When it comes to rental properties, one thing every landlord should never ignore is property maintenance. Your property is your investment and it cost you a considerable amount of money. It only makes sense that you exhaust every effort to keep it in great shape.
Regular property maintenance helps ensure the property stays safe enough for the tenants. You get to address issues the moment signs present themselves and even prevent costly damages that can stem from beginning problems. The problem is, not all landlords or property managers take property maintenance seriously.
Some would ignore their tenant’s calls and request routine maintenance. Others would opt to DIY when it is clear that the issues require the expertise of the pros. If you want to get the most out of your investment, you will need to make sure you got everything covered, especially the following maintenance must-dos:
Keep the Rentals Well-Insulated
Insulation is one of the best ways to ensure a property provides maximum comfort to its tenants. Poor insulation also leads to poor household energy efficiency. Your tenants will have problems maintaining a comfortable temperature inside the building and will have to pay a higher energy bill.
Luckily, there are many ways to check if a property has poor insulation. Some are as follows:
- Indoor temperature is never comfortable. It is either too hot or too cold inside the house.
- Even if rooms are on the same floor, different rooms can have different room temperatures.
- Pests keep on making a home out of your house. This is usually since they found crevices where they can get inside your home, leaking away inside air.
- Your tenants are paying a fortune because of their high energy bills.
- Your rentals are prone to ice dams and frozen pipes during winter.
For best results, make sure all of your rental properties are well-insulated. You can consider spray foam attic insulation to seal any gap, crevices, and cracks inside your properties. With properly insulated rentals, you get to ensure your tenants’ safety and comfort while improving the property’s energy efficiency.
Do Check Maintenance Calls on Time
Even if you have a property maintenance schedule, it is crucial that you listen to your tenants and fix the issues they report back to you. Some complaints make seem like small issues they can fix themselves. But the last thing you need is a DIY job courtesy of a clueless tenant costing you more than the expert maintenance job.
No matter how small the maintenance complaint may be, make it a point to check and address each one accordingly. Of course, this will depend on your lease agreement. Don’t wait a week or two before you get things done or risk the problem and your costs from getting bigger.
Remember that tenants also have rights. Your failure to do your job in property maintenance can make them file a complaint against you. Instead of risking a legal complaint, choose to be responsible for handling maintenance calls.
Stop Cutting Corners When Maintaining a Rental
Many property managers would cut corners just to save money on property maintenance. You may think that this is a wise move so you can save money to cover other expenses. But in reality, you are only putting your reputation and your tenant’s safety at risk.
If a tenant gets injured because you chose the cheap way out of a maintenance project, they can sue you for injuries and damages. You can also lose the confidence of other tenants. Aside from getting sued, you can also end up having to redo the maintenance all over again, making you lose more time and money in return.
Think of property maintenance and invest in professional services instead of DIYs. Unless you are a pro in handling certain maintenance tasks, choose reliable professionals to tackle property maintenance and repairs for you. This way, you don’t need to redo the repairs over and over again.
Don’t Be Tempted to Allow Tenants to Handle Repairs
No matter how small the repairs may be, advise tenants to contact you if anything comes up. It can be as small as fixing a leaky faucet, recaulking the bathroom, or clearing gutters. You may appreciate their kind gesture, but you can end up with a heftier bill if anything goes wrong with their DIY maintenance.
There are many things that can go wrong with DIY maintenance jobs. For one, they can get injured for attempting to maintain the property. They can also use the wrong tools or materials which will only make the problem worse.
Make sure you let them know that they can tell you anytime there is a maintenance or repair needed. It is also better if you include this in your lease agreement. This way, you can avoid being on the hook for failed DIYs.
Maintaining a property can be tricky even for professional property managers. This is why rules need to be set and calls need to be made at the right time. Keeping this list in mind can help you handle your rental property’s maintenance like a pro and avoid future hassles that can impact your business.
