October 18, 2014
Are you managing your property well?
There are a lot of minor things that go wrong with a property after it goes into full occupancy; things are constantly breaking and not working the way they are supposed to. There are a lot of things that go wrong almost every few days that require immediate attention otherwise the problems start piling up and lead to greater costs in repairs.
You might sometimes be overwhelmed by the number of issues you have to deal with, including natural events like rain and snow, causing random things to go out of whack. Also, the kind of tenants you let into your home create repair issues. If they don’t mtake care of their rental space and treat it with respect as they would their own home: keep the tap open in freezing weather, sealing a break in a tile in the bathroom floor to prevent the water seeping through, etc, small problems become big ones.
All these things go a long way into creating long problems for you, you might not know how to fix half the things wrong or you might just not be able to find the time whatever the reason you need to have a little black book handy to get the right people on site and get the problem fixed as soon as possible.
Keep your tenants close
Keep an honest and open relationship with your tenants, if the tenants are afraid of you or avoids reporting the minor breakages and issues due to whatever reason, those small things turn into big things and cause huge problems for the both of you.
Quarterly or biannual inspections of the property go a long way into identifying possible problem issues. If you keep on top of the situation and get the right contractors sourced at the right time to take care of the problems you can rest easy that you won’t have to face any huge repair expenses.
Keep your Contractors Closer
For anyone who was worked in real estate as either an investor or a renovation specialist, you know that finding a good reliable and trustworthy contractor is like finding a golden needle in a haystack.
Often contractors don’t show up on time, or don’t have any pride whatsoever. They are either too highly priced and don’t deliver on their word, or they don’t treat you with respect. Many contractors simply don’t know how to coordinate well with your tenants or yourself.
There are many things that can be wrong with a contractor, but you can still find the good few out there though trial and error, once you do make sure to write them in your Landlording black book.
Going back to a contractor that you worked with the first time and had a good experience with is a pretty good way to kick start a solid relationship, Take a little time to engage in small talk- after all they are also human. Once a good relationship is established they don’t just take it as a job, they take it as their responsibility to take care of your needs which works out well for you.
If you know someone who wants to get some work done refer them once in a while, that will make them feel like you are looking out for them and they will give you priority accordingly as well.
Having a good relationship with both your tenants and your contractors is a good way to proceed , and gives you the least stress in managing the property in the long run.