DIY Property Management Maintenance Library

Our Houston property management teams and our Dallas property management teams understand that tenants and homeowners living in our HOA communities can become frustrated by the obligations of maintaining their home. 


For tenants who rent from our Houston or Dallas properties:

Some new tenants may not be aware or appreciate that renting or owning a single family home is different than living in a apartment complex.  Tenants who live in single family homes are expected to be more involved with the maintenance of their homes than maybe expected at the apartment complex. 

For example, many tenants who choose to rent homes often do rent a homes because of a desire to have a yard and their own space.  This is a wonderful reason to rent a home, but it also adds responsibilities for upkeep and maintenance of those areas.  Remember, landlords at single family homes in Dallas or Houston do not have onsite maintenance crews who can take care minor items or non-emergency repairs.  This is why our Houston and Dallas property managers emphasize to our tenants the importance of using this library and understanding your obligations as tenants. Our property managers hope that this library will save you time, inconvenience, and money dealing with repairs that arise.


Examples of headaches and cost that can arise from requesting our property managers to handle minor repairs or obligations:

 

  • Trip Charges /Repair Deductibles: Most leases charge back at minimum trip charges or repair deductibles for repairs required to be landlord responsibility.
  • Coordinating with Vendors: Vendors have regular hours and accommodating to hours after hours or weekends can create delays and additional cost. 
  •  Improper Usage: If tenants fail to take care of the home as expected than the entire repair can be charged back. 
  • The inconvenience of appliances, garbage disposals, drains, air conditioner systems not working. 

 

For homeowners in our HOA communities:

Homeowner in our HOA communities can utilize this library as a resource to help make your homeownership experience more pleasant and less expensive.

Benefits to our HOA communities include:

  • Homeowners in communities with some shared common lines for plumbing will benefit in trying to avoid putting the wrong items down the drains or lines which can cost your HOA communities thousands of dollars in plumbing bills a year.
  • Homeowners who put in work orders for our staff to diagnose minor plumbing items that maybe easily remedied by a DIY review of drain lines or clearing a backed up toilet can save the HOA and the homeowner money in plumbing bills for those items In addition, the time lost in coordinating these repairs with the HOA manager and vendor can be saved by homeowners who review if the problem can be resolved more quickly and efficiently.

For you homeowners who are in HOA communities, you may find our maintenance library a resource to help you handle your small repairs or DIY maintenance projects.  Please feel free to visit and explore what we may have found to share with our tenants and homeowners.


NOTE: These videos are not a endorsement of a vendor, but simply a resource to provide owners with ways to handle the maintenance themselves. 


Property Maintenance Assessment

Plumbing Related Matters 

  • What should you not put down the drain?

    Tenants need to be aware that putting the wrong things down the drain can cause damage to the pipe. This can cause back up  and waste water to back up in the drain.   For example:

    • Sanitary Wipes
    • Grease/Oils
    • Feminine Products

    Visit our page for tenant video and guidance of what to avoid to put down the drains in the home. 


  • Are there simple tools to use for a drain?

    Sometimes you can pull out the debris in a drain if it is hair in tub drain or sink drain. You can use a pair of pliers or tweezers to  grab some of the easy to reach debris that clogs drains. However, there are other tools that you can buy very inexpensively from local hardware stores like Home Depot or Lowes. 


    Click here to see a video demonstrating how tenants and homeowners can clear a drain with simple tools that you can buy at local hardware store for a few dollars. 



  • What should you not put down a toilet?

    Toilets often get clogs and the clogs are both very gross as sewage will back up, and it is very expensive to clear. Often times, plumbers will find that the wrong types of products were put down the toilet. For example:


    • Sanitary Wipes ( lysol wipe , chlorox wipes)
    • Feminine Products

    Click here to visit our page where we show several things you should never put down a toilet. 

  • How do you clear a toilet without any tools?

