Property Maintenance: Preventative Care

Don’t you hate when your Mom is always right? How many times did you hear, “an ounce of prevention…”? Well, when it comes to maintaining your rental property, it’s certainly true. Taking care of your property before problems happen protects your investment in the long run and means your tenants will be happy living in a well-tended rental. Preventative maintenance means you will also save money by not waiting for an expensive crisis to arise.

Legally a landlord has the responsibility to make sure that the rental is habitable. The standards for this should be thought of as being the bare minimum one must do. The laws generally cover a laundry list of basics; heat, water, electricity, weatherproof, well-lit and ventilated structures. Each community has its own laws and you must follow them.

Be aware too, that though state laws vary, tenants often have the right to a number of remedies which can make things at the least unpleasant and ultimately can cost you dearly in terms of money and reputation. They may; withhold rent until the problem is repaired, hire someone to do the work and take it out of the rent they owe you, call in the building inspector who may find any number of violations. All of these options have the possibility of spiraling out of control and what started off as a nice idea to generate some income can become the origins of your financial ruin in the worst-case scenario.

It’s a good idea to do a once or twice a year review of the condition of your property, documenting any problems and keeping notes on plans for follow up. Good communication with tenants is important and they will appreciate you letting them know well in advance when you are going to have work done. When emergencies do come up, it’s best to respond quickly, especially when it’s concerning something major like heat or water.

You have to determine who is best suited for doing the necessary maintenance work. If you’re handy then go for doing it yourself but be honest. If you are more likely to put your eye out with that hammer than get that new window in, call in a professional. Better to get the job done correctly the first time, then to do a nominal or experimental repair that will only fail later and end up costing you more than you saved by trying to do it yourself.