P.O. Box 4418
Ann Arbor MI 48106
(734) 320-2100
Dan's Houses
Burton Tower

Maintenance

Routine Maintenance

We enjoy fixing up our houses to make them look better. We also understand that accidents will happen and occasionally things get broken. No problem! Please call us when repairs are needed and we'll take care of them as soon as possible.

When repairs are the result of old age or other house malfunctions, of course there is no charge. But broken windows, clogged drains due to tampons, stuck garbage disposals due to beer caps, holes in the wall due to excessive merriment—hey, we're going to send you the bill and deduct it from your security deposit. Fair enough?

All routine maintenance needs should be e-mailed to our office. Please e-mail dan@danshouses.com. Make sure the subject line states your address. Please put your name and telephone number in the event our maintenance staff needs to contact you. We try to resolve all maintenance problems within 72 hours. During turnover, however, maintenance may take a little more time because of all the requests we receive.

Emergency Maintenance

If you have an actual emergency, text Dan at (734) 891-2970. Don't call and leave a message because he gets a lot of calls and has an irritating habit of not returning calls for like a couple of days. But if you text him with your name and house address, and you tell him that there's water pouring through the ceiling, he's likely to call you back reeeeal quick.

What is emergency maintenance?

  • Flood
  • Fire
  • Explosion
  • Sewer Back-up
  • No Heat

What happens if I am locked out?

At Dan's Houses we do consider being locked out an emergency, but you should understand that there are consequences. During normal business hours you will not be charged. M-F 9:00-5:00 p.m.

However, if you call after 5:00 p.m. or during a weekend or holiday, we will charge $50.00 on the spot to let you in to your home and/or bedroom. Our charge is cheap compared to most locksmiths. It is your responsibility to keep track of your keys. If you happen to lose your keys, it might be cheaper to call your roommates or to sleep on the couch for the night.

Sewer Back-up

If you are experiencing a sewer back-up you should immediately stop running water in the house. This includes dishwashers, toilets and showers. Text Dan at (734) 891-2970 and give him your house address and let him know what's happening. He'll call you right back. Dan's Houses will call Michigan Power Rodding to come and snake out your sewer. Someone from your house must be present to let them in.

In the event that Dan's Houses sends Michigan Power Rodding over to your home, and we find little treats such as tampons, maxi pads, condoms, fresh wipes, etc. in the sewer line, you will be paying for Michigan Power Rodding's trip to your home. Their cost is $160-$300.

Ladies... Please do not think we were born yesterday. Our homes & toilets have been around a lot longer than you have been tenants. We know when you are flushing little treats into the system. DO NOT FLUSH FEMININE HYGIENE PRODUCTS! It won't be fun cleaning up sewage and Dan's Houses will have no part of it.

No Heat/Heating

In the event your furnace stops working please contact our office immediately. Do not wait all day long to call. Our heating company would rather fix your furnace during normal business hours. If you realize your furnace is inoperative after 10:00 p.m. our heating company and Dan's Houses will not be able to help you until the next morning.

During the cold months your furnace must be kept above 60 degrees. Do not turn the furnace off when you go to school. Do not turn the furnace off when you go home for break. If Dan's Houses finds your furnace off during freezing temperatures, we will fine you $150.00. If your pipes freeze because the furnace has been turned off you will be charged for the damage that results.

Ants/Rodents—Where are they coming from?

It is actually very rare for our homes to be infested with bugs. Bugs normally surface for one reason and that is for food. Dirty plates, beer cups, BTB containers, Jimmy John wrappers, etc., all have what ants and rodents want. If you clean up your garbage and wipe down your floors that will help prevent ants and rodents. If you call our office complaining about ants or rodents and we find that your housekeeping, or lack thereof, is the reason, you will be paying for the exterminator's visit.

Carpet Cleaning—Why should I care?

At Dan's Houses our "Carpet Policy" is, You trash your carpet; you buy your carpet. We know the condition your carpet was in before you moved in. We have pictures in case you forget what it looked like.

Our suggestion for keeping clean carpet would be to have the keg parties at your friend's house. If you do have a large party and lots of beer gets on the carpet it is a great idea to have the carpets cleaned immediately. A great carpet cleaner in town is Ann Arbor Carpet Cleaning at (734) 994-9044.

