Across California, rental vacancy rates are soaring upward as normality slowly returns to the real estate market. That means you, as a landlord, must be on top of your game if you want to attract and retain tenants.
One way to avoid costly vacancies is by keeping your property in tip-top condition. Tenants are less likely to move out of a well-kept home and more likely to apply for a vacant one.
Read on for our top tips for managing maintenance coordination like a pro and ensuring the success of your Contra Costa rental business.
Create a Maintenance Coordination Schedule
Under California law, landlords must keep their properties safe and habitable by attending to routine and preventive maintenance. Creating a maintenance schedule for your unit's annual maintenance needs helps you stay on track with these landlord responsibilities.
Staggering maintenance tasks across the year helps you budget more effectively and helps prevent unexpected and costly repairs.
Conduct Routine Property Inspections
Routine property inspections help you stay on track with your unit's maintenance needs. Use these visits to search for potential maintenance issues inside and outside the home.
Some issues to look for include:
- Water leaks
- Faulty appliances
- Signs of pest infestations
- Under-performing HVAC systems
- Blocked gutters
You must test the home's safety features, such as carbon monoxide and smoke detectors, during inspections. Property inspections also provide opportunities to change the batteries on these devices if necessary.
Set up a List of Pre-Screened Vendors
The last thing you need in an emergency is to spend time searching for suitable professional help. Having a list of dependable local maintenance vendors on call ensures speedy service when you need it and also helps you streamline routine maintenance.
When you have established relationships with well-established professionals, you can often secure better prices and warranties, too.
Communicate Effectively
You can ask your tenants to take care of some small maintenance aspects, such as lawn care. You must state these tenant responsibilities in the lease agreement.
An online owner-tenant portal is an excellent way to coordinate tenants' rent payments, repair requests, and maintenance work. You can also use this forum to communicate with your vendors and keep track of your maintenance schedule.
Clear communication is an effective way to coordinate maintenance tasks between your vendors and tenants without causing inconvenience to the latter. You must advise your tenants at least 24 hours before entering the home to complete maintenance work.
Get Expert Help
Property maintenance is one of the most important aspects of running a successful residential rental business, but it can become a time-sapping endeavor. Signing up with a property management service helps alleviate these time issues.
PMI Contra Costa is backed by over 20 years of real estate experience in Contra Costa County, CA. We can assist you with all the most time-consuming aspects of managing your California investment property with a comprehensive range of property management services.
Explore an easier way to stay up-to-date with maintenance coordination in Walnut Creek, Danville, Alamo, Diablo, and San Ramon.
