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How recently have you inspected your property’s plumbing? When was the last time your home underwent house pressure testing?
Managing a property or apartment is no easy feat, nor is property upkeep a thrilling subject to talk about. Property maintenance is not just about making sure everything is in top-notch working condition, but also taking proactive steps towards its upkeep. This involves a lot of effort, energy, and time.
Many property owners and landlords choose to self-manage their properties; a good option if you’re looking to save money. But here’s the catch: putting off maintenance or shelving upkeep issues until later will cost you not only in damages but also in rejected insurance claims.
There’s a right way to go about maintaining your property’s upkeep without burning a gaping hole in your pocket, even if you’re self-managing your property. But first, learn how cutting corners on property maintenance can have serious consequences.
1. Expensive Repairs
It can seem easy to perform a DIY on a leaky tap or a clogged sink, but it’s best to avoid experimenting with such repairs. If you’re not a professional, trying your hand at fixing something might work for the short term but can lead to more significant headaches down the road.
For example, if you’re a landlord and your tenant flags up a leak in the top bathroom sink, you may intervene and get it fixed yourself. However, two weeks later, you may find yet another leak, resulting in a stain. And now you’re left with not one but two problems to deal with.
As you can see, by DIY-ing your fixes and repairs, you’re trading off service quality and assurance for a few pennies. Rather than experimenting, leave these maintenance tasks to an expert. Alternatively, you can also hand over property maintenance and upkeep to a professional property manager.
For example, if you’re a block property owner based in Colchester, ring up your local block management in Colchester or the surrounding area instead of taking on complex property management challenges yourself. This will ultimately help you better maintain your property in the long run.
2. Significant Structural Damage
Delaying or poorly handling property maintenance can lead to significant structural issues. Even if you’re choosing a contractor or a professional firm managing properties, it’s important to hire a reputed and experienced contractor. Unknown contractors and businesses may take short cuts and use cost-cutting strategies, which only lead to temporary fixes.
They may hire unlicensed contractors, use substandard materials, or delay necessary repairs to save money. This subpar manner of repair and maintenance work can leave your property with lasting structural damage.
For instance, neglecting or poorly fixing a minor repair like a leaky roof can invite expensive problems like water damage, mould growth, or pest infestations. If left unaddressed, it can cause long-term damage to your property’s structure and framework.
This is why it’s best to hire a reputed maintenance contractor or firm for timely repairs to prevent structural damage to your property.
3. Reduced Value of Property
It’s a well-known fact that regular, timely, and complete maintenance and repairs of your property help preserve its value. Investing the same time and attention into your property’s upkeep as you would for anything equally valuable, is bound to fetch high returns.
Resorting to the bare minimum repairs and fixes may give you a temporary peace of mind, but can become a lasting inconvenience when trying to put your property on the market for a good price. Similarly, deferring your upkeep activities for later can erode your property’s condition and reduce its market value. You are likely to have a hard time fetching a good rent or sale price.
For example, if you own an old property with old wiring and have overlooked your property’s electrical and fire safety measures for long, your property can be a sitting duck for a short-circuit fire. The unexpected fire can spread fast to create long-lasting interior and exterior damage, costing you dearly in repairs.
If you desire a high-value property, take the efforts of routine inspections, preventative maintenance, and employing licensed contractors to keep it well-maintained.
4. Increased Turnover and Vacancy Rates
Keeping your property in excellent physical condition is only one aspect of property maintenance. It also includes being prompt in addressing and resolving tenant issues. Failing to meet tenant requests or inconveniencing them for long periods of time, may result in increased turnover and leaving your property indefinitely unoccupied.
Together, increased turnover and vacancy rates can affect your rental property’s profitability. Prolonged rates of unoccupancy lead to loss of income. Moreover, if dissatisfied tenants leave poor reviews, it can damage your property’s reputation and make it harder to attract quality tenants in the future.
Whether you’re self-managing your property or hiring a professional for the job, put in the efforts and resources to build better communication with your tenants, minimise vacancies, and market your property efficiently.
5. Mismanaged Finances
Managing the finances is one of the most overlooked aspects of property management. As important as keeping your property physically fit is, so is accurately tracking and reporting on its performance. Unless you are an expert, managing your property’s financial accounting, legal, and compliance requirements should be left to a seasoned property finance expert.
Doing the bare minimum or not devoting enough time to the intricacies of property finance can cost you dearly. Your property is a valuable asset that requires clear and transparent accounting
Sidestepping or cutting corners in these matters can lead to unpaid bills and mishandled taxes. Poor bookkeeping practices may not highlight discrepancies, legal oversights, and missed opportunities for deductions and can invite hefty penalties or lost savings.
Good property finance practices ensure you receive detailed financial reports, and transparency in transactions, which help you make important future decisions for your asset.
Summing Up
Property upkeep and maintenance goes beyond keeping your property aesthetically pleasing and attractive; it’s really about safeguarding your investment, keeping residents or tenants happy and safe, ensuring your property’s value stays intact or grows, and complying with financial and legal rules.
A little attention, time and money in fixes and maintenance activities is all your property needs at regular intervals to save you from huge financial losses and mental strain in the future.
So the next time you spot a leaky tap, don’t DIY or ignore it; fix it; you and your property will thank you later.
FAQs
Cutting corners on property maintenance can lead to expensive repairs, significant structural damage, reduced property value, increased turnover and vacancy rates, and mismanaged finances. It’s important to address issues promptly to avoid these costly consequences.
While DIY repairs might seem like a cost-saving option, they can lead to more significant problems down the line if not done correctly. It’s often better to hire a professional to ensure quality repairs and prevent further damage.
Regular maintenance helps preserve your property’s value. If you defer upkeep, it can lead to a decline in condition and ultimately reduce its market value, making it harder to sell or rent at a desirable price.
Poor tenant communication can result in increased turnover and vacancy rates. If tenant issues are not addressed promptly, it may lead to dissatisfaction, negative reviews, and difficulty attracting quality tenants in the future.
Effective property finance management involves keeping detailed financial records, tracking performance, and ensuring compliance with legal requirements. If you’re not an expert in this area, consider hiring a property finance professional to help avoid costly mistakes.
Don’t ignore it! Addressing minor repairs promptly can prevent them from escalating into larger, more expensive issues. Whether you fix it yourself or hire a professional, timely action is key to effective property maintenance.
