I own a rental home and it s my first experience with renting it out. My question is, if the tenant breaks something like the sink's drain or a cabinet's hinge is that something I should fix or should they be charged for the damage?

If you can prove that the tenant caused damage by misuse, you can charge them for the repairs. But normal wear and tear would be your responsibility.

For example, if they broke a drain in an attemtp to repair it, they would be liable. However, if they reported a problem with the drain and it was due to normal wear and tear, you would have to foot the bill.

Hi! Welcome to this board, and welcome to landlordship! My husband and I have been in property investing - primarily rentals - for about 15 years. We thoroughly enjoy it!

I just want to strongly urge you to start doing your homework. There are tons of resources available on-line. (The Law -Real Estate forum on this website has a TON of useful info. Just scroll back through old posts.) Your local book stores should also have some books available specific to landlording in your state. Things can vary GREATLY from state to state, so make sure that wherever you're getting your information from, it's pertanant to your location.

One of the BEST things I've ever done was to join my local apartment association. It's a regional group that serves property owners who have from 1 unit all the way to owners of huge apartment complexes. The biggest thing that did for me was enable me to use the Texas Apartment Association lease. Having a really strong lease will be your greatest asset as you navigate through the trials and errors of being a landlord.

Best of luck!

Ok, if this is your first rental, do you know the rental laws, do you have forms to use if ( and when) they are late paying, do you have eviction forms that you are ready to give them, do you know which local court does the evictions..

Is this a written lease or a written rental or a verbal rental.

The matters of normal wear and tear is your issues to deal with, a hinge could be either. The wholes in the walls will be theirs.