    Tenants and Homeowners are responsible to use all items in the home appropriately. If they do not use things like a toilet appropriately, tenants can face expensive repair bills from their landlords, and homeowners living in a community with shared lines can have those cost billed back potentially.   To clear a toilet, you can use a plunger, but you can use no tools to clear a toilet.


    You will need:

    • Hot Water
    • Dishwasher Detergent
    • Time

    Click here to see an instruction guide on how to attempt to  clear a toilet without tools. 

  • How should a you use a plunger?

    Tenants and Homeowners may have to use tools to clear a toilet. Luckily, a effective but also affordable tool is a plunger. Remember that with home warranties, leases with repair deductibles, etc there are cost to maintenance for homeowners or tenants, so it is important to try and resolve matters in a cost effective maanner. 


    Properly Plunging a Toilet Video

  • Why are my water bill high?

    Tenants and Homeowerns often complain about high water bills need to undertand that the bill is higher because the rate has increased or usage. With a sudden increase, it is a sign there is high water usage, which indicates a leak (often called a silent leak). 


    A leak is usually visible, so if tenant has not notice large puddles of water, discoloration, a faucet dripping, then this is usually a sign that the toilet is constantly running. 


    Tenants need to test for it, and they can take a video to see if they see a leak or not if they want for our  property management to verify its a silent leak, if not sure. 

    • You can use food dye, Kool aid, or any kind of colored water. 
    • You pour it in the the tank. 
    • Do not flush the bowl
    • If the toilet bow is  later seen to have that water color, then it is a sign of a leak. 

    Click here for a quick demonstration and explanation.

  • How can you fix the silent leaks ?

    Usually there are two culprits in a toilet that often cause water to flow constantly. One is the fill valve being set too high and it makes water fill past the level of the overflow tube. The other is a flapper that is not sealing well in the tank. Links to the two repairs are below.


    Fill Valve Adjustment

    Flapper Replacement


  • Can you monitor your water usage?

    Yes, tenants and homeowners  can review your bill to get a idea of what your average water usage.  This way, you can get a idea of when a leak shows up that the usage is abnormal. 


    In the City of Houston, they have a great program where homeowners or tenants can setup their account to get alerts when their usage goes over a certain level. 


    Learn more about the City of Houston Water Usage Program

  • How can I find main shut off valve to turn off water during leak?

    When there is any leak, the first step is to turn off water supply. For that you need to find the main water shut off valve. Here is the video which will help you to find it.


    Water Shutoff Valve

Air Conditioning Related Matters

Enroll in AC Filter Delivery Program

  • Why is it important to change a filter for a AC?

    There are 3 huge reasons  why people should be regularly changing the filter on their homes?


    1) Not Changing Filters can cause huge repair bills.  Filters become a low priority due to a misunderstanding of what filters actually do.  The filters main job is to protect the AC system from becoming damaged. 


    Over time, the problem will get worse if you continue to ignore it. The filter itself isn’t the only thing that will stop functioning as it should. Dust in the ducts will degrade the moving parts, making them run slower and draw more power. This will wear out the mechanics of your AC much faster than normal use. The average lifespan of an HVAC unit is fifteen to twenty years. Without a regular change of the AC filter, that can be shortened by five to ten years.


    2) Changing your filter keeps the home cooler. and save you money 


    Changing a filter can save up to 5 to 15% of energy bills per year as documented by the energy department. 


    This kind of savings can add up for a home whether you are an owner or a tenant.  Texas heat can be difficult and put a lot of pressure stress on a air conditioning system. 


    3) Additionally, there are certain filters that are designed to remove allergens.






  • How do you change Air Filters ?

    1) Locate Air Filters

    2) Get correct size filter

    3) Make Sure filter is pointed where arrow points towards the director or air is flowing.

    4) Clean the area around the filter 

    5) Write dates on the filter of when it was changed to remind you the date. 


    Here is a step by step by instruction by Home Depot on how to properly clean and change the air filter.




  • How do you maintain the exterior condenser unit ?

