The largest issue landlords face is the upkeep and maintenance of a property. It can be expensive, but most of the time it is necessary. Upkeeping a property takes both money and time, but sometimes maintenance can be avoided by keeping an eye on your property and keeping the budget in mind.
Make sure your property is regularly maintained
The easiest way to maintain your property is to check up on it regularly. Even if you’ve got tenants currently living in the property, arrange a viewing with them to make sure that they’re taking care of the property. This way, you can see what kind of condition the property is in and whether it needs any maintenance.
Professional landlords should complete checks regularly, when looking at your property, think about things such as these:
- Check for leaks, carbon monoxide leaks and water leaks, both can be extremely dangerous
- Test both the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors
- Check for pests such as ants or rats, especially in the winter months. This should be done monthly
- Re-seal all baths and showers to ensure they don’t leak
- Check the fire extinguishers which should have been placed within the property are still in working order
- Remove any moss or dirt from the gutters
- Clip any bushes or trees which are on your land
Clean your property
Between tenants, it’s essential that you get the property deep cleaned, as it leaves a really bad first impression of a landlord if a tenant finds items that belonged to the previous tenants. Especially in the time of Covid-19, cleanliness has never been so important. Make sure to leave a couple of days between the old tenants leaving and the new tenants entering, to ensure that the house is completely clean from top to bottom.
Redecorate a property if necessary
It’s amazing what a lick of paint can do to a room, especially if the walls have been marked by the previous tenants. White or cream is a classic option for landlords who are wanting the space to look clean and be versatile to how the individual tenants want to decorate it. It’s advised that landlords repaint properties every four to five years, but if there is a particularly big mark on the wall between tenancies, it won’t hurt to paint over it again. If you’ve got tenants in the property who will be renting for a while, then speak to them about when the best time to decorate is.
Budget in any maintenance or expenses that you need to complete
As mentioned before, having a rental property can be expensive. Many landlords choose to listen to the 1% rule, which basically means that you put 1% of the total property cost aside to cover any maintenance costs which may appear within the first few years of having the house. However, this is just a simple rule, but it might depend on other factors like the location or age of the house.
Do landlords have to complete the maintenance work themselves?
If you have the skillset to do so, then some landlords opt to do the maintenance works themselves to keep costs down. This isn’t the case for many landlords, however. Most employ subcontractors to complete maintenance work, as this work can vary from plumbing to electrics. It can be difficult to have all the skills which are needed, so it might be better to leave it to a professional. Being a landlord can be extremely time consuming, so being a maintenance man too could make it hard to balance the two roles together.
Make sure your tenants are happy
The key to keeping your house in the best condition it possibly could be is by offering open communication with your tenants and making sure they’re both happy and comfortable in the property. If there is maintenance that needs to be done to the property, sort it out promptly and even give the tenant a check-up call to ensure they are happy with the work that’s been completed.
Keeping a property in the best possible condition is relatively simple if you maintain the property throughout a tenancy. This way, you are happy and so are the tenants.
