Maintaining your real estate investment property doesn’t have to be a daunting task. By following some simple tips and tricks, you can keep your property in top condition and protect your investment.
At MY SMART COUSIN, we help aspiring homeowners and investors, with a special focus on Black and Brown folks and women, find Real Estate Investment opportunities that will allow them quick access to buy a house for the price of our car, our personal favorite way of investing, and maintain their investment property like a pro, no matter the investment price point.
In this blog post, we’ll share some easy ways to maintain your property and make sure it stays rent-ready and in great shape. Read on for more information!
· KEEP THE PROPERTY CLEAN AND WELL-MAINTAINED
When it comes to maintaining your rental property, first impressions are everything. A potential tenant driving by should see trim bushes and low-cut grass. Elaborate landscaping or a veritable botanical garden’s worth of flowers is not necessary, the key is a house that looks neat and well-kept from the outside. Beyond their visual appeal, another benefit of well-trimmed bushes and trees is that it lowers the risk of storm damage, should a large branch fall onto your roof or hit a window. Bushes that are cut a ways back from your property also create fewer pathways for insects and other critters to climb straight from a branch onto the side of your property.
Once a potential tenant steps inside the property, they should be greeted with a clean, well-lit, and pleasant-smelling space that exudes comfort and warmth. As a landlord, it’s your responsibility to make sure that your property is always in top condition, meaning regular cleaning, preventative maintenance, and prompt repairs when issues arise. Of course, this can be a time-consuming and expensive task, but it’s a great habit to start and an essential step in keeping your tenants happy and your property value high.
Luckily, there are some easy ways to stay on top of maintenance without breaking the bank.
· One way is to hire a professional cleaning company to do a deep cleaning of the property between tenant move-ins. Likewise, while keeping the garden trim may be a responsibility of the tenant in the lease, hiring a company to perform annual landscaping and vigorously cutting back bushes and trees that may be out of reach for renters, pays dividends in avoiding citations and keeping Mother Nature firmly outside.
· Alternatively, if your tenant is handy with small tools and yard work, you can pay them to perform handyman tasks and do annual landscaping.
Whatever approach you choose, make sure that you develop and follow a schedule to ensure that major items don’t fall off your radar— your investment will thank you for it in the long run.
· REGULARLY INSPECT THE PROPERTY FOR DAMAGE OR NEEDED REPAIRS
As a landlord, one of your most important responsibilities is to regularly inspect your rental property for damage or needed repairs. By staying on top of small issues early, you can prevent them from turning into larger, more expensive problems down the road. Ideally, you should inspect your property every few months, or at least once a year.
· During your inspection, take the time to walk around the outside of the building and check for any signs of damage, such as cracks in the foundation or missing shingles.
· Then, go inside and check all of the rooms, paying close attention to the condition of the floors, walls, and ceilings.
· Be sure to also test all of the appliances and fixtures to make sure they are in good working order.
· If you notice any problems, make the necessary repairs as soon as possible.
By following these tips, you can help ensure that your rental property remains in good condition for years to come.
· RESPOND QUICKLY TO ANY TENANT REQUESTS OR COMPLAINTS
So how can you make sure you’re responding quickly to tenant needs?
· First, it’s important to have a good system in place for tracking requests and complaints. There are numerous online options for tracking everything from rent to new and closed maintenance tickets to photos of completed repairs— making use of one of these tools can save you valuable time.
· Once you have a system in place, it’s important to be responsive to every request or complaint.
By being responsive to tenant needs, you show concern and respect for your customer and help prevent small problems from becoming big ones. That will go a long way towards keeping your customers happy and rental property in tip-top shape.
· MAINTAIN A POSITIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR TENANTS
As any experienced investor knows, one of the most important keys to successful real estate investing is maintaining positive relationships with your tenants. After all, without happy tenants, it would be very difficult to keep your properties rented and generate income. There are a few simple things you can do to keep your tenants happy and make sure they keep renewing their leases.
· First, promptly address any maintenance issues that arise. No one wants to live in a property that is in disrepair, so by keeping up with repairs, you’ll show your tenants that you care about their comfort and well-being.
· Second, where possible, work with your tenant to accommodate requests such as a financial payment plan if your tenant is having difficulty paying the rent. Being proactive and coming up with an arrangement that works for both of you and that your renter can stick with, can build goodwill, help your tenant stay afloat until they’re back on their feet, and meet your income objectives.
· Lastly, take the time to get to know your tenants and build relationships with them. Just as you would with any other business, get to know what other business needs your customers to have and how you might meet those, perhaps through an affiliate business
By taking an interest in their lives, you’ll foster a sense of community that will lead to long-term tenancy.
· COLLECT RENT ON TIME AND IN FULL
Being a landlord comes with a lot of responsibility. Not only do you have to find good tenants, but you also have to make sure the property is well-maintained, up to code, and running smoothly. One of the most important aspects of being a landlord is collecting rent on time and in full. This can be difficult to do if you don’t have a good system in place. Here are some tips for collecting rent:
· Be clear about when rent is due and what the consequences are for late payments.
· Set up an online payment system so tenants can pay electronically.
· Send reminders a few days before the rent is due.
· If rent is late, don’t hesitate to charge a late fee.
· Consider giving discounts for early payments.
By following these tips, you can make sure you are always collecting rent on time and in full from your tenants.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Are you following these tips to maintain your real estate investment property? If not, it’s time to get on board and start doing things the right way. These tips will help keep your property in good condition, ensure that your tenants are happy, and help you become a valuable member of the community in your area. Have any questions? Contact us so you can start maintaining your investment property like a pro today!
YOU CAN ALSO READ: SYNDICATION INVESTING 101 – HOW TO INVEST PASSIVELY IN REAL ESTATE
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