One of the key differences between the “accidental landlord” and a quality Rental Housing Provider is the passion for great customer service to our tenants. Another key distinction is a business mindset geared towards maximizing Return on Investment (for ourselves or our Joint Venture partners). Preventive Spring Maintenance is one of those tasks that accomplishes both goals in a relatively short timeframe—aka, worth every penny!
As a matter of fact, one of the big players in the Real Estate Investing world set out to prove the benefits of preventive maintenance. Jones Lang Lasalle (JLL) Real Estate actually went so far as to conduct and publish a research study on the subject. They wanted to quantify the dollar value of preventive maintenance, and the Return on their Investment. This company has a very large portfolio, and a mix of property types, so they “only” used about 12% of the company’s portfolio—a mere 14 million square feet! They compared no preventive maintenance (ie what happens if the boiler just fails), to actual dollars spent (found to be less than recommended for many Property Managers) to Industry benchmark (eg changing furnace filters regularly). The authors, Wei Lin Koo and Tracy Van Hoy, found an astonishing 545% ROI when preventive maintenance was used and done well. Who wouldn’t want that kind of return on their investments?
Ok, so most of us don’t have ginormous portfolio’s– I can hear the “ya buts …” already! The simple reality is that it is always easier to fix problems while they are small. And how many of us have had tenants say, “well I didn’t want to bother you, …” or “by the way, this has been leaking since Christmas, ….” There is really no substitute for being in your property, walking around—ideally with a checklist, and speaking with your tenant. Tracking, documenting and scheduling your spring (and fall) maintenance also directly impacts your risk management plan. If a worst-case-scenario like a fire ever does happen, we want to be able to prove that we did everything within reason to keep tenants safe, and maintain our property to a high quality standard.
Rental Housing Providers are busy people—so we know the return on your time is equally important. Let’s see: clean out a dryer vent regularly versus buying and arranging for the installation of a new dryer, checking all faucets for leaks twice a year, versus dealing with water stains on a ceiling, or worse dealing with the mold that results after a longer time. The time for preventive maintenance is a small fraction of the time required to fix the bigger problems. If you don’t have time or don’t like doing spring and fall maintenance, for goodness sakes’s: there are people for that! Don’t skip it! There are good companies right here in Calgary that will provide custom maintenance plans for your property(ies).
Most of us include Repairs and Maintenance into our property’s operating budget. These may be some of the best dollars you spend on your property after that initial inspection. There are dozens of checklists online, or you can contact us at any time. We’ll be sharing a Mike Holmes Facebook post about Spring Maintenance, and his checklist, on our FB Page: @MtnEdgeDevelps.
