Is This a Great Time to Report Minor Maintenance That Would Be a Bad Idea to Save Until Move-Out, Even if I Don’t Care About It Getting Fixed?
Yes! That is one of the best benefits of how we do things. See the question on reporting normal wear and tear for more details. That is a less clear issue.
Your lease specifically says you must report full maintenance items to us immediately. If you don't we don't take it personally, but the owner probably will.
The main reason people don't report maintenance is to "not be a pain" and that often stems from not wanting to have your rent increased.
That is admirable, and we try very hard to point that out when this issue arises, but at that point, their emotions are running high and it is too late.
We can have our cake and eat it too. If you keep a solid dialogue with your account manager (or submit a help ticket if you feel they may not be hearing you) we can report minor wear and tear and maintenance in a favorable light when it is completely on our terms. Again the emotion is not running high, and the process goes smoothly. It's usually in the context of a whole home report, which is why we spend most of our time looking for costly exterior issues like rotten wood and pest problems when we do home visit reports.
Not demanding repairs will help motivate owners not to jack up the rent, but that is not the same as not reporting them. That's the key point. If you don't care about having it repaired tell us, and that will completely disarm the owner. Some owners insist on repairing things. We know that is often not your favored outcome. Let us know and we'll try, but it is ultimately not in our control.
We are not implying you should not have things repaired but it's common sense that a large amount of trivial costs will always motivate an owner to raise the rent.
Another aspect of cost is frequent visits. If we send a vendor to your home three times a year for a multitude of needs versus 8 for that same number of needs, the cost will be much lower. Not only that the estimates, approvals, and repair discussions that tend to stress owners out and make them less willing partners also increase dramatically.You're right to think that maintenance is a touchy subject, but take our guidance on how to best handle it and things go much more smoothly. This method we've outlined is effective at both limiting your inconvenience as well as renewal and move-out challenges.