Maintenance Tips Before Winter
Winter comes with its fair share of troubles, especially to landlords. Therefore, without prior preparation, they end up having their property damaged by the harsh weather. However, with the following tips, you should be able to sail through winter without complaints from your tenants or damage to your property.
• Service the Furnace or Boilers
Winter can get extremely cold, so you want to ensure that your rental property’s heating unit is up and running in the winter. This means that you have to service the boiler before winter starts. You can do this on your own, or you can outsource service companies. It is crucial that your tenants have heat in the rentals for the winter. In fact, it’s a fundamental right for all tenants according to the landlord-tenant law. You could incur a fine if the heating unit in your apartment is not functioning.
• Seals on Doors and Windows
Heating bills are pretty high during winter, but they can shoot through the roof if you have drafty doors and windows. As such, inspect the exterior and interior of all the doors and windows. Carrying out this inspection on a windy day will enable you to determine if there are air leaks.
For older windows, watch out for spaces on the top portion when they creep down as they could leave a small gap that could let air in. To solve this, open the window, push the top part of the window upwards and the bottom part of the window downwards to ensure that it is closed completely. Afterward, lock the window.
Inspect the frames for holes or crumbling caulk. Also look for damaged or loose weather stripping. If you spot crumbling caulk, you might have to re-caulk and put new weather stripping in place of the damaged.
• Inspect for Openings and Cracks
Before the temperatures become icy, look for holes, crevices, and cracks around your property. This is to prevent bugs and rodents from making their way into your property during the winter. You should also be wary of gaps near any pipes that go into your property. There could also be gaps under garage doors or the entrance doors so look out for these.
• Insulation
If you want to stay on top of heating bills, ensure that there is proper insulation for the property. Target areas include basements, crawl spaces and attics as insulating will improve on heat retention a great deal. Insulating pipes will counter freezing during the winter.
• Snow Removal schedule
Don’t wait for the first snowflakes show up before you determine how you will manage ice or snow in. Before even winter hits, replenish your salt supplies and ensure there are enough for the whole season. Running out of salt means you will have to deal with the buildup of ice around your property and this could make your tenants prone to slips and falls.
You also have to determine who will be shoveling snow near your property. Will you be doing it, will the tenants be responsible for this or will you outsource it to a third party?
• Digital thermostats
If you have thermostats that are battery operated, swap the old batteries with new ones before the season starts. You don’t want to risk having the battery die and leaving the tenants in the biting cold while exposing the pipes to the cold.
You shouldn’t have to face complaints from your tenants due to lack of heat or have your property damaged during winter. Instead, with those maintenance tips, you should be able to save a considerable amount of money for damages. If you are looking to have your property managed, look no further. At lapmg, we offer property management services and leave you to other pursuits. Check us out here.
