Landlord Maintenance in Thurmont, MD

None of it is urgent on the day. That is why it sits until it is nine items and a tenant who has started leading with "I've mentioned this before."

What the work looks like

This is labor on a list. We don't manage properties — you send the list, or we walk the property and build one, and it gets worked in one visit instead of being spread across six separate trips with six separate minimums.

What usually ends up on a Thurmont list:

• Gutters and runoff. Cleared, resecured where the spikes have pulled, splash blocks and downspout extensions put back so the water leaves the foundation alone. On a lot with oaks, twice a season is normal, and the second one matters more than the first.
• Storm cleanup. Limbs and brush off the lawn and out of the fence line, hauled away instead of piled behind the shed for next year. We don't take down trees — that is a tree service — but what is already on the ground is ours.
• Winter prep. Hose bibs shut off and drained, exterior caulk redone where it has let go, basement window wells dug out, a storm door made to latch again.
• Doors, locks and windows. A swollen door planed and rehung, a deadbolt that has to be lifted to turn, locks rekeyed between tenants, screens re-splined, sticking windows freed.
• Interior punch list. Drywall patched and painted, nail holes and anchors filled, a toilet reset, a leaking shutoff, a loose stair rail, closet doors back on the track, a bath fan that doesn't move air, a dryer vent packed with lint.
• Decks, steps and exterior wood. Soft boards cut out and replaced, railings tightened, steps rebuilt. If the deck is beyond repairing, it comes out whole and the debris leaves with us.
• Hauling. What the last tenant left in the basement, the shed or the outbuilding, the appliance in the garage, the brush pile. Same visit, not its own appointment.

What we won't take on

Roof replacement, HVAC installation or repair, and anything that is an electrician's work at the panel. No tree removal. If one of those turns up at the property, you will hear about it the day we find it so you can get the right person in, instead of finding out two weeks later. If a job needs a permit, the property owner pulls it; routine maintenance items rarely do.

What affects the quote

The length of the list first. Grouping items into one visit is cheaper per item than calling about each one as it appears, which is the real argument for a list rather than against it.

Then how deep each item goes once it is opened. A soft board is a board; a soft board over a joist that is also soft is a different job, and you should know which you are buying before the first cut. Access counts too — a steep back yard or a gate too narrow for a wheelbarrow adds time to anything that has to go out.

Appliance disposal is worth raising early. Refrigerators, freezers, AC units and dehumidifiers carry an added fee because of the refrigerant, shown on the quote rather than added at the end. Mattresses are $28 each.

Quotes are free, depend on the size of the job, and usually come back the same day. They are good for 30 days. There is a $100 minimum on any job. Payment by cash, check, card or any payment app.

How long it takes

A seasonal visit — gutters, winter prep, a few repairs, hauling what has piled up — is one day. A list that has gone two years without anybody working it, or a property being brought back after a hard tenancy, runs two to three. Exterior wood is the one that can surprise you, because you don't know what the board was hiding until it is off.

Tell us the date that matters — a tenant moving in, an inspection, the first freeze — when you ask for the price. Better to hear it doesn't fit before you promise it to somebody.

Weekend work is available, and phones are answered Monday to Friday, 9 to 5.

If you don't live near the property

Plenty of north county rentals are owned by people an hour or more away. You don't need to be there — a lockbox or a code lock is enough. You get told what we found, not only what we fixed, because what we found is what sets your spring budget.

Towns served

Thurmont, Frederick, Brunswick, Middletown and Walkersville, plus Jefferson, Urbana, New Market and Mount Airy. We are based on Jefferson Pike in Frederick and work about 25 miles out from there, further for the right job. James (Jay) King is the owner, and the owner is on every job.

Related

• Landlord maintenance in Frederick
• Move-out cleanouts in Thurmont
• Storm and brush cleanup