As a landlord, when it comes to owning property, you want to be proactive. Don’t let anything fall by the wayside. Rental property is often a fantastic way to secure additional income; however, there is an inherent cost to owning property. To conserve a property’s worth and attractiveness for future prospective tenants, a landlord has to be willing to put in the work. You can’t get by with an occasional drive-by here and there. After all, maintenance is a major component to the overall cost and profitability of any investment property. If you’re serious about being a landlord, it’s important to carry out annual home inspections on the rental. In addition, periodic inspections during tenancy and vacancy allow owners to double check that the unit is in sound condition and for any possible changes made during tenancy.
At Action Properties in Roseville, we suggest driving by your rental property at least once a month, if not more. Our office tends to drive by more frequently, especially when we have a vacancy. Essentially, we’ll drive by the house to ensure the home is being maintained and to see how houses in the surrounding neighborhood are doing as well. As far as property inspections, we do ours once a year. Properties require regular upkeep and oftentimes, tenants are unable to make accurate assessments regarding maintenance or safety issues. Therefore, don’t wait for the tenant to contact you.
Typically, we’ll inform the tenant they’ll see us every six months. This has been a successful preventative measure to ensure no issues, small or large, go ignored. For instance, if the gutter on the home has been leaking for months on end, it’s going to cause dry rot. If you haven’t been making regular inspections, a little problem that would have been an easy and inexpensive fix is going to cost you much more.
To keep your rental property running smoothly it’s important to implement a good preventative maintenance strategy. For example, we suggest making sure your water heater and smoke detector batteries are in working order. Additionally, it’s essential to periodically change filters in the air conditioning and heating system, clean the rain gutters, trim the trees and anything else that might be encroaching on the property. Lastly, you want to make sure that tenants are maintaining the landscaping and curb appeal of the house. For instance, make sure there are no broken windows, cars up on jacks or people performing maintenance on vehicles in front of the property.
Don’t take any shortcuts when protecting your investments; you never know what may be found during inspections. Preserve your rental property by taking control and taking care of it. It will only help maximize your profits in the long run.
As always, if you have any questions, feel free to contact us.
