Handle Maintenance Without Delay
Sound Advice In and Out of the Rental Property World (3 min read)
One of your most important responsibilities as a rental property owner is to address maintenance issues as they arise. Some of them will be costly: roof replacement, heating unit replacement, etc… BUT no matter the price tag, all maintenance needs matter to your tenants. Whether the issue is a big one or a small one, it is essential that you handle maintenance issues without delay. Apart from the real estate world, the same principle should guide the maintenance and upkeep of your professional and personal relationships: the more you let things fester, the most difficult, and potentially costly, it’ll be to clean up.
ADJUST YOUR MINDSET
Maintenance of rental properties is one of the biggest areas property owners slack on. They look at maintenance as a loss simply because it costs money. Instead, landlords should see maintenance needs as an opportunity to improve the property and to show their dedication and commitment to their tenants. There is a problem and you alone hold the keys to the solution. So be helpful. Provide added value. Solve the issue and make someone’s life better.
Does it cost money? Sure…but so do all investments. And that’s how you should think of these maintenance issues when they arise. You are investing in both the physical property and the relationship you have with your tenants. If you’re thinking in this way you’re hitting on two of Nexus’ guiding principles:
Thinking long term
Creating win-win-win relationships
To draw the parallel away from the world of rental property, any conflict you have with other people in your life can be hedged in a similar way. A big difference is that time is sometimes necessary for both sides to get to a place where they’re ready to work toward a solution. But the key is to address issues as soon as you can so they don’t get worse. You wouldn’t leave a broken pipe unattended to any longer than necessary. Repair of relationships should be the same. Even though dealing with issues head-on is often uncomfortable, it’s the right play when thinking about what’s best in the long run.
THINKING LONG TERM
Your rental property is your asset. It’s worth six figures. It’s potentially a big part of your retirement planning and/or children’s college fund. That reality alone should be enough to prompt owners to spend money to fix things that need fixing. When you remind yourself of this it helps you connect maintenance needs in the present to that mortgage end date (20 years left to go), your retirement age, or when your kindergartener will get ready to pick a college in 12 years. Actively attach a reminder of timeline to your asset and you may find it easier to think long term.
With that in mind, it’s important to act quickly when maintenance needs arise. The longer you sit back, the more potential there is for the issue to get worse over the long term. Maintenance issues rarely just go away. If “maybe the rat will move out on its own” is your approach, it’s very likely the tenants will move out first.
To relate to one’s health, postponing quitting an unhealthy habit or picking up a healthy one might not lead to noticeable positives immediately, but as you near the end of your mortgage with life, you’ll likely regret your inability to act when you had the chance. Don’t drag your feet to avoid hardship now that will inevitably lead to greater hardship down the road.
BUILDING WIN-WIN RELATIONSHIPS
Relationships matter. In talking about real estate investment this certainly rings true. Your relationship with your tenants should be professional, consistent, and should stem from care for their well-being. As the saying goes, “trust is gained in drops and lost in buckets”. Promptness equals concern and lets tenants know you care about them. Any delay in maintenance (or communication regarding said maintenance) damages relationships and trust and your tenants don’t feel like they’re getting the value they’re paying for. That loss of trust is never easy to rebuild.
The goal is to build a relationship where the tenant wins and the property owner wins. By tending to maintenance needs promptly the tenant is getting a higher quality place to live, which equals a win. As a property owner, you’re improving the state of your asset and better preparing it for the long run you’ll have together as it continues to create passive income for you, a smart (and active) real estate investor.
Good ol tool time tim!