    1) Keep area free of debris, mulch, or plants away from the unit

    2) Check if the fins are bent

    3) Clean the exterior unit


    Here is a video series to help demonstrate how to clean and maintain your exterior condenser unit. 

  • Changing the battery on your thermostat

    Homeowner and tenants need to realize that the thermostat in most homes are battery operated. When your system does not seem to be changing the temperature, it maybe that the  batteries are out on the thermostat. The batteries maybe out on their thermostat, and they may need to be changed.





  • I do not think AC is working as it is not getting cool enough.

    Over the past few decades, temperature has been slowly getting hotter in Texas.  Many homes that were built years ago were not built to ventilate or be insulated to handle these extreme heats. Therefore, the AC system is cooling, but the home is struggling to reach the optimal temperature. 


    This is why we suggest tenants :


    1) Change filters

    2) Keep debris from outside unit

    3) Put up knockout curtains or blinds to reduce window 

    4) Use fans


    Homes are not designed to withstand consistent 100 degree plus days so the system will seem like its not a comfortable temperature. We can try to find a solution, but it may not be just the AC unit or it may be a function of the home, location, and some of the other factors noted above. 


    https://www.aaaheatingandcoolinginc.com/why-isnt-my-house-cooling-down/

Appliance Repair Matters

  • How do you reset a garbage disposal?

    Garbage disposals are a great convenience in many homes. However, they often can trip and stop working. Many times the disposal can be reset and cleared to begin working. 


    A few common ways to fix the disposal:

    • Some disposals have a button them that are a simple button to restart.
    •  Others require you to twist a opening to help clear the blades. 
    •  You may have to clear a items after safely turning off the disposal.  

    How to reset a garbage disposal instructions


  • How to replace a electric burner?

    It can be easier than tenants or homeowners think to replace a burner on a electric stove to get it working again.  You may need  to swap out your electric stove burner to get your stove working again and save yourself time and money coordinating a repair. 



  • How do you repair a gas burner on the stove?

    Cleaning your gas burners can help insure stove works appropriately and gets appropriate heating.  Tenants and homeowners can save money and repair coordination time by cleaning your gas burner to get your stove working again. 



  • Why is my gas stove making "clicking" sound but not igniting.

    Sometimes grease blocks the igniter from igniting the gas. This maybe why stove is not working and may have a simpler solution. 



  • My dishwasher is not draining?

    Dishwashers are similarly built so the ways to check across many dishwashers work the same way. 


    1) Check garbage disposal

    2) Check drain at the bottom of dishwasher


    To see 4 steps to try to clear your drain:

    https://youtu.be/pXUaM8KNQdk


Miscellaneous Repair Items

  • How do you change batteries on smoke detector?

    Tenants and homeowners will have to change smoke detector batteries periodically to insure that they work as intended. 


    This video is aimed to help educate you on importance of changing the batteries. 


    A easy tip is to change batteries 2x a year as good rule of thumb, and homeowners and tenants can do it when we change the clocks for day light saving time adjustments. 


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v12WKVjfF70

  • How do you change your refrigerator filter ?

    Tenants and homeowners who have ice maker and water dispenser will have a filter for the water. This filter has to be changed periodically. Tenants who are provided a fridge at a rental property. You have to have to find the filter which can differ depending the model and style. 


    This video can help you identify areas of a fridge to look for your filter. After finding filter, you can order a replacement filter at a hardware store or online by looking at the information on the filter. 


    Also, you can google based on the model number that you can usually find on the inside of the fridge what kind of filter it may require. 


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFqk3RHI9YA

  • Why am I seeing water on my ceiling?

    Water on ceiling can come from 3 factors:

    • Roof
    • Water Pipe
    • AC

    This is why it would be very helpful for our property management team if tenants would try to help us diagnose where the water is coming from if possible.


    Examples of things to think about: 

    • Does it leak when it rains?
    • Is it getting bigger and no one is using the water in the house? Maybe its an AC line that is clogged. 

    https://preferredservicesca.com/blog/why-do-i-see-water-stains-on-my-ceiling

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