You should maintain your investment property if you want to benefit from it for a long time. However, the maintenance should not cost you too much money. Look for a healthy combination of affordable and effective maintenance. The following tips can help you.
Practice Preventive Maintenance
Preventive maintenance takes different forms. For example, the maintenance includes:
- Cleaning relevant parts of the property, such as the roof
- Fixing disconnected or sagging parts, such as gutters
- Inspecting the house for potential problems
Preventive maintenance will help you in multiple ways. For example, preventive maintenance:
- Can detect property damages before they become full-blown
- Will help you plan for major repairs you might need in the future
- Will help you avoid emergency damages that might require money you don’t have
For example, preventive maintenance can help you detect a sagging roof. That way, you can correct the sag before the entire roof collapses and generates an expensive repair or replacement bill.
Use Professional Contractors
Resist the urge to hire inexpensive nonprofessionals since they might cost you in the end. Use professional contractors for all your property repairs. The professionals:
- Will advise you on durable materials you can use to prolong your property’s integrity
- Will conduct proper repairs to avoid frequent breakdowns
- Understand relevant building codes that the repairs must meet
- Are likely to guarantee their work so that you don’t have to spend money on repair fails
For example, an amateur electrician might use undersized cables for wiring. Such cables might burn hot and trigger an electrical fire when someone uses them. You might need more money to conduct further repairs in such a case.
Create an Emergency Fund
Property maintenance requires some investment. Create an emergency fund you can use so that you don’t have to delay repairs due to a lack of funds. Delayed repairs often worsen and require even bigger investments. A budget can help you determine how large your emergency find should be. Below are some tips to help you create such a budget:
- Place at least 1% of your building’s value in the emergency fund. For example, a building worth $1,000,000 should have an emergency fund of at least $10,000.
- Use your local building costs to determine how far you should exceed the minimum fund.
- Increase your maintenance fund significantly if your property is relatively old since older properties require more maintenance than newer ones.
Let professionals, such as building contractors and property manages, help you with the budget if you are inexperienced.
Keep Good Records
You also need impeccable maintenance records. Your records should include:
- Preventive maintenance schedules
- Upcoming and completed repairs
- Details of concerns the contractors might have on the property
- The frequency of certain problems
- The cost of repairs
- The contractors you used for the repairs
The records will help you know:
- The amount of money you spend on repairs
- The adequacy of your maintenance funds
- The reliability of the people working for you
You can use software or applications to help you track the records.
Hire a Property Manager
Lastly, consider a manager for your properties. Professional and experienced properties managers:
- Understand what it takes to maintain properties
- Can connect you to professional repair and maintenance workers
- Understand the typical problems that properties in your area experience
Professional property managers are even more necessary if you don’t have experience with property management or maintenance.
Hopefully, the tips above will help you maintain your property at affordable rates. Charles L. Moles Real Estate LLC can help you manage and maintain your property. We have been active in the property management business for over 50 years. Contact us for a quote or consultation to determine how to help you protect and benefit from your investment property.
