Regular checkups and reporting maintenance

When it comes to the upkeep of your rental properties, some basic planning can help save you major money on repairs and maintenance over the long term.

Early detection of any potential issues can prevent major flare-ups and expensive mishaps happening down the track. So where do you start?

Get a property manager

If you have multiple properties spread across various towns or states, it’s impossible to look after them yourself. Even in the rare instance that your investment property is close to your principal place of residence, we are all time poor these days and it’s still best to engage a professional.

Not only does a good property manager bring with them the knowledge of tenancy laws, regulations and various other things you may never have even known existed; they also have great ongoing relationships with the best tradies they could find. And if they have been in business for some time, it’s likely they will know which dodgy operators to avoid from experience.

Their relationships become your relationships

Surely, it’s better to have someone on a first name basis with a reputable repairer be the one in charge of averting a crisis, than having to start Googling names yourself and trying to decide who is reliable and who isn’t from the thousands of service providers out there.

Your property manager will schedule the required inspection and report back to you any visibly apparent maintenance items or any maintenance items reported to them by your tenant.

The fees that you would pay a reputable agent in managing your investment will be well worth it for peace of mind.

Why regular checks are good for your property (and saves you time)

When you have the right property managers in place, you will notice that the feedback from the routine inspections isn’t the same old ‘clean/not clean, good working order/needs replacement’ box ticking style exercise.

They treat your properties like an asset and work towards future value increases and a sustained appeal to the tenant market. I mean, no one wants to live in some run-down place with a moldy ceiling top and a bathroom that reeks like it hasn’t been cleaned in weeks, possibly months. You want your property to be up to scratch so the next batch of tenants who views it, wants to live in it.

Remember, time is money. Managing a property on your own is like having a part-time job but when you have more than one, it basically becomes like a full-time job plus the nights of restless sleep you get. The right property manager frees up your time so you can better spend it elsewhere. When you lose money, you can always make it back. However, when you lose time, well you see, all that wasted time spent is gone…forever.

Brilliant deductions

Some of the associated expenses you may incur on your investment properties, may be tax deductible – speak to your tax accountant about that. Don’t skimp on making sure your property is in its best shape, all the time. It will hopefully pay for itself many times over in the future.

Contact the Blink Property Team