As any landlord will tell you, maintenance is an on-going necessity in rental properties that can quickly get out of hand. Below we show you how to reduce maintenance costs and protect your profits.
Luckily most tenants are respectful and will happily look after their home and keep your rental property in good condition. However, there will always be a few inconsiderate tenants who will mindlessly damage your property, or intentionally trash it. To protect your property and wallet, ensure you spend a reasonable amount of time carefully selecting and reference checking all applicants before accepting them. Our Quinovic team always triple reference check and credit checks each applicant to ensure they have good character, are reliable, and have had no issues with past landlords.
Keeping an eye on the property and its condition is key to ensuring your residential rental property stays in great shape. Our team conducts property inspections every 3 months, and we recommend you do the same. We find regular inspections not only shows tenants you’re a hands-on landlord with a strong interest in the property’s condition (encouraging the tenants to take better care of the property), it also helps you identify any repairs before it creates expensive huge long-term damage.
Ensure you consider the property’s age before investing, as this can help determine the true cost of the property over time. As a general rule, unless the property has been re-modelled recently, older properties tend to require more regular maintenance, which can quickly turn a property into a black hole for your money if you’re not careful.
It’s always tempting, but under-budgeting and purchasing low-quality fittings, fixtures and appliances can often be the beginning of a long, costly journey for landlords. Unfortunately, these low-quality products usually require regular maintenance more frequently and need to be replaced after a much shorter period – causing them to be more expensive than if a quality item was purchased in the first place. Purchasing quality fixtures also means tenants will call less frequently for repairs, creating less stress for you.
Does the roof need to be repaired? Are the windows leaking? Is the property secure? Look out for any preventative repairs required during property inspections to reduce the occurrence of damage over time. A roof repair may seem expensive now, but it’ll be far worse down the line if you have to pay for the repair AND the water damage throughout the interior. Regular inspections mean you don’t need to rely on tenants to inform you about damage, as they may not necessarily know what to look out for or notice it until expensive damage has already occurred to your investment property.
Maintenance costs will almost always be a part of your budget - it's unavoidable.
Depending on the current condition and the age of the property, as a general rule putting aside 5-10% of the total annual rental income for maintenance should be enough to deal with yearly wear and tear. It could also provide you with money left over at the end of the year to invest into the property to prevent future maintenance issues, and increase the properties attractiveness.
To find out more about rental valuation, or for more general information, get in touch with us now.
Quinovic, the experts in property care and return
