Whether you have been the property business for years or are just getting started it is important to understand the most basic principle… If you take care of your property so that it maintains value for perspective tenants. Lets look at a few ideas that can help you manage your property in order to avoid a future problem.
1. Raising the Rent
The cost of living goes up, so why shouldn’t it go up for your tenants? Maintaining the property rises and so do the taxes, it makes sense to raise the rent to keep the property in shape. Raising the rent will also bring a bigger cash flow down the road for perspective buyers down the road.
2. Check the Plumbing
Checking the Pluming is like making sure your ticker is beating right. Making sure the pipes in the home or apartment building are good will save you tons of money. Pipes bursting inside of walls, or water leaking, can cause major damage that will require ripping apart walls and doing extensive repairs. Make sure you have a licensed professional look at your pipes to be sure they are up to code.
3. Watch The Foundation
The easiest way to spot possible foundation problems is by looking around for big trees. The bigger a tree is, and the closer it sits to your house, the bigger potential it will invade the foundation. Another way to tell if there are foundational issues is by spending time in the basement. Big cracks in the floor or corners might indicate that the house is in need of some serious work. Let’s just hope it’s not too late.
4. Get Some Help
You can’t do it all by yourself. It is ok to ask for help from professionals, people in the field, and your counter parts. Hiring out to take care of some of the repairs is a concession you will have to learn how to make. You might not think it is cost effective to have someone come in to do the electrical work, but if you aren’t confident enough to do it yourself, then you will be making a smart investment by letting a professional handle it.
5. Keeping The Tenants in Line
Make sure that your tenants are respecting the rules and are not causing more harm than good. You can never be too sure, or too careful, with your tenants. That’s why it makes sense to have your tenants sign a detailed lease. A good lease will have financial penalties in place for violating rules of the house or apartment.
6. Clean The Gutters
When it rains, the gutters are essential in moving rain away from the house. This keeps the windows and siding in tip-top shape, and it keeps the basement from flooding. This all adds up to great savings.
Over all, remember you have to put time and effort into something if you want to reap its rewares. If you take steps in making sure that the property checks out as a whole you will be saving time and money in the long run. It takes commitment and follow-through. But with the right steps taken you are on the road to a great investment.
