Property Maintenance Help For Landlords
November 7th, 2009 by Steve ShawAcquiring the rental properties you now own has taken time and hard work. You bought each one knowing that one day, these properties would be your retirement income and that you would have the freedom and security you needed to enjoy those golden years. Now, it seems as if you are spending your golden years on property maintenance. There has to be a better way.
Of course, there is. It does not involve constantly paying money to plumber and electricians to take care of your properties. Instead, you can hire one person and allow that person to be your property maintenance worker. It could well be that you already have a skilled repairperson living in one of your units that would gladly trade his skills for free or reduced rent. If he saves you two to four service calls per month, he has earned his rent.
Before hiring anyone, make sure that he or she has the necessary experience to take care of the units that you own. If you hire a person, but continually have to hire specialist for some of the tasks you will end up spending more money.
It is important that the person you hire for property maintenance lives close enough to your property that they can respond in an acceptable amount of time. For example, if a toilet is plugged, tenants are not going to be happy with a four to five hour response time. If you find someone that would be perfect for the job but lives far away, consider providing them housing at reduced or free rent charges.
The actual workload that you expect will determine if you want to hire someone part or full time or offer free or just reduced rent. If you only have a few small rental properties, you may not need someone full time. If you have more than one medium to large apartment complexes, you may need more than just one person.
All workers that are hired must be ethical. You cannot afford the reputation that you will gain if workers steal from tenants when doing repair. You also cannot afford a maintenance worker that will rob you of materials for other jobs. Be sure that you run a thorough reference check before hiring any employee.
Make sure the new hire will be able to keep up with the work load demand. The amount of property you own as well as the condition of the units will affect the workload and should be considered before hiring.
Make sure that you are paying a reasonable rate for maintenance work. If it would be less expensive to hire plumbers and electricians when needed, you are paying too much for your maintenance worker. You do not want to pay a maintenance worker for part time work if he never has anything to do.
The maintenance worker can give you freedom to have your life back. If you get a good worker, then you can depend on him to meet the needs of tenants in an efficient and economical manner. This will mean that you will be able once again to enjoy those retirement years.
If you own your property, you will obviously know that property maintenance is not the simplest thing in the world, especially if you own quite a few. This is why most landlords look for professional commercial cleaning to help them keep their investments up to scratch and looking good.
