Practical and Effective Maintenance for a Rental Property

If we want to talk about maintenance for a rental property, experts say we must first begin talking about tenant selection and management. According to them, through the screening process, the landlord can choose the responsible tenants who are more likely to take care of their rented unit. Tenant screening enables the landlord to have a well-informed decision in the approval of application; preventing to have the potential problematic kinds of renters. Always remember that this technique is an advantage to property owners; being able to see the background and the capacity of the potential tenant: the credit history, former landlord’s feedback, current financial capacity, etc.  

Now when attending to the tenant’s maintenance calls, make sure your management team is always consistent with its communication approach. It must not forget to constantly be on track with the tenants, to follow up, document the concerns, do a regular inspection, do a service quality survey, and accurately provide instructions in case necessary for upkeeping the value of the property. There are few companies doing these things but if you want a more experienced crew with legit training on keeping a rental business financially efficient, contact us at Jaxon Texas now so we can discuss more things according to your needs.

Why regular inspection is necessary?

So many landlords commit mistakes by putting all the responsibilities to their tenants alone as if totally ignoring the physical condition of their property. It has led to disappointment for many property owners upon discovering that there are problems that the renter left and did not report. As a smart business move, inspection on a regular basis is one of the most important strategies. It is an essential key to a very efficient property management system of a rental business.     

Now, there are four types of inspection: move-in inspection, move-out inspection, drive-by inspection, and routine inspection. Move-in inspection is a walk-through inspection done with the tenant so that the maintenance crew or the landlord can document the property’s condition upon turnover. Move-out inspection, on the other hand, is done when the tenant moves out so that the owner can see if there is any damage done by the tenant and also specifically identify the issues and solve them before turning the unit over to another renter. Meanwhile, drive-by inspection is a regular visit to the unit to observe if there is an issue with its outside condition. Lastly, routine inspection is simply another regular inspection with the tenant, usually every after 2 or 3 months. Take note that there should be prior notification before doing the inspection. The landlord’s action must also be in-line with the landlord-tenant laws of the area.

Why is it important to determine the maintenance budget?

As a landlord, it is always important to properly determine the maintenance expenses. It’s because if one fails to correctly direct the financial system of his or her rental business, chances are, he or she will end up dealing with the dreadful consequence of bankruptcy. That’s why to effectively maintain the economic machinery of your property, reasonable and accurate financial allocation of the budget must also be prioritized as an approach. This is tricky, though. However, hiring a professional property manager will solve this problem effectively. For example, we as management companies typically use the so-called “one percent rule”. It means one percent of the total property value should be used for the maintenance system of the business. However, keep in mind that expenses also vary, depending on the prices of the materials of the area. 

Personal maintenance management versus professional property management

Comparing the results of the two different approaches, personal management versus hiring a property manager, experts found that the latter is better in so many terms, especially on the financial or the profitability aspects. Personal management certainly saves money but is more likely to profit less due to many factors affecting the administrative and maintenance parts of the business. Take note that most of the landlords who do a thorough assessment of his or her personal capacity succeed. Before taking all the risks for the investment, this kind of business owner tries to look from different perspectives first. Definitely, rental property management is tough work; the maintenance aspect alone needs a lot of time and patience. Because if we say the word “maintenance”, it means 24/7 availability. If you want to be successful in the maintenance of your rental business, call us at Jaxon Texas now.