Moving right along, Part 5 of our Blog Series, “So, You Want to be a Landlord?,” focuses on preventative maintenance. Our Property Management Company offers a variety of proactive maintenance measures to head-off many potential issues.
Investing money in preventative maintenance can oftentimes save thousands of dollars down the road.
Our biggest effort, in terms of preventative maintenance, relates to HVAC.
It’s important to conduct routine clean and checks of both the furnace and air conditioning systems at least once a year. In the Spring, we service our A/C systems and, in the Fall, we service our furnaces. During each service, we also replace (or clean) the furnace filter as well, which is key to maintaining an efficient system.
One note: We do not generally allow our Tenants to change furnace filters. There is simply too much liability to expect a Tenant to conduct this type of maintenance. While some systems provide easy access to the filter, some do not, and require cabinet covers to be removed. The last thing we want is a Tenant to injure themselves or damage the unit by improperly replacing a filter. We leave these tasks to licensed HVAC professionals.
Other proactive maintenance we offer includes yearly gutter cleaning, fireplace cleaning, water heater servicing and dryer vent cleaning.
Again, spending a few dollars on preventative maintenance can oftentimes head-off potential emergency situations and extend the life of the various systems in your home.
Check out Part 6: The Turmoil of Turnover.
