Maintaining your rental property will increase your income and attract high-quality tenants as well as higher rental values. If you aren’t paying attention to preventive and routine maintenance, you’re going to be left with deferred repairs that are only more expensive.
It’s essential to put together a solid maintenance plan if you want to save your investment from extra unexpected expenses and deterioration. Good maintenance practices will serve your tenant retention plans and increase the value of your asset.
When you’re establishing maintenance best practices, work with a local property management company that can help you. At Ramshaw Real Estate, we have teams of experienced Champaign – Urbana property managers, site managers, and leasing agents who are constantly monitoring your rental property and can help you stay one step ahead of repairs.
Champaign Property Management Requires Responsive Maintenance
Responsiveness is critical when it comes to managing your rental properties. When a tenant calls with an emergency, you’ll need to take action right away. There are legal and habitability requirements that dictate how quickly you must fix a heating problem in the winter or a toilet problem in a one-bathroom unit.
It’s important that your residents know how to contact you or your local property management company, if you’re working with one. They should know the procedures for reporting an emergency before there’s an emergency. If you don’t take immediate action, there could be additional damage to your property. Have an emergency plan in place so you can keep your tenants safe and avoid wasting time and money.
Champaign-Urbana Property Management Should be Preventative
Paying attention to preventative maintenance can often lead to fewer emergency repairs and unexpected expenses. If you schedule preventative maintenance annually, you can do a better job of protecting your property’s condition. This is an especially good idea for owners who have several units in a building or a multifamily property. You can schedule vendors and technicians to inspect and service each unit with one visit.
For example, schedule an inspection of your heating and cooling system twice a year, when the seasons change. This will ensure it functions properly and it will also help you identify any problems that might be brewing. It’s always cheaper and less of a headache to catch problems while they’re minor. Have the home treated for pests and insects on a regular basis. Flush the water heater and clean the gutters and sprinklers seasonally.
Document All Rental Property Repairs
While emergency repairs are usually going to require a phone call, routine repairs should be in writing. This will help you document the property and when it was reported. It gives you an established, verifiable list of the work that was done on your rental properties. This will help you establish future maintenance schedules, and you’ll know how to plan for replacements in the next few years. If your dishwasher in an apartment unit has been repaired every year for the last five years, for example, you can look at this record and decide to replace it rather than repairing it again.
Work with High Quality Vendors
The quality of your vendors and contractors is critical. You want to make sure you’re working with licensed and insured professionals. Even if they cost more, their expertise and workmanship is worth the extra money. When you hire unlicensed labor, you’re taking on a lot of risk. You’re also putting your property and your tenants at risk.
When you need help with Champaign or Urbana property management, we invite you to contact us at Ramshaw Real Estate. We’d be happy to tell you more about our services and to help you maintain your investment properties.