Spring Preventive Maintenance: ROI and ROT
One of the key differences between the “accidental landlord” and a quality Rental Housing Provider is a commitment to great customer service for our tenants. Another key distinction is a business mindset geared towards maximizing Return on Investment = ROI (for ourselves and/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!
Why do we love spring and fall maintenance?
- It’s an excuse to get into each unit and chat with our tenants. Sometimes we find a life partner left 4 months ago, or a pet has been added without our permission, or our tenants are leaving in a month and the tenants were “getting around to telling us,” ….
- When we are walking around, we find multiple ways to ask questions about the house and the neighbourhood. We’re listening for changes, or anything that is bugging a tenant, especially if it is fixable.
- How many times have we had tenants say, “oh well I didn’t want to bother you, …” or “by the way, this has been leaking since Christmas, ….”
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 safety standard.
Rental Housing Providers are busy people—so we know the return on your time = ROT 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: there are people for that! Don’t skip it.
What are some of the items on our list?
- Change the furnace filter, or check that the tenant has done it
- Check the fire extinguishers (make sure they’re still there too!) and test the smoke/co detectors. Take a picture of this and keep a log, just in case.
- Vacuum registers, grills, lint ducts of dryer (a handvac can do this easily); or remind your tenants, depending on your arrangement
- Inspect roof, gutters, chimney, exterior foundation. Siding and stucco fall into this category as well. Are the woodpeckers and squirrels moving in?
- Check under every sink in the house for leaks and/or mold
- Inspect windows, doors, screens
- Check the deck (boards, railing and the structure underneath)
- Walk the fence line. Has Fido dug some holes? Do some boards need replacing so that Fido doesn’t escape?
- Ideally check the sump pump—long before rainy season in June.
- Replace any outdoor light bulbs, or have your tenant do it if that’s part of your tenant responsibilities. This is a safety/accident prevention issue.
- If you offer A/C, now is a good time to book annual maintenance.
- By April/May, we turn on the outside taps again, with reminders about water usage limits for sprinklers or kids water toys.
- If you provide a BBQ or HotTub, this is also a great time to see what is and isn’t working and/or cleaned properly. This one is for our AirBnb friends.
- We like to check range hood filters. Sometimes the grease build up is astonishing!
- And now is an uncomfortable but necessary time to remind tenants of their obligations around pets (winter doggy doo –if you know, you know).
- Lawn care is very individual for landlords. If a spring aerate/fertilize or weed control is part of your service, it’s time to get that booked.
- Pest signs? For example, in Bowness there is a thriving mouse community; in Bragg Creek there are almost-unbelievable ant colonies. Have any critters moved in over winter?
- And we make every effort to check all 4 corners of the basement, plus basement walls. We’re looking for any signs of leaks, mold, cracks, etc…
There is really no substitute for being in your property, walking around—ideally with a checklist, and speaking with your tenant. 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. @MtnEdgeDevelps.
