If you’re managing a property, you have plenty of work to do. The upkeep of your property is just one aspect of property operations. A solid maintenance program extends the life of your property’s components, and it’ll always be less expensive to maintain than to repair.
Accordingly, the best practice for maintenance is being prudent. Establish a maintenance strategy with the right combination of preventative, corrective, and predictive maintenance.
Management Tips
Plan to conduct a site condition assessment. Assessments are time-consuming but necessary to protect your investment. List the property components that will deteriorate over time, so you can set your priorities and develop a repair budget. Consider conducting quarterly walk-through assessments to mitigate property damage.
Vendors
Create a list of trustworthy, reliable, and affordable vendors for any purchases. Take care to have at least three selected for each trade category.
You can consult with contractors who perform maintenance. First, establish a network of licensed, bonded, and insured contractors with whom you have good relationships and you know do quality work. Contract with one of them to service the mechanical components of your building. If you have multiple properties, you might be able to secure reduced rates for contractor services. Re-bid all service contracts yearly.
Bid higher dollar repairs with an estimated budget of $500 to at least three vendors, ensuring these important repairs get done at the most reasonable cost possible.
Invest
Invest in equipment to perform certain functions in-house. You probably have a checklist of routine maintenance, the kind you need to be performed monthly, yearly, or seasonally. These necessary tasks can add up, but you could reduce costs in the long run by purchasing essential equipment or tools for basic property maintenance.
With a planned maintenance program, you keep the property maintained to maximize its value plus save time and reduce hassles. Ultimately, it costs less than having a vacancy.
