, who regularly tied sweet Nell to the railroad tracks only to be foiled by Royal Canadian Mounty Dudley Do-Right (played locally by Chris Daly, albeit with a coarser way of expressing himself)—landlords press on, knowing they’ll never be appreciated for providing housing in the first place.
If you’re a regular reader of this column, you’ve checked your roof and exterior by now, tidied up the landscaping, inspected the water heater and touched up any deteriorated exterior paint. Congratulations, nothing to do until spring unless this pesky global warming brings hurricanes to the Bay Area.
Hold on, though, it’s time to think of the future. Where do you want your building to be in one, five or ten years? Do you want to upgrade the electrical system, change out the windows, replace the roof or turn that basement storage into a legal rental unit? Too often, especially for owners with one or two smaller properties, these decisions are made on an as-needed basis. The money is found or borrowed and marked in the expense column as another plum in the glamorous life of a landlord.
I advocate a more proactive approach and certainly one that includes capital improvement passthroughs to your tenants, so clearly described by Elizabeth Miller in the September issue of this magazine. As Miller states, there are rules to follow and hearings to submit to, but money is money and it’s yours to recover for every gallon of paint and roofing tar you purchase. Planning now for maintenance next year allows you to schedule and consolidate your projects and minimize the procedural hassles with the San Francisco Rent Board.
Get your bids now for big ticket items such as exterior painting. A painter might submit a tentative bid based on current costs that could change by next year, but at least you’ll have some data to work with and more time to interview contractors. You will never hear the same advice twice on how to paint! One painter will suggest oil primer, one will say latex only, another will say scraping is enough prep and yet another will want to strip it as clean as a hungry dog’s food bowl. With the job being months off, you’ll have plenty of time to consider and sort through the competing ideas.
One precaution on painting preparation bids: tedious scraping and filling can take as long as more-thorough sanding and feathering. (Be sure any sanding is done with sanders that have HEPA vacuums attached and are rated for high—around 95% or so—dust recovery, otherwise the lead police will be there in a heartbeat.) Your early inquiries allow you to look at your bidders’ local work and decide which result suits you.
What if you know a paint job is coming up, but your budget remains flat? Compromise: keep the same color scheme and only paint the weathered sides. Wash the others and touch up if needed. If the painter gives you any grief, find another painter. Think twice and think again about multicolor themes. Yes, your Victorian is just precious and you want it to show all its glory, but glory comes at a price that does not increase your income.
The same holds true for electrical upgrades. You might want to install new main panels and bring the units up to code, but electricians are not modest with their fees and this work can be divided up unless an inspector sees a blatant and unsafe condition needing correction.
Your roof might be a little iffy, but if you can still get a few years out of it without risking leaks, you can look at an extended calendar now and decide when its replacement will best fit your plans and financial forecast. Your hallway carpet might have seen better days, but one more shampooing can allow you to invest in a better carpet in three years than you might otherwise be able to purchase.
Maintenance projections put your building’s upkeep more in your control. You can plan instead of react. The work still has to get done and you’ll still write checks big enough to buy an entire property in rural Nebraska, but no sooner than you must.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of SFAA or San Francisco Apartment Magazine. Terry Meany is a former contractor and landlord. He is now a full-time writer and author of Working Windows: A Guide to the Repair and Restoration of Wood Windows, now in its second edition from Lyons Press. He is cost conscious but not cheap, and he knows deferred maintenance always costs more in the end. He can be reached at tfmeany@msn.com. Copyright © 2006 by San Francisco Apartment Magazine. All rights reserved.