Maintenance FAQ

MAINTENANCE FAQ

“My sink/disposal/toilet/shower is clogged.” Sorry about that, but all drain stoppages are the Tenant’s responsibility. Why? Primarily because we have no control over what goes down your drain(s). You can use whomever you like, the only caveat is that they be licensed and have insurance.

“My garbage disposal won’t come/only makes a low humming sound.” If you flip the switch to turn on your garbage disposal and nothing happens, there’s a 60% chance that something has lodged in the blade. You need to turn the switch off, get a ¼” Allen wrench, insert the short end of the wrench into the hex nut on the underside of the disposal (under the sink), and turn in both directions to dislodge the offending article. Remove the Allen wrench, turn on the water into the disposal-side of the sink, and try the switch again.

If it STILL isn’t working, there’s a 35% chance that a breaker has tripped. Turn the switch off and look at the underside of the disposal for a little (probably red but possibly black) button. Push the button in and try the switch again.

Nothing? Turn the switch off, go to the breaker panel, and look for the switch marked “disposal.” Reset the breaker by turning it fully off, then back on again. If it STILL isn’t working, there’s a 5% chance that the disposal is just dead. In this case, put in a maintenance request via the Portal.

“The outlets in my bathroom/kitchen/front or back porch/garage stopped working.” All exterior, garage, and “wet area” outlets are on a GFCI or Ground Fault Interrupt circuit, and they can sometimes trip for no apparent reason. You have to find and reset the tripped outlet by pressing in the reset button; you should hear a click and the little red light should go out. Not every outlet in a GFCI circuit will have a little button– sometimes several outlets on the circuit will be tied to one GFCI outlet. Typically the exterior and garage outlets are on the same circuit, and the GFCI outlet for that circuit is typically in the garage. If you’ve reset an outlet and it continues to trip, please log a maintenance request via the portal.

“We have ants/ladybugs/mice/spiders/etc.” I get it– nobody likes bugs or rodents– but all pest control measures (except for termites or “critters” such as squirrels or raccoons) are the Tenant’s responsibility.

“There is a smoke detector intermittently chirping.” You need to replace the battery in that smoke detector. If you do so and it still chirps, please log a maintenance request.

“My air conditioning/heat aren’t working.” A tenant has only 2 responsibilities for the HVAC system: ONE is to regularly change the filter(s). If we get a call for no heat or A/C and the tech finds a filter that hasn’t been changed in months, you will be on the hook for the cost to repair that system. TWO is to maintain a reasonable expectation as to the performance of a system. If the outside temp is 97F, it is unreasonable to expect an HVAC system to achieve 65F inside. One might reasonably expect a 20 degree drop from outside to inside, but every system and structure is different. If a system is not functioning properly or is broken, we’ll get it fixed. But if it is functioning properly and still isn’t cold enough for you, I’m afraid you’ll need to simply adjust your expectations.