There are plenty of risks involved in being a landlord, and plenty of headaches. Sometimes, it is your property sitting vacant for longer than expected, or the applicants you move in turned out to not be the great tenants you were hoping for. Some of the time, though, the problem isn’t the tenants or your property being vacant.
The real headaches come not from the tenants or even emergencies, but from ignored maintenance. If the ceiling starts pouring water, the tenants are going to let you know immediately. If the sink is leaking a bit, they might not let you know for as much as a couple of months. The sink leaks for the whole of that time, and even if they put a bucket underneath it, there is going to be at least a little bit of damage. And it keeps going from there.
As our lead property manager once so aptly expressed, “maintenance is like eating a cow. If you eat all of it at once, it is going to hurt.” One at a time, dealing with the small things isn’t a big deal. If you put it off until everything needs to be fixed, it is now a very big deal.
Six-Month Inspections
The main purpose of the six-month inspection is to check up on the tenancy, but another part of it is checking for delinquent maintenance. While the property manager is there, they do the following:
The Bathroom and Kitchen-
The majority of maintenance done is to these rooms. Because of the abundance of water, it is important to stay on top of the little things. This includes:
- Checking under all sinks for leaks
- Look for soft points in the flooring around the toilet, sinks, and shower
- Check for signs of Mold/Mildew
A significant amount of the people moving to Oregon are coming from states that are both dryer and less humid. As such, they don’t always understand the importance of the bathroom fan and either don’t run it at all or don’t run it long enough. Most of the time, that is the only problem and giving them a headups can rectify it.
Other Rooms in the House-
Many of the same parameters apply. Look for signs of damage or needed maintenance. And always and most importantly, ask the tenants. They have lived in this home; they know what needs to be done.
Here at Empire:
Our property managers are trained to deal with the important before it can become urgent, and the urgent before it can become an emergency. We are careful to stay on top of the little details because we know it is the ignored details that grow into costly projects.
Happy Landlording!