As a property owner, you’re responsible for keeping your rental units in good condition, not only to avoid conflicts but to provide quality living standards for your tenants.
Not sure where to begin? Innovative Property Solutions can help! This article offers simple, practical methods to keep your rental property in excellent condition.
A successful landlord must be organized, solution-oriented, and able to make quick decisions.
Regardless of the size of your rental property, the biggest challenge you will face is related to standard maintenance and its associated costs.
With a decade of experience in property management, our team understands that maintenance requests tend to come at inconvenient times. In addition to their lack of predictability, repairs can be a highly stressful issue for both tenants and landlords.
Your approach to performing routine repairs can make your relationship with your tenants either positive or stressful. This is why preventative maintenance plays an important role in successful property management.
Here at Innovative Property Solutions, we’ve streamlined our maintenance practices for single-family homes, multi-unit rentals, apartment buildings, and condos by relying on our years of experience and using state-of-the-art software.
Below, you can find our property maintenance checklist, which outlines simple ways you can make sure your property is well-kept and ready for tenants!
To ensure your property remains in good condition, we highly recommend setting aside time to conduct a thorough property inspection at least once a year so that you can repair potential issues before they escalate.
The following is a list of 7 key items that should be inspected annually:
If neglected, water leaks can cause significant damage to your property. To prevent this, we recommend you schedule an annual property inspection to check whether any plumbing has been damaged due to weather or other factors. Focus on main problem areas such as kitchens, bathrooms, roofs, and basements. If possible, hire a plumber to do a walkthrough of the entire property and recommend repairs where necessary.
Pests can be one of the most difficult issues to solve as a property owner. Aside from being a major nuisance, some pests carry bacteria and infections that pose a health risk to tenants. As landlords are responsible for preventing and removing pests in their rental property, we highly recommend hiring a trusted pest exterminator in your area that provides annual pest prevention services and treatments.
Any time tenants complain about a pest infestation, the landlord is responsible for removing the pests and paying for all associated costs. With this in mind, if you hire a reliable contractor for the job, the chance of a full infestation is almost eliminated.
Over time, shower caulk will wear out and may expose rusted metal. A simple touch-up will fix the caulk and grout, leaving everything looking fresh and neat. This helps to prevent water leaks and will save money on the property’s water bill.
When inspecting showers, it’s important to check drainage pipes for debris. A hair catcher is a cost-effective addition that prevents clogging in shower drains. This simple solution can save a lot of time and money as clogged drains are one of the major causes of plumbing issues in residential units.
If gutters are clogged with leaves and other debris, water will flow into the property, damaging the walls and ceiling in the process. You can ensure that water drains away from the property by cleaning gutters before the rainy season as a simple solution that prevents water damage.
Similarly, damaged shingles greatly contribute to water leaks inside a property’s ceilings and walls. If this issue is left unattended, repairs can end up costing thousands of dollars. However, this can easily be prevented by replacing shingles as soon as they show signs of damage.
Cracks in walls and ceilings are common in many homes but should be patched with putty as soon as possible. Though small cracks are not necessarily a sign of structural issues, allowing them to expand poses a risk to your property and may discourage potential tenants from renting your unit. Also, patching your walls and ceilings while cracks are small will save you money long-term and make your property look like new!
It’s always important to confirm that the smoke detectors on your property are in working order. Smoke and carbon monoxide are potentially lethal to your tenants so it’s critical to ensure the smoke detectors are properly maintained.
Additionally, air conditioner repairs can be expensive when compared to other maintenance costs. However, you can keep these costs low by cleaning the air filters every three months, and depending on the rate of use, it may be wise to replace them twice a year. This keeps the HVAC system working efficiently and minimizes power consumption.
Water heaters tend to clog up due to accumulated sediment in the heater’s filter. Unfortunately, there’s no way to prevent water heaters from collecting sediment over time. To prevent damage to the heater and save money on repairs, we suggest you flush out the residue once or twice a year.
Set aside at least one day a year to go review this checklist and inspect your rental property. As we've mentioned, part of being a property owner is providing regular property maintenance. The good news is most maintenance can be outsourced to professional contractors which will save you time! When outsourcing maintenance, your duty as a property owner is to make sure your contractors provide quality services and meet the terms of your contract.
We also suggest you consider scheduling alternate dates to conduct your own property inspection. This will keep your rental units in excellent condition and save you money while also preventing disputes with your tenants!
We recommend inspecting properties before, during, and after leasing a rental unit to a tenant. Of course, all inspections should be planned and communicated in advance, which helps avoid potential misunderstandings between you and your tenant.
Tenants can provide useful feedback about the property by highlighting issues that need repair. For instance, there may be hidden cracks or damage to the property’s drywall that the landlord is unaware of. By keeping an open communication channel with your tenant, you can improve their quality of life and reduce your turnover rates.
Additionally, keep your tenant informed about all repair work you are planning so that all parties are aware of what is happening on the property. Keeping communication channels open means your tenants won't be caught off guard or become inconvenienced by the repair work.
To sum up, maintaining your property is critical to not only attracting and keeping good tenants but to ensure you see a return on your investment. Maintenance can be a costly and time-consuming affair when not approached proactively. Innovative Property Solutions can help with that! Contact us today to learn more about our services.
Innovative Property Solutions
8833 Perimeter Park Blvd Suite 301, Jacksonville, FL 32216
(904) 321-9020Office hours:
Mon - Fri: 9:30am - 5:00pm
Sat - Sun: Closed