The Battery Box: A Thing I Always Take With Me to Rental Maintenance Visits

My husband and I do nearly all of our own maintenance and repairs. I schedule quarterly maintenance visits with all of the tenants.

Now, if you think this is overkill, let me tell you why this is one of the greatest things we do.

When you schedule quarterly maintenance and let your tenant know, I can nearly guarantee one thing: the tenant thinks, “Oh crap, now I have to clean up.”

I’m telling you, it is a rare day if I walk into one of my rentals and it’s not totally spotless. Something about knowing your landlord (you know, the person in charge of your rent increases and whether you get to stay or go) is about to see the property causes people to clean. So there’s that.

The other reason – I catch things before they become bigger issues. This is one of several small systems I use to catch problems before tenants report them.

We have literally gone into houses and discovered tenants were using space heaters because “the furnace isn’t working right” — and they didn’t bother to tell us. Wild. We had a part ordered and the furnace fixed within 24 hours. It was a $30 part.

I will never understand why some tenants choose not to report major issues, especially when I am extremely easy to reach. Very easy.

Anyway.

I have many stories of things we’ve caught during quarterly visits. But one thing I want to tell you about today is my battery box. I started carrying this around with me to all emergency and scheduled visits about 2 years ago. It’s a simple thing really, a plastic box that I bought on Amazon that holds all types of batteries.

• AAA
• AA
• C
• D
• 9-volt

I cannot begin to tell you how much time, money, and frustration this thing has saved me.

Thermostats

Every six months, I change the thermostat batteries. We learned early on that many “my heat is out” calls are nothing more than a dead AA or AAA battery.

Do you know how much money you save by not calling a furnace company for an emergency winter visit? Hundreds of dollars. For a battery.

Carbon Monoxide Detectors

I also change the batteries in carbon monoxide detectors every six months.

It’s pretty distressing to get a call from a tenant saying the CO detector is going off. So far, it has always been a low battery. Batteries are cheap and protect both your wallet and your mental health by preventing that call in the first place.

Garage Door Openers

Another reason I carry the battery box: exterior garage door openers. The ones installed on the outside of a garage door opening.

I once met a furnace tech at a property with an attached garage and realized the opener hadn’t worked in a long time. Two batteries fixed it instantly. The tenant was thrilled – they assumed it was broken and never told us.

Why the Battery Box Matters

If I didn’t carry this box, I’d constantly be running to gas stations or stores for batteries – paying terrible prices and wasting time driving around.

Instead, I fix the issue immediately and move on.

Here’s the exact battery box I use. It comes in a two-pack, I keep the second one for personal use.

I buy batteries in bulk from Costco or Sam’s Club, whichever has a sale when I need them.

Why I Didn’t Mention Smoke Detector Batteries

You might be wondering why I didn’t mention smoke detector batteries.

If you are a landlord or property manager: do not buy smoke detectors with removable batteries. They’ve been outlawed or heavily restricted in many areas for rentals – and after seven years of experience, I can tell you exactly why.

Tenants remove smoke-detector batteries for three reasons:

1. The detector is chirping from a low battery
2. They set it off while cooking
3. They want the battery for something else and don’t want to buy their own

Crazy, isn’t it? It’s like they don’t realized they are putting their lives in danger by not having a working smoke detector.

Early on, I frequently walked into houses and found smoke detectors with no batteries at all. And when we buy new properties, one of the first things we check is smoke and CO detectors – and almost always, something isn’t working or is missing entirely.

Make sure you always buy smoke detectors with 10 year non-removable batteries. You will thank me later.

So there you have it: my cheap, simple, time-saving battery box. One of the easiest landlord upgrades I’ve ever made. If you self-manage rentals, this is one of those stupid-simple tools that pays for itself fast.

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