If you own rental real estate, you must know the importance of regular property maintenance.
Even with great tenants occupying them, your rental units will take a beating over the years. These are your investments, and if they're going to appreciate, you need to take the property maintenance process seriously.
Whether you try to perform your own maintenance or hire property managers to do it, it's going to be the key to your success as a landlord. In this post, we're going to tell you everything you need to know about common maintenance issues and how to deal with them. Keep reading and keep your investments in great shape.
Why Regular Proper Maintenance Is Important
There are numerous reasons why you should be doing regular property maintenance on your rentals. The most obvious reason is to attract quality tenants so that you can continue to make passive income from your real estate investments.
The best tenants aren't going to want to live in a dilapidated property. If you have good tenants, they're likely to keep the property in good shape, so it's a bit of a domino effect. If you don't seem to care about it and allow undesirable tenants, they likely won't care about it either.
Regular maintenance keeps your tenants happy as well, which boosts tenant retention. If your tenants start to leave because of a lack of maintenance, you'll have more vacancies, which will cost you money.
Lastly, it's important to maintain your properties for your own benefit too. By taking care of your investments, they'll hold their value should you ever decide to sell.
How to Maintain a Rental Property
There are loads of common maintenance issues with rental properties. This is because they inherently see a lot of wear and tear with tenants coming and going over the years.
Good property maintenance starts with inspections. Make sure to perform move-in/move-out inspections with your tenants. Schedule regular inspections during tenancies as well, making sure to follow the state's landlord entry laws.
If the goal is to please your tenants, respond to maintenance requests promptly. This is where property managers can really help, as they'll have the resources and network to deal with most maintenance issues. Doing it yourself is possible but time-consuming and difficult when you have multiple properties.
Come up with a routine maintenance plan. Things like faucet leaks, clogged pipes, and HVAC issues come up a lot. The more frequently you maintain the little things, the fewer major headaches you'll have down the road.
Get the Best Property Managers in Spokane
Now that you've got a better idea of the whys and hows of regular property maintenance, you come up with a solid maintenance plan. If you own Spokane rental properties and don't have the time for regular maintenance, property managers are the answer.
Home River Group is one of the biggest property managers in the nation. Our services include everything from the maintenance we've discussed here to tenant screening and rent collection. To learn more about us and how we can help, contact us today.
