Maintenance Matters: Keeping Your Detroit Rental Property in Top Condition

by Adam Luehrs

Contrary to what you may have heard, real estate investing is not a completely passive means of generating income and building wealth. If you invest in the Detroit rental market, you should expect to do some work to make sure that you’re maximizing profits. Identifying and purchasing a good rental property is only part of the equation when getting into the world of Detroit real estate investing. Successful landlords are those who continue to manage and maintain their properties. While some maintenance tasks, such as lawn care and repairing broken windows are obvious, there are some other steps that you can take that will keep tenants happy and your property’s value as high as you need it to be.

Why Maintenance Matters

Before we delve into some simple maintenance tasks that you can perform to keep your Detroit rental property’s value up, consider some of the reasons that you need to make sure that you’re performing these maintenance tasks.

First of all, tenants have the right to a safe, functional home. As the landlord, you’re responsible for providing that. In the same way that basic maintenance tasks are required for the home that you live in, the properties that you rent need to be maintained. As a landlord, it’s your legal responsibility to ensure that those tasks are performed.

In addition to fulfilling your legal responsibilities, maintaining your Detroit rental property is an important part of protecting your investment. Keeping your property value high allows you to rent the property out for more, boosting your return on investment.

Finally, maintenance matters because your reputation as a landlord matters. It doesn’t take long for word to spread when a landlord doesn’t maintain their properties. Good renters, those who pay their rent on time and treat your property well, want to rent from good landlords. Maintaining your property shows potential tenants that they can trust you to keep their residences safe and comfortable. With these benefits in mind, let’s take a look at some maintenance tasks that you need to stay on top of.

Smoke Detectors

Most people don’t think about their smoke detectors until they experience a fire, but as a landlord, you need to ensure that the smoke detectors in your rental properties are in working order. If you have a multi-level rental property, make sure that you have smoke detectors on every level since smoke usually travels slowly. These detectors are not only vital in protecting your tenants, but they also protect your property.

Water Heaters

It won’t take long for you to get a call from a tenant when the water heater stops working. Hot water is a vital aspect of a tenant being able to safely enjoy the property, which is your legal responsibility as a landlord. Whether you have a modern, tankless water heater in place or a traditional model that relies on a large holding tank, scheduling regular water heater maintenance is a great way to make sure that your tenants have access to the hot water that they need for cooking, bathing, and more. Most tank-style water heaters are built to last for about 10 years while tankless water heaters last for up to 20 years. These lifespans are contingent on the water heater being properly maintained. Most manufacturers encourage owners to have their water heaters serviced every year.

Drain Cleaning

Drain clogs have the potential to create a number of problems in your Detroit rental property. Whether you’re dealing with a clogged kitchen sink, shower, or toilet, strong odors come out of clogged drains. In addition to the standing water that emits a sour odor, decaying food, human waste, and other materials lead to foul smells that ruin your tenant’s enjoyment of the property. Additionally, clogged drains are a leading cause of damaged pipes and water leaks. Once a year, schedule a professional drain cleaning to make sure that your rental property’s plumbing system is flowing freely.

Garbage Disposals

When they’re working properly, garbage disposals are a great feature to offer in a rental property. Unfortunately, they run into a lot of problems, largely because people tend to put items in them that they’re simply not built to process. If you have a garbage disposal in your Detroit rental property, make sure that you’re scheduling annual maintenance on it. Without regular maintenance, certain types of food will clog the disposal, resulting in disgusting odors and damaged components.

Maintaining Drywall

When tenants call your property home, they typically hang pictures and mount other items on the walls. While it’s a good idea to prohibit the mounting of heavy items like TVs, you probably don’t want to tell prospective tenants that they can’t hang pictures, artwork, and other lightweight items. However, when a tenant leaves your property, you’ll probably notice some holes in the drywall. Additionally, if you don’t put doorstops on the wall behind every doorknob, tenants may accidentally damage your drywall. While this doesn’t necessarily threaten the safety or structural integrity of your property, cosmetic damage does make the property look bad when showing it to potential tenants. When a tenant moves out, make sure that you’re repairing any holes or damage to the drywall.

Pest Control

No one wants to live in a home with pests and rodents. One of the longest-running debates around property management revolves around who is responsible for paying for pest control in a property. While you can certainly try to have the tenant handle pest control, you run the risk of them choosing the cheapest option. Instead, it’s a good idea for you to take the reins and contract a quality pest control specialist to make sure that your Detroit rental property doesn’t have bugs, rodents, and other pests.

Protect Your Detroit Real Estate Investment

Detroit rental properties are a great investment, but as a landlord, you need to be proactive in protecting your money. Work with your tenants to schedule regular inspections to make sure that everything is working properly in the home. It’s also a good idea to work with a reputable company that understands the Detroit market and the intricacies of owning rental properties. Contact Upside Investments today to find out how we can help you.

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