When Was The Last Time You Changed The Oil In Your Rental Car?

 

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CHANGED THE OIL IN YOUR RENTAL CAR?

By Jim “Gymbeaux” Brown, December 24, 2025

NOTE:  The title of this Nugget may be misleading as to the content of the Nugget.  This Nugget is written primarily for every REALTOR and every person who ever thought of owning a home and making the decision to rent/lease it out.  If that is you, read on! 

Fair question!  When WAS the last time YOU changed the oil in YOUR rental car?  I think it would be a safe bet that the answer is NEVER!  Prove me wrong! 

Why am I asking this question in December of 2025?  Glad you asked.  The mortgage interest rates for homes have just been reduced to slightly under 6% and that is a good thing but not enough to make that much of a difference in the struggling housing market.  The housing market is like the market for any commodity; it boils down to supply and demand.  The construction of affordable homes has not met the demand and that causes the price of existing homes to increase.  The flood of illegal immigrants into America also contributed to the scarcity of available homes as well.  The current economic forces have been working against home ownership, which was in my opinion, THE AMERICAN DREAM!  

People would buy homes knowing that it would most likely be the most expensive item they ever purchased in their lifetimes.  They also know that home ownership is where they stood the greatest chance of INCREASING their NET WORTH and ultimately providing a financial legacy and increased wealth for their next of kin.  

When wages become stagnant and the price of homes increase, the sale of homes typically decreases.  What does a homeowner do with their home when they feel they must sell but because of market conditions, the home will not sell for an amount of money they expected to receive?  A lot of homeowners decide to put their home on the RENTAL MARKET and choose to lease/rent their homes. 

The problem with rental homes is complicated if there is an existing mortgage on their home.  Such homeowners usually NEED to set the rental amount to ensure that the cost of the existing mortgage is covered.  If not, the homeowner eats the difference between the rents received and the amount of the mortgage payment that must be paid.  That would not be a good investment should that occur for you.  This brings this Nugget back to the question about changing oil in a rental car.  

A home that is not properly maintained typically decreases in value due to delayed maintenance or no maintenance at all.  No one is expected to change the oil in a rental car.  The car’s owner(s) expect the person that rents the car to at least protect it from damage or misuse and certainly expects the renter not to use the vehicle while committing a crime.  There are or should be rules and there are and should be expectations both from the homeowner and the tenant(s).  The problem for both homeowner and tenant arises when the Rules & Expectations are only “assumed” and not defined in writing.  Most rental/lease agreements are vague at best when it comes to such rules and expectations. 

As a REALTOR® managing rental properties or as a homeowner, you must think beyond simply renting/leasing the home.  If a REALTOR® or some form of PROPERTY MANAGER is involved, the homeowner will incur a cost for this service.  The cost diminishes the financial return on the investment.  Most homeowners will include the cost of property management within the rental amount charged.  There are also other mitigating charges to the homeowner such as property taxes, homeowners’ insurance (which usually goes up if the home is used as an income producing property), Homeowners Association Fees if one is applicable, etc.  Most homeowners try to anticipate these “extra” fees/dues and include it in the rental/lease agreement which locks the tenant into the terms ONLY for the duration of the agreement.  This becomes problem number two for the homeowner.  If such fees/dues increase over time, the homeowner will attempt to raise the rental amount to include the increases incurred.  That is when a lot of tenants make the decision to move out and the homeowner is left “holding the bag” on the property. 

Whether YOU are the Property Manager or are the homeowner, you need if not must, set parameters for the occupancy of your home.  I would encourage you to set the parameters in a set of expectations and/or rules that all parties agree to BEFORE they begin their occupancy.  These expectations/rules should be IN WRITING and AGREED TO by all parties.  Having said that, in my thirty-three years in the real estate business, I have never seen such a document included on any rental/lease agreement. 

Step one is recognizing that the status of your home has changed from a home to an investment property.  As such, you must first be ensured that the laws for the area where the home is situated permits the type of rental you are creating, long term versus short term.  If permitted, the next step would be to notify your insurance carrier that the home is now being leased/rented.  The cost of your homeowner’s premium may change because of it not being your primary residence.  You must ascertain what liability you will incur should you need to make a claim against your policy for something that occurred ON your property occupied by a tenant.  You “should” also consider the potential increase in insurance premiums in the rental amount that is applicable.

Very important understanding.  Properties that go with deferred or no maintenance typically begin to decay and decline in market value.  At first the decline is slow and then as time goes on more rapidly.  If you have ever lived next door to a rental property, you already know exactly what I am describing.  The grass needs cutting more frequently than it is.  Debris and vehicles both working and non-working begin to collect in the driveway and even on the street.  Put yourself in the mind-set of a home buyer and look at your neighbor’s homes.  If you WERE a potential buyer, would you buy the home based upon your first real look at the home having just parked in front of it before going inside?  Probably not!  This brings us back to the title of this Nugget, When Was The Last Time YOU Changed The Oil In A Rental Car? 

