Rental property maintenance is rarely something property owners like to talk about. It’s expensive, but it’s also necessary. When you’re renting out a Santa Cruz home, there will be routine and emergency repairs. Part of budgeting and being prepared is putting together a great list of vendors. The professionals you use to complete these repairs should be licensed, insured, and bonded. It’s the only way to protect yourself, your property, and your tenants.
A lot of landlords seem content to hire anyone willing to do the work. It often seems to be the cheaper way out of a maintenance issue. We don’t recommend that. In fact, we strongly caution you against it. This will only invite risk and liability, and it could cost you a lot more than you think you saved.
Licensed Vendors Guarantee a High Quality of Work
You want maintenance problems fixed correctly the first time.
This is one excellent reason to work with licensed vendors. A professional plumber, electrician, painter, roofer, or other repair person will have the experience and the expertise required to complete the repair correctly and keep your investment property well-maintained. If something goes wrong or the issue isn’t completely resolved, they’ll come back to follow up. Licensed vendors and contractors are committed to keeping their customers happy. They’re going to stand by their work and avoid cutting corners.
Protect Yourself from Lawsuits and Liabilities
Let’s say you need some trees trimmed because the branches are starting to cover the roof of your property. Instead of hiring a licensed and insured professional, you hire someone you met at the hardware store who has a truck and a ladder and quoted you half what you’d have to pay a professional company.
If that worker falls off a ladder and breaks a bone or loses the ability to work for a while, you will likely be the party who is responsible for his medical bills. You can also be sued for a variety of other things like loss of work and personal pain and suffering. That money you saved by hiring him is now a lawsuit that will cost thousands.
Do not take this risk. Don’t hire anyone who doesn’t have adequate liability and worker’s compensation insurance. Ask for proof before you hire a company or a vendor.
Better Vendors Leads to Better Tenant Relationships
You also owe it to your residents to send high quality, professional workers over to the property. Tenants don’t want to open the door to a random name and phone number you found in a Craigslist ad. When they let people into their home, they want to be sure they are licensed, professional, and insured vendors who take their work seriously.
Using the right vendors also shows your tenants that you care about the property and their needs. This will help with tenant satisfaction and improve your tenant retention rates.
Trying to save a little bit of money on maintenance and repairs by hiring unprofessional and unlicensed vendors is a terrible and potentially risky idea. Work with professionals. If you need any help finding vendors or you have questions about Santa Cruz property management, please contact us at Real Estate Eight Three One.
