Rental property maintenance is one of the most important responsibilities for any Santa Cruz property manager or landlord. If you’re managing your own property, make sure you’re prepared to take care of it. You’ll have to respond to emergencies as soon as they occur, and you should be just as responsive to routine repair requests so your tenants understand that you care about the property and their needs.
Preventative maintenance is also important. It protects the condition of your home and saves you money in the long term.
There are several routine maintenance requirements that every rental home will need, even if it’s new and in excellent condition.
Maintaining the Heating and Cooling System
The HVAC system is one of the most expensive and important systems in your investment home. HVAC stands for Heating, Ventilation, and Cooling. All of these things are essential to the comfort of your tenants and the condition of your property. You don’t want to wait for the entire system to break down. It will be terribly expensive to fix.
Have the HVAC system serviced and inspected every year. Educate your tenants on the importance of changing air filters and reporting maintenance issues, no matter how minor. You don’t want your property to lose heat in the middle of winter or air conditioning in the middle of summer. Keep the system healthy and functioning, and you’ll save money on unexpected repairs and replacements.
Watch out for Water
Nothing will do more damage to a rental property than water. Even a slow leak under the sink can be catastrophic because if it drips unnoticed for months or even weeks, it can lead to a major flood, which will then lead to rot and mold. You’ll end up with a huge repair bill when you could have taken care of the problem right away, as soon as the leak was noticed.
Inspect the property thoroughly before and after a lease term. Check every sink and look for leaks. Run the water in tubs and flush all the toilets. Run the appliances and make sure there isn’t any evidence of leaking water. Check your irrigation systems regularly and make sure the gutters are cleared of debris and leaves. It’s critical to keep water away from your home.
Appliances and General Repairs
You won’t always have things to fix at your rental property, but you can expect to be called once in a while about a garbage disposal that’s clogged or a toilet that’s running or a stove that doesn’t work. The dryer will break down and the refrigerator will stop keeping food cold. Make sure you have a great list of vendors on file who can respond quickly and reliably. You want to be prepared, because looking for a plumber in the middle of the night after a water heater has burst will not be easy. Establish relationships with vendors, and be prepared for general fixes and repair requests.
We do a great job of managing maintenance, and if you’d like to hear more about professional property management in Santa Cruz, please contact us at Real Estate Eight Three One. We’d love to hear more about your rental property.