What I am about to tell you is in my opinion, a very sad situation.  Homeowners that place their properties on the rental/lease market oftentimes rent/lease the property and then forget about it until the lease must be renewed.  Do they drive by to observe the condition of the home they turned into an income producing property?  Having seen many of these homes in my lifetime, I seriously doubt it.  If they do and then choose NOT to take any action against the tenant for failing to properly maintain the home, the decrease in property value is as much on the homeowner as it is on the tenant!  

As an example, we own our home!  We have made constant improvements to the home that was originally built in the late 1970s.  It has been updated throughout the home in things that are obvious and other things that are NOT so obvious like the Fortified Roof recently installed.  By all measures, the market value of our home “should” have increased.  Now comes the HUGE BUT!  Several of the homes in our immediate neighborhood have become rental properties.  You can easily pick these homes out as compared to the homes occupied by homeowners.  The following are some tell-all signs of the home being occupied by tenants: 

• Grass needs cutting
• Shrubbery needs pruning
• Flower gardens need weeding
• Toys and other items scattered about in the yard
• Cars up on jacks in the driveway
• Cars that have not run in years sitting in the yard
• Home in need of a painting or at the very least, a power washing
• Garbage cans routinely left on the curb long after the trash has been picked up·

You get the picture.  What is NOT so obvious would be the condition of the inside of the home.  If someone fails to properly take care of the outside, you can pretty much be guaranteed that the inside is not much better.  While I was in the military, I served one tour where I had the collateral duty of being responsible for 72 units of housing for military members.  I have seen what the inside of homes can look like both in a well-maintained status and in a not maintained at all status.  The differences were both alarming and deeply concerning.  Some homes were left in move-in condition and others had to be cleaned and re-painted before the next family could occupy them.  That is more proof that if you DO NOT OWN SOMETHING, IT IS FAR LESS LIKELY IT WILL BE PROPERLY MAINTAINED!  “I don’t own it (rental car), therefore, why should I pay to maintain it (oil change).”  I am not suggesting that you should change the oil in a rental car unless it is a long-term lease, I am, however, suggesting that you should treat the object that you lease as IF you own it.  In the case of homes, properly maintaining the home and its surroundings goes a long way to protecting property values within the neighborhood. 

Now comes the rub, sort of speaking.  Homeowners that place their properties in the rental market seem to ONLY worry about the condition at the time they later decide to put it on the market and then become shocked that the property in its present condition has had its value diminished.  They seem to care very little about the other homeowners in the neighborhood by not demanding that the tenants properly maintain the rental home.  By the time they finally come around to caring, the damage has been done and now the homeowner has incurred the massive cost of rehabilitating the home to current market/neighborhood minimums. 

What is the solution?  It is much easier than you might think.  Simply put down items that the tenant MUST do/perform to remain compliant with the terms of the rental/lease agreement.  Put these items in written format and then get the tenant to agree to them BEFORE they take occupancy.  What items should be considered? 

• They agree that a credit check will be run and who pays for it
• They agree that references will be checked if provided
• Cutting of the grass
• Maintenance of the shrubbery/garden areas
• Requirement to NOT parked disabled vehicles in the driveway, street or yard
• If they own secondary vehicles such as boats, travel trailers, trailers in general, that they are parked elsewhere other than in the driveway, street or yard.
• That they are NOT permitted to run a business out of the property where customers are expected to come to the property.  This creates needless traffic in the neighborhood, may be against city regulations, subdivision regulations and creates parking issues.
• Identify if pets are allowed and if so, how many.  Is there a professional carpet cleaning service that the tenant is responsible for at the end of the agreement, if so, how much will it cost (keeping in mind that such a cost will probably increase over time)
• Replacement of air filters in the heating and air conditioning system
• The importance of notifying the homeowner of any situation that could adversely affect the property’s condition and value
• Who EXACTLY will be occupying the property, listed by name and age.
• How long VISITING guests may reside in the property
• Specific definitions of when the homeowner may have access to the interior of the property
• Restrictions on when, if, and how a tenant may change the locks on the property
• What can a tenant do and not do to modify the property with or without the owner’s permission
• Liability for damage to the property due to the negligence of the tenant, this could become an insurance issue for the homeowner and the insurance carrier

This all sounds restrictive; it is more about simple common sense.  In today’s world, common sense should never be automatically assumed that all parties are on the “same page.”  Get the Rules & Expectations in writing and get everyone to agree to the terms or don’t rent/lease them the property!  By everyone, that would mean the adults residing in the property married or not.  This becomes a very serious situation when one of the adults decides to move out leaving the responsibility for the property entirely upon the shoulders of the remaining adult.  Who is liable for any damages.  What happens to any deposit that may be held on the property? 

Note to REALTORS® who want to be property managers AND still list and sell property.  I had a mentor once tell me that REALTORS® should “pick a lane, then stay in your lane!”  Property management comes with a lot of legal issues.  If you the REALTOR® are not adequately trained or unwilling to pay the price to learn about property management issues, my advice would be to stick with listing and selling and leave the property management to people trained in the field.  A lot of real estate brokerages prohibit agents from engaging in property management because of the legal ramifications. 

Good luck y’all!