becomeanexpensiveone. CathieCrampton,LJHooker’sHeadofProperty ManagementAustraliaandNewZealand,saiditis importantforlandlordstoshifttheirmindsetfrom reactivetoproactive.Beingastepaheadoftheproblem notonlyhelpsprotectyourinvestmentbutalso improvestenantsatisfactionandreducesthelikelihood ofexpensivesurprisesdownthetrack.
“Hindsightcanbeagreatthing,butforaproperty investorwhoisnotontopofmaintenance,itoften comestoolate,”shesaid.
“Youdon’twanttobeinasituationwhereyouare forkingouthugeamountsofmoneybecauseyoudidn’t budgetforsomesimpleupkeep.Itisalsoimportantto consideryourtenantsastheirexperiencedirectly impactsvacancy,careofthehomeandtheoverall performanceofyourinvestment.”
Thefirststepisorganisingregularinspectionsthrough yourpropertymanager.Theywillcreateachecklist scheduleoutliningtaskstobeperformedquarterly,halfyearlyandannually.
Thiswillalsoincludegeneralcompliance,suchas workingsmokealarms,doorswithfunctionallocks,gas safetyandwindowsafeguarddevicestopreventfalls.
Aproactivemaintenanceschedulecanhelpinvestors extendthelifespanofkeyfixtures.Commonly overlookedmaintenancetasksinclude:
Annualairconditioningservice
Regularguttercleaning
Roofmaintenance
Annualpestinspections
Replacingtapwashersandseals
Deckmaintenanceandrepairs
Propertymanagerscanassistinmonitoringthegeneral wearofessentialhouseholdappliances,includinghot watersystems,ovensanddishwashers,identifyingwhen theyneedreplacing.
Importantly,theykeepaccuraterecordsofany