Hardwood Floors—Why should I care?

Many of our homes have hardwood floors that have been carefully restored. It is your responsibility to clean these floors. Please use Murphy's Oil Soap to clean up any party residue on hardwood floors. You will be charged if the floors become beer damaged.

What is "beer damaged"?

Beer damaged is when the polyurethane breaks down and starts to absorb the beer. The smell of beer never leaves the room and the shine disappears from the floor. What happens after that, you ask? You will be charged for the refinishing of the hardwood floor. The cost is approximately $2500-$3000.

If your hardwood floors have been restored it is your job to maintain them. This also includes picking up furniture when you are moving it on the floor. Do not drag or push furniture on hardwood floors. You will be charged for any scratches that occur during your lease term. If you bring your own furniture it is your responsibility to put felt on the bottom of the legs so they do not scratch the floor.

Furniture—Why should I care?

Furniture is not cheap for students or landlords. Do not slam the drawers or place stickers on your furniture. Please express your individuality on items that belong to you. Our leather couches don't belong outside for your keg party or for your WWF wrestling match. If you drink too much, and have a pee-pee problem, guess what... You buy the bed. If you ruin the furniture, you buy the furniture.

Cleaning—Why should I care?

We have seen many rental homes get out of control because of lack of cleaning. It is financially cheaper for you to have a cleaning company come through every now and then to clean the common areas. Most places shouldn't charge more than $200 to do common areas. If you divide that by the number of roommates in the house, it is equivalent to a night out on the town. Please make sure your cleaner is licensed and insured.

Wall Street Journal

Look, let us help you. We have all been there before. You are sitting in the classroom and the sign-up sheet comes along for the Wall Street Journal at the "Special Student Price." You have this vision of reading the paper every morning to prepare yourself for your future job in the business industry. You are pumped and you begin to scribble down all of your information, not thinking that you can just go on the internet and read the same information. Then reality hits and you see what you have done. You now have to bring your paper inside everyday no matter what. At first it is fun and then it just sucks. Picking up the paper is too much work. The paper then begins to pile up making your house look like crap and irritating your landlord. You then get a ticket from the city because you are too lazy to pick up your paper. This ticket is $120 for your first offense. You are then charged $50.00 from your landlord for them having to go online to cancel your subscription. JUST SAY NO! YOU WILL NOT READ IT! SPEND YOUR MONEY ON SOMETHING ELSE!

When Inside Furniture Is Moved Outside

If you find your couch missing from the front porch, you should also expect to get a bill for hauling it away. There is a city ordinance against interior furniture on front porches because it is a fire hazard. Also excluded from use on front porches are Tiki torches, lighter fluid, charcoal grills, etc. If we find that these items contributed to the cause of your house catching on fire, resulting in "a wall of flame that we ran from, jumped out the back windows, and finally watched the house burn down while the Ann Arbor Fire Department did their best to keep the neighboring houses from catching fire as well," you'll assuredly be hearing from our insurance agent.

House Parties

If you have a party and have so many people dancing to the same beat that it sets up a catastrophic harmonic frequency, and if you exceed the load carrying limits of the living room floor, resulting in a large cracking sound signifying a massive structural failure of all of the supporting floor joists, which results in a mass exodus and/or stampede of your guests, you can expect to receive a bill from our building contractor and/or carpenter.

Utilities

If you leave for the summer and turn off the electricity, and you have left behind food in the refrigerator, and when the neighbors call us to report the smell of a dead body coming from your house, you'll be getting a bill for cleaning and buying a new refrigerator (several hundred dollars). It clearly states in your lease that your utilties must be on during your entire lease term.

Unexplained Events

Let's say your Mother calls your mobile phone just to say "hi" and is unable to understand you because all she hears are moaning sounds; and let's say she then feels compelled to call 911 because she thinks you are having trouble breathing; and let's say the Police and the Fire Department break down the door to your apartment only to find, A.) nobody at home (because you are at a "conference"), or B.) you are home but the sounds your Mother heard weren't the result of duress; we will gladly repair your door and send you the bill for the cost of repairing the damage. Oh, and we will let you explain the charges to your Mother.