As a landlord that rents out your property to other people, you should know about property maintenance and the proper way to care for your property. Without property maintenance, your property may be a wreck – and no one would want to stay there.
In most cases, it would be better if you can delegate the maintenance task to other people. Doing the proper maintenance would be difficult and complicated. You don’t want to be ‘entrapped’ doing all of the work and be overwhelmed by it.
Understanding Property Maintenance
Property maintenance refers to the application of repairs, safety checks, and cleaning the residential buildings. It’s basically all activities that should be done to make sure that buildings (and also their utility systems) are in working order, functioning well, habitable, and safe.
Some of the most common maintenance works are:
- Performing repairs on assets, like HVACs and elevators
- Cleaning surfaces, like floors, bathrooms, windows, handrails, and gutters
- Making sure that roofs, windows, walls, and doors are within excellent condition
- Maintaining utility systems and making sure that they are functioning normally (and well), like electrical and plumbing services
How to Do It
Depending on the size of your property, routine maintenance is crucial and should always be performed regularly. If you have a rental property as a business, you can’t really ‘escape’ from your obligation.
That’s why property owners have different options on how they want to approach the routine property maintenance system:
- They can do it by themselves
- They have their own in-house maintenance team
- They hire a professional property management company
In most cases, they go with the first and the third option – again, depending on the size of the property. If you have a duplex house and you have the skills to do everything on your own, then you can do everything on your own.
However, if you run an apartment or you have more than one property (which you lease out to some people), then having a property management company to help you sounds like a wise move.
This kind of service can help you with the overall management and arrangement of the rental, including performing tenant screening or dealing with rent increases.
Property Maintenance Example
If you do the maintenance on your own, then you simply regularly check the plumbing, the utility, or things that are related to the tenants.
It’s also possible that your tenant may send you a request to fix the clogged sink or to deal with a roof leak. Once they request it, you can perform the repair right away.
However, things may be a bit complex in an apartment complex or if you have more than one property. In most cases, tenants would submit the so-called maintenance request. It can be done through email or community portal.
Let’s say that the tenant is complaining about the leaked ceiling and send out the request to the portal. When the property manager has been notified (about the request), he/she can assign the task to the technician.
It’s possible that the technician finds only a temporary solution before they reach out to professional plumbing contractor that would repair the issue permanently.
Finding the Best Expert
Delegating the maintenance job to the right professional can really make a huge difference. Landlords can have a peace of mind, knowing that their property is managed (and handled) by the pro. However, landlords should be looking into these considerations:
- The company is able to offer a well structured (maintenance) approach
- They have (and employ) experienced and trained maintenance personnel in various maintenance areas
- They provide effective tenant communication system. Tenants should be able to reach you and them at once. By the time you understand the issue, the maintenance personnel is already on the move.
- They have (and they can develop) well-organized software for maintenance management that covers the planning and also scheduling for the property. It should include maintenance task documentation, regular inspections, and also equipment upgrade recommendations
- They have financial reporting. They should be able to create estimated (maintenance) budget for your property. Moreover, they should also share reports (preferably periodically) on the maintenance expenses and costs.
Final Words
Dealing with rental property may not be easy, but you can ease off the burden if you are willing to share. After all, the deal about property maintenance shouldn’t be considered a burden; not if you want your business to be successful.
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