Comparing the different seasons of the year, you could tell that fall would really be the best time to perform regular maintenance on some of the hardest-working devices in your rental property. By doing important interior maintenance items during this season, you’re making the best use of the season’s time. You’re not only making sure everything is working well but you’re also preparing your home to run safely and smoothly all winter long. These maintenance items include checking and cleaning filters, batteries, and water heaters. Some of which may need to be replaced, depending on its condition. All of these tasks have to be done regularly to make sure your rental property is safe for your tenants.
It’s critical that you regularly replace your Melbourne Beach rental property’s air filters. These filters keep your property’s HVAC system clean and running efficiently. Because of this, changing the air filters in your rental home is considered an important part of seasonal maintenance. As the winter months draw near, furnaces start to work harder to keep out the cold as families tend to spend more time indoors. This is the reason why making sure your filters are clean is important. There are all sorts of HVAC systems and they use different filters. So, depending on which type of filter your system requires, you may need to change the filters as often as every 30 days, every three months, or even every six months. While you may be thinking that this would be a good thing to delegate to your tenants, that may not be such a good idea. The chances that they’re going to forget or not change the filters often enough are high. This neglect in maintenance will put a strain on your HVAC system and will result in its life being shortened and the efficiency of the unit reduced.
Fall is also the best time to test and change the batteries in your rental property’s smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. These devices need to be kept working correctly to make sure your tenants won’t be in danger. Think about it; let’s say a fire damages your property and hurts one of your tenants. Then it turns out your smoke detectors weren’t functioning because the batteries were running low and weren’t replaced. What do you think will happen? You’ll probably be sued— that’s pretty much guaranteed to happen. In other words, it really is critical that these devices be maintained and kept running properly.
There are smoke and carbon monoxide detectors that need their batteries changed every six to twelve months; others have lithium batteries that can last up to ten years— which is great because the useful life of a smoke or carbon monoxide detector is also ten years. However, no matter what kind of battery your devices have, you must have them tested on a regular basis. And the batteries must also be replaced without delay when it’s necessary. Hundreds of people are injured or killed in house fires every year, and, for some of them, the smoke detectors in their homes failed to go off to warn them. If you would have your tenants do this task, you cannot guarantee that they would actually do it. Instead, they may damage your property’s smoke detectors as they try their hand in testing and checking them. This would just give you additional expenses in replacement costs and increase your liability.
Next, we have a water heater. It may be one of the most frequently used devices in a rental home but that doesn’t mean people remember it when they’re doing property maintenance tasks. It should not be overlooked. Cleaning your rental property’s water heater ensures that it lasts long and continues to work efficiently. Over time, sediment builds up in the tank of a water heater, making it less efficient and even leading to clogged water lines.
You can easily avoid these problems by flushing your water heater once every six months or so. It may take some time to finish the task, but it has to be done so you could get the most out of your expensive water heater unit. This may also be a task you’d normally want your tenants to do themselves. But the truth is that they might not do a good job. There really is no guarantee that they will clean out the water heater properly and may just end up causing more harm than good.
Neglecting these maintenance items can have serious consequences and you may end up paying a lot more on expensive repairs. But giving your tenant the tasks to change or clean the filters, batteries, and water heater in your Melbourne Beach rental property is not the best option. It may be true that you can do all these things yourself. The question is, would it be worth all the time and effort? The better option would undoubtedly be to hire a company like Real Property Management Brevard to manage the property maintenance projects for you. Our full range of maintenance services can do wonders for you. It can keep your property at peak shape and ensure the safety of your tenants. With us working for you, you would have more time to focus on growing your real estate investing business. To learn more about what we can do for you, feel free to contact us today.
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