5 Tips For Landlords for A Stress-Free Winter

Property management in Winter

The best time for a landlord property owner, or a property manager, to getaway is probably when the holidays are winding down  and when the rental market slows – however, unprepared property is always at risk, especially against seasonal hazards such as freezing temperatures, rental property fires and winter storms may give you second thoughts about risking your property.

Here are five tips, every rental property investor, or property manager, should know that can be implemented to enjoy a low-stress season during your deserved break this winter!

  1. Carry out property preventive maintenance. You don’t have to wait until the tenants start calling about emergency property repairs – you can ask them what needs to be fixed. Inspect roofs and furnaces, trim tree branches, insulate the pipes in the exterior walls, and handle other problematic areas ASAP.
  2. Employ the tenants to be on the look-out. Your residents should be on the lookout for issues with the property. Tenants are your early detection system, that can alert you to $3 problems; before they become $3,000 ones. Issues like power outages, failing appliances, and frozen pipes. Exchange contact information with them and make sure they’re in the loop about important issues.

  3. Maintain fire safety. Check to see if the carbon monoxide and smoke alarms are functioning. Provide residents with safety guidelines for space heater and kitchen usage – the two main causes of fires in rental properties areas during the winter.

  4. Get in touch with your contractors. Find dependable contractors, to help you handle your property. Even better is to employ a property management company. If you decide to wait for a storm to hit, you might not be able to get one as their other clients might have taken priority, leaving you in the cold. The worst time to know your go to contractor as moved out of state, is when you are facing an emergency property repair. Make sure there’s a good supply of shovels and de-icing chemicals for residents.

  5. Most importantly, consider employing the services of a property manager. A property manager will help you tackle your to-do list. You could spend the year relaxing rather than fretting about how to handle the issues in your community.

This might be the best time to find that property manager!

Author:

Joe White

Joe White is a Philadelphia Property Manager and Real Estate Broker. He is the owner of Grow Property Management and has been involved in the management, sales and purchases of Philadelphia area rental investment properties since 2008. He is an author and works as a real estate investment consultant and construction manager.

View all posts by Joe White

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