Maintaining your property is the best way to ensure it lasts longer. Taking care of your investment property is just as important as caring for your home. If you don’t take care of your property, your tenants may move, and it will be challenging to attract new tenants. Maintaining your investment property may seem tedious and costly, but you’ll reap the benefits in the long run. Here are five steps you can take to maintain your property to maximize your ROI.
Perform Regular Inspections
Inspecting your rental property will ensure you detect and solve issues before they get out of hand. Checking things like full gutters, rotting wood, broken windows, water leaks, and faulty electrical wiring in good time will save you from the cost of installing new fixtures. Some tenants are reluctant to report whenever something breaks down, and if you don’t carry out inspection, you may not get to know them in a good time. The plumbing system, for example, is costly. It needs to be checked regularly and serviced before it breaks down. Regular inspections eliminate costly repairs or replacements.
Carry Our Regular Pest Control
There’s a debate about whether pest control is the duty of the tenant or the landlord. However, there is a consensus that before a tenant moves in, the premise should be free from pests. It is your responsibility as a landlord to ensure your new tenant moves into a habitable and safe place. So, ensure your rental property is free from rodents and pests before any tenant move in. After that, the tenant can take over. However, as the property owner, you must also play a role in keeping these unwanted creatures away. Some of them are very destructive and may lower the value of your property if they cause significant damage. You can carry out general pest control on your properties without having to rely on the tenants.
Hire a Landscaper
Most tenants are only concerned about the interior of the houses where they leave. They don’t have time to keep the backyards and the front yard in good shape. Hiring a landscaper will ensure your home is visually appealing to the tenants, the visitors, and even the neighbors. Having an excellent curb appeal will also ensure you get new tenants faster if one of your tenants moves out. It will also increase your property value so you’ll be able to charge a higher rent when a new tenant moves in. Not only that. Good landscaping prevents the sidewalk from cracking, improves the drainage, and prevents the foundation from slipping. A well-maintained landscape also keeps rodents and pests away from your property.
Use Technology
There are a lot of things that go on in rental properties that need to be monitored. Some of these may be complex and do not need to be carried out by humans. That is why you should rely on technology to help you maintain your property. For example, you can install leak detectors to keep your plumbing system in check. You can also install smoke/fire detectors on your property. These will not only ensure your tenants are safe, but it will also protect your property. Also, ensure you have a good security system. You can use landlord software to help you maintain your property at a lower cost.
Check The HVAC System Regularly
The HVAC system is a very expensive investment. When working in the background, it may not be easy to notice it is in the home, unless it develops a problem. Whenever it develops a problem, your tenants will be affected, and some may move out. Checking it regularly will save you from losing your tenants and costly repairs. You should also ensure the water heaters are all in good working condition.
Real estate investment is a safe and a long term investment that can bring you passive income. However, you still will have to put in some effort to continue earning. Leaving your property unattended will bring them down structurally, and with time, your tenants will run away. Whenever you have to carry out any repair or replacement activities in the home, ensure you only deal with trained and trusted contractors.
