As a landlord with a rental property in Scottdale, Arizona, your priority is maintaining property value and maximizing your investment. One way to work towards both is by following preventative maintenance tips.
Preventative maintenance will save you both time and money while also increasing tenant retention due to positive renting experiences.
Whether you’re a new landlord or have a large rental portfolio in Scottsdale, it’s never too late to learn these preventative maintenance tips.
Essential Preventative Maintenance Tips for Landlords
Understanding exactly what type of preventative maintenance is effective in maintaining property value, keeping tenants happy, and saving you money on unexpected repairs makes being a landlord much smoother.
1. Replace Air Filters
As a rental property owner, it's important that you swap out air filters periodically and arrange for an HVAC check-up at least once a year. This ensures your rental property is circulating pure, clean air for your residents.
Consistent inspections and upkeep help deter HVAC malfunctions, which can lead to expensive fixes or even full replacements. Additionally, a routinely serviced HVAC system works effectively, assisting in slashing energy bills.
2. Clean Out Gutters
Clogged gutters can lead to water overflow, potentially damaging the home's foundation and causing flooding. Stagnant water can attract pests, compromise the roof's integrity, and lead to the growth of mold and mildew.
Regular gutter cleaning eliminates these risks and keeps downspouts working optimally. Remember, prevention is far cheaper than the cure.
It’s recommended to clean your gutters at least twice a year, ideally in late spring and early fall, or more often if they are surrounded by trees.
3. Flush Out the Water Heater
Your water heater requires some tender love and care to perform optimally. Over time, sediment accumulates inside, affecting its efficiency and increasing the risk of major breakdowns.
Flushing out the water heater yearly isn't just a proactive maintenance tip—it's an investment in the longevity of the device itself. The cost of repairing or replacing a water heater can be substantial and could put a dent in your budget.
4. Pest Prevention and Control
Pest prevention is an essential element in any maintenance strategy, mostly due to the damage these uninvited guests can inflict on your property. Spotting signs of potential entry points, like holes in doors or siding through which rodents can creep in, is crucial in keeping them away.
Creatures like rats and mice can chew through wiring and insulation, putting your property at risk for electrical fires, amongst other costly issues. Plus, your tenants likely won’t appreciate a surprise guest in their rental.
If you see signs of pest presence, set down traps or call an exterminator promptly. Delayed action could lead to an infestation, exacerbating the damage and leading to expensive repairs.
It’s also a good idea to educate your tenants about pest prevention and how they can help while living in your rental.
5. Check and Replace Smoke Detector Batteries
At least once a year, check to make sure that your smoke detectors are functioning properly. The last thing you want for your rental is for a fire to start and your smoke detectors to be malfunctioning due to dead batteries.
6. Inspect Home Appliances
As a landlord, you may feel that your responsibility is to take care of the property's structure. However, it’s important to ensure the appliances inside the property also work well.
Check on home appliances such as the dishwasher, refrigerator, and washer and dryer each year. If you notice something is wrong, you can likely easily replace a part or find an affordable solution rather than replacing the appliance entirely.
Your tenants will also greatly appreciate knowing that all of the convenient appliances in the rental work properly.
7. Examine Pipes and Plumbing for Leaks
A leaking or damaged pipe could cause major issues for rental property owners in Scottsdale, including damage and mold.
Have an annual inspection of your plumbing system and pipes to confirm that there are no leaks and that everything is in tip-top shape. It’s during this inspection that you can address any potential issues before it becomes an expensive problem.
8. Touch Up Door and Window Caulking
The caulking around doors and windows assists in keeping the rental property insulated during the winter and summer months. If you notice the caulking shows wear and tear, fix it up a bit.
Not only will it look nice aesthetically, but it can reduce energy bills due to property insulation.
9. Clean Out Dryer Vent
If your rental property has a dryer, then you definitely don’t want to skip this preventative maintenance tip.
Once or twice a year, clean out the dryer vent from lint, leaves, or other debris that may end up in there. Not only does this pose a fire hazard, but it could prevent the appliance from properly drying clothing during a cycle.
(Also make sure that tenants are emptying the lint trap after every use.)
10. Hold Routine Property Inspections
Taking on the responsibility of being a landlord requires that you pay attention to your tenants and your rental property. When self-managing, you can’t simply set it and forget it.
To successfully implement these preventative maintenance tips, routine property inspections should be held at least twice a year.
This also provides a great opportunity to connect with your tenants and verify that they are following the rules outlined in their lease. This includes respecting the property, not having pets, or hosting unverified tenants.
Sometimes, tenants will not notify you of maintenance issues. This inspection allows you to see firsthand if there are issues that need to be addressed.
Remember to always provide tenants with at least 24 hours' notice, or as stated in the lease agreement, before entering the property for an inspection.
Bonus Tip: Hire a Reliable Property Management Company in Scottsdale, Arizona
After reviewing these top preventative maintenance tips, you might have a glazed look thinking about all the time you’ll have to take care of your rental property.
That’s where Stratton Vantage comes to help!
As the area’s leading property management company, Stratton Vantage has a team of real estate professionals ready to implement these preventative maintenance tips to maintain your property’s value.
Plus, we’ll take care of all the other day-to-day management tasks to keep your tenants happy and maximize your ROI.
Contact us to see how we can help you maintain your rental property and your tenants today!
