Top Residential Property Maintenance Services
According to the National Association of Realtors, in 2020 more than half of all landlords (about 58%) chose to work with a property management company rather than manage their rental properties entirely on their own. There are several key reasons for using the services of a property manager, whether that is an individual or a company.
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It’s difficult for owners to keep abreast of all the legal requirements and compliance issues potentially affecting their investment properties. This is particularly true when they own multiple properties in states other than their own. It can also be difficult for them to keep up with maintenance requests in a timely enough fashion to satisfy tenants and maintain high occupancy rates.
Hiring a property manager makes it much easier to turn over units quickly between tenants. Property managers typically take care of marketing, applications, background checks, lease preparation, and everything else associated with minimizing the amount of time that a unit is not generating rental income. Filling vacancies plays an important role in maximizing the income from a rental property. So does collecting rents, including delinquent rents, and handling the eviction process if that becomes necessary.
Scope of a Property Management Agreement
Before you can even get a quote on the cost of a particular property manager’s services, you need to be able to delineate exactly what those services would be. Property management services typically are broken down into three broad categories: tenant management, property maintenance, and financial management. This article focuses on the property maintenance category of property management tasks.
Routine Property Maintenance Tasks
Good property maintenance is essential for the safety and health of tenants. The most basic requirements are for uninterrupted access running water and heat or air conditioning as weather conditions dictate. Depending on a property’s location, there may be general exterior maintenance tasks that may change with the seasons, such as snow shoveling or plowing, leaf removal, lawn maintenance, and recycling and garbage collections.
These all can be predicted with a fair amount of accuracy so that the property manager is not caught flatfooted by the surprise October snowstorm or by a malfunctioning lawn mower during the peak growing season for grass. Poor performance on external maintenance tasks not only lowers a property’s curb appeal, but also can be a real safety hazard, particularly for slip and fall accidents due to wet leaves or icy sidewalks. Failure to remove fallen leaves and other dried vegetation also increases the risk of fire.
Certain other maintenance tasks are also highly predictable and should be scheduled well in advance. These include annual inspections and cleanings of heating and air conditioning systems, hot water heaters, and other equipment related to the delivery of basic utilities. In some climates, the need for pest control services also follows seasonal patterns.
Property managers also should be prepared for city building inspectors to take a look to ensure that all safety requirements are being met. And insurance companies also make routine inspection visits to ensure that proper risk management practices are being observed, such as cutting back branches that overhang the roof of a structure.
Routine maintenance on the appliances provided by the landlord inside tenants’ units, such as refrigerators, stoves, and dishwashers, also falls within the predictable category. Routine maintenance on these appliances may be a requirement for maintaining a valid warranty. Even when there is no warranty, occasional appliance inspections and preventive maintenance will help protect the property owner’s investment.
Not So Routine Property Maintenance Issues
Many property managers use property maintenance software to schedule and track routine maintenance tasks. But what about maintenance needs that are not easily predictable—the occasional or urgent maintenance issues that typically originate from a tenant’s request or complaint? Nobody expects a leak from an upstairs apartment to make the ceiling collapse on the floor below or a refrigerator to stop working right after it has been filled with hundreds of dollars’ worth of groceries.
Professional property owners, such as us, know how important it is to plan for unexpected emergencies. These are mishaps that require immediate attention to prevent further property damage and possible loss of tenants. Those that don’t have their own expert repair personnel on staff typically have developed relationships with professionals who will respond on short notice, even after typical business hours and on weekends.
Of course, some maintenance emergencies require the assistance of first responders. Property managers must know when a call to the gas company, fire department or electrical company is necessary. A suspected gas leak or a flood or a fire, no matter how small or contained it may appear to be, should never go unreported. Sending maintenance personnel into a potentially dangerous situation is never wise and could be a significant legal liability for the property owner.
All of these possible maintenance situations should be discussed with any property manager you are thinking about hiring. Be sure to explore the property manager’s fee structure for maintenance tasks, both routine and emergency. The property manager you choose can have a big impact on the profitability of your investment.
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