Landlords: Maintain Your Investment

Landlords

A series for all of the Landlords. 

#3 in the series; Landlords do your maintenance

Deferred maintenance will always cost a landlord more money then regular maintenance.  Maintenance is a significant expense for most Landlords.  Some property owners have the mentality of "If they don't call about it, why fix it."  Fix it landlords, its your investment. 

Property managers and the landlords that employ them should be conducting property visual inspections every quarter.  Landlords every 3 months take a drive or send your property manager to take photos of the buildings exterior.  Fix the peeling paint and rotting eaves. Next give your tenants a voice, send out a satisfaction survey to your tenants every quarter.

Deferred maintenance will lower your property value and ultimately will cost landlords more money in the long run.  Deferred maintenance will also lower the perceived rental value.  Rents collected by landlords tend to be lower in properties with obvious areas of neglected improvements, maintenance and upgrades.  Tenants will move if their landlord will not fix things or keep their units up to date.  Good tenants are willing to pay a little extra for efficiency and comfort.

The solution for landlords is the set aside a percentage of the rent for maintenance.  The amount you set aside should be sufficient to cover both planned and unexpected maintenance and will depend on the age and condition of the building.

Unyque Financial has been very successful in placing long term tenants in our clients rental properties.  Are you experiencing high turnover and high vacancies, we can do a property analysis and give you free tips to decrease your vacancies and increase your bottom line.  Seeking tenant placement or full property management services call us today.  Happy Renting...