Home safe home: when your tenants think about home, you want them to think about it with fondness, but you also want them to think about it with a feeling of security. Your rental homes must feel safe to tenants. This means that they need to be well-maintained and in good repair. As a property owner, keeping up with property repairs and maintenance can be a challenge. What can you do to stay on top of it all?
Managing the Wet Weather
In Seattle houses, one of the biggest challenges with maintenance is managing the issues that the wet weather brings. For example, mold is a potential problem in Seattle properties. If your property has a minor leak in the siding, roof, or foundation or if there are leaks in your plumbing, your property won’t simply dry out. Instead, moisture can accumulate behind the walls and in the attic and cause serious mold issues that not only damage property but can impact your tenants’ health. You need to ensure that you check for leaks regularly, looking inside for stains and signs of moisture and outside for damaged roofing and siding.
Ongoing Maintenance and Inspections
As your property ages, it will get used and damaged, both by your tenants and by the weather. A storm can send a branch through the roof or damage your chimney. A tenant’s pet can claw on a door, causing damage that makes the property less secure. Like any home, Seattle houses need regular maintenance and inspection to ensure that they’re in top working condition. In addition to move in – move out inspections, it’s valuable to conduct periodic inspections of a property. These can reveal concerns with tenants’ behavior, help manage concerns that tenants have about a property, and address seasonal maintenance issues that emerge.
Can You Manage Your Property Maintenance?
As a property owner, you need to be available to work on acute property problems such as storm damage, with the names of accomplished contractors at the ready. You are responsible for setting up inspections to ensure that you understand what’s going on at the property and make plans to fix any concerns that arise.
Instead of feeling the stress of managing all of these property issues, turn to the professionals. A property management company can not only help you find tenants, it can help you keep them safe by conducting inspections, repairs, and maintenance. Management companies know who to call for regular maintenance and more acute repairs, and they can easily supervise any repair projects.
If you’re having trouble keeping up with property maintenance, Lori Gill and Associates can help. With our extensive experience in the Seattle area, we know who to call and how to help your properties stay safe in our wet climate. Ease your mind and your tenants’ minds as well: contact us today. 
