With the summer gone, top West Hollywood property managers have already started preparations for winter. It is your responsibility as a rental property manager to ensure that your property is in top condition and ready for any season. Moreover, winter is a special season which means more work is needed to ensure that your property doesn’t disappoint the tenants.
You will need to do a lot of maintenance work during this period. You may need to keep the lawns well-maintained, fix damaged railings, shovel snow, change old light bulbs, and perform other necessary functions that put your property in an excellent condition and ready for winter.
More importantly, you need to do these things early before the winter arrives. When the winter finally arrives, doing these tasks can be extremely challenging. The ability to stay on top of maintenance and keep the tenants and owner happy is the difference between top West Hollywood property managers and the ones that are not reliable.
In this article, you will learn some smart tips that will help you stay on top of winter maintenance. We decided to write this article because of the importance of this period. This article will make your job as a property manager easier.
3 Tips For Preparing Your Rental Property For Winter:
- Prepare a Maintenance Checklist
If you want to stay on top of winter maintenance, you need to prepare a list of what needs to be maintained early before the cold season arrives.
The best way to make an effective list is to divide your checklist into various columns. On the first column, you should pen down the list of quick-fix items which you can conveniently do early enough before the season arrives such as heaters, gutters, chimneys, and smoke alarms. On your second column, write down things that may require a little more time to be completed such as railings, replacing broken steps, roofs, and faulty windows. Your column 3 should be the list of worst-case scenarios you can think of. It is better to be prepared so you can tackle these problems when they arrive.
Finally, after making your list, go through them, again and again, to ensure that you cover everything that is needed to be done before the winter and even during the winter.
- Do your Maintenance Early
Now that your list is completed, next thing is to get started on that list. Start with maintenance that is needed to be completed early before the cold season arrives. You can start by cleaning the gutter, checking for any bad spot on the roof, and even stocking up items that will be needed during this season. Some of these items include gasoline for snow blowers, a bag of salt for walkways, and other items that may be required by the maintenance staff.
Note that the price of these items tend to go way up once the winter arrives, you can buy them cheaper and avoid paying the huge price once the season arrives.
Don’t forget your heating. It is one of the most important things to have in mind during this season. Ensure that resident units and common areas have heat that works consistently and properly. If you are using chimney in your home, ensure that they are clear and work as expected. Your tenants will have few reasons to complain if your heat is working as expected and your walkways and parking lots are clear and free of ice and snow.
- Quickly Fix Things
One good quality of top West Hollywood property managers is that they fix things quickly. They don’t wait for the tenants to get tired of complaining before they take an action. In fact, waiting too long before fixing things that are needed to be fixed will only make them worse.
If you leave your walkways, driveways, and parking lot uncleared, a resident can slip and fall and he can sue you and your property management company for negligence.
Once the season arrives, always conduct a regular maintenance to identify things that are needed to be fixed. If you fix things quickly and with proper maintenance, you can easily win over the trust of your tenants and that of the property owner. If your tenants are happy with your work, they won’t have a problem paying for another year.
Conclusion
Winter is a very important season and all the top West Hollywood property managers know this. You need to stay on top of maintenance and be efficient. This is a cold season; you need to be careful to ensure that your property does not put your tenants in harm’s way.
