Maintenance and Repairs: How to Keep Your Rental in Top Shape

Maintenance and repairs are critical to several important outcomes that you desire for your rental property. Timely repairs will protect the condition of your asset, allow your investment property to grow in value, and contribute to retaining your best residents. 

 What kind of process do you have in place to ensure your investment property is not only well-maintained, but consistently improved and updated? 

 Here are some of our suggestions as professional property managers. 

 Prioritize Preventative Maintenance 

 By making a plan for preventative and seasonal maintenance, you’ll avoid those expensive emergency repairs that take you and your residents by surprise. Pay attention to your HVAC system, your roof, your water heater, and your pest control. Make sure your residents are changing the air filters regularly and that you’re keeping up with the landscaping. Check for leaks and inspect the electrical system during every turnover. 

 Preventative maintenance will save you money on maintenance in the long term. Contract with an HVAC technician so you can have your heating and cooling system inspected and serviced annually. It will cut down on maintenance requests around the heater or the a/c unit. If a leak is detected under a sink, have your plumber check the entire property while they’re out there. Taking these steps will ensure the property remains in good condition for the long term. 

 Work with Licensed and Insured Vendors 

 To keep your rental in top shape, you need an outstanding list of preferred vendors and contractors who are professional, licensed, insured, and cost-effective. Maintenance costs have risen with the price of everything else over the last year or two. You need to be prepared for those costs. However, resist the urge to cut corners and hire unlicensed and uninsured workers who could potentially damage your property and leave you in financial ruin. If a house painter who is not covered by workers compensation insurance falls off your roof, guess who will be liable for the medical bills and lost wages? You, potentially. 

 One of the best reasons to work with a property management company is the access to fantastic vendors. The relationships we have in place with local vendors can save owners time, money, and frustration. 

 Avoid Deferred and Unreported Repair Issues

 It’s easy to ignore the minor problems. Simple fixes seem like they can wait. 

 They can’t. If you are committed to a responsive, responsible maintenance process, you need to take care of all repairs with a sense of urgency. The condition and value of your property depend on it. Your residents will notice that you’re unwilling to take immediate action. 

 Avoiding easy fixes leads to deferred maintenance. Putting off maintenance will not make it less expensive. It definitely won’t make it easier to manage. 

 Unreported maintenance issues are just as damaging to your property. Communicate with your residents the need to hear about necessary repairs right away. They might feel like they’re ‘bothering’ you. Or, they’ll worry that they are going to be blamed if they tell you a screen was torn in a window or a toilet was clogged while being flushed. Help them to understand that it’s their responsibility to report these issues immediately so you can handle them promptly. 

 Good maintenance policies require a partnership with your residents as well as your vendors and contractors. When everyone works together, you will have no trouble keeping your rental property in excellent shape. 

 We can help, if you’re running into trouble finding vendors or accepting maintenance requests. Contact us at PURE Property Management and we’ll help you put together a plan.