The rising costs of trades and services, low stock levels in stores, delays in ordering parts to replace broken ones, complaining tenants and property managers that can’t catch a break. The Covid-19 hangover is certainly alive and kicking when it comes to labour, materials and turn-around times for maintaining residential rental properties. This toxic mix of delays, costs and stress can make an investor want to put routine and minor maintenance items on the back burner in a bid to save dollars and reduce headaches. But is this really the best course of action? At Inhabit Property we think not. It is really just kicking the can further down the road. It is much better to grab the bull by the horns (kindly excuse the double cliche).
As a Perth Real Estate Agency with a focus on residential property management we are right in the middle of this all too familiar battle between tenants and owners, tradies and real estate agents. It can be a dirty dance, but it really doesn’t have to be. Maintaining an investment property requires much more than a reactive approach, simply dealing with a pressing issue once an item breaks down. Once an item fails the tenant is usually upset and it is too late to implement a cost-effective and efficient fix. There are ways to keep on top of your home's maintenance and over the short, medium and long term everybody wins. But this does require a team effort, some planning, appropriate amounts of elbow grease and kind compliance by all of the aforementioned stakeholders.
With Christmas upon us we are all looking forward to Santa’s midnight visit as well as time with our friends and family, but we are also bracing ourselves for steaming 40 degree days plus hot and uncomfortable nights. Blasting your air conditioner on the snowflake setting at 16 degrees with the highest fan speed is a sure way to end up with a busted air conditioning compressor, a rough holiday season and nights of tossing and turning in muggy bedrooms. The solution? Educating the user and performing regular maintenance. At Inhabit Property we are letting our tenants know to keep their air conditioning at a safe level between 22 and 24 degrees, the fan speed low and the windows and doors in the subject room nicely shut. We are also suggesting that they clean out their filter and move all items away from the air conditioning compressor to avoid blockages and chances of overheating.
If you are an investor it is paying dividends to work more closely with your Property Manager and your Tenant to plan regular checks and scheduled maintenance. This goes for strata apartments, townhouses, villas as well as free standing houses. Just like professional Strata Managers are facilitating ’10 Year Maintenance Plans’ for entire buildings, we have begun implementing ‘2 Year Maintenance’ plans for investment properties and in 2023 we will be ramping this up further with our clients. The following are some of the items that are filling up our quarterly ‘To Do’ and ‘To Check’ lists:
Engaging with a keen and trustworthy handyman, one that has been tried and tested by your Property Manager, to complete scheduled quarterly checks of the above items (and potentially more depending on the features of the home), is an ideal way to keep on top of small maintenance items and to stop them from becoming major asset replacements. It may seem like you are spending more at first for this quarterly attendance and the works completed but in the long run the saving of capital replacement costs, headaches and tenant complaints is more than worth it. And when you have a trusted professional regularly attending your property they will get to know your home and will be able to pick up on prospective repairs and replacements that may be required over the short, medium and long term. These potential upgrades are then reported to your Property Manager and the works pre-planned with the relevant tradesperson. Early identification and good planning solves the issue of no stock, long delays and unanticipated costs.
A well maintained home attracts better quality tenants as well as higher rents. This is a big win! It also puts you and your home in an ideal position should you wish to sell the property at any stage as it will be in tip-top shape and ready for sale.
In a perfect world our tenants are happy, our properties are in good working condition and our cash flow is great. Having a 2 Year Maintenance Plan and a scheduled works program in place is a step in the right direction to you attaining these.
Brendon Habak - Selling Principal