When we talk to rental property owners in Nashville about the biggest challenges they face when renting out their homes, we hear a common response: maintenance.
Maintaining your investment is not always easy. There are emergencies that pop up unexpectedly, routine repairs that can get pricey, and the preventative care that’s necessary to protect the condition and the value of your property.
Our experience as Nashville property managers allows us to have a solid strategy when it comes to maintaining the rental homes we lease and manage. We invest in preventative maintenance. We have excellent relationships in place with vendors and service providers, but most importantly – our own in-house maintenance team that can easily and affordably respond to most repair needs. We also have a system of reporting maintenance that documents the entire process – from reporting to fix to follow-up.
Yes, it’s challenging, but property maintenance is one of the most important aspects of real estate investing.
Keeping your property in top condition can help increase its value, attract high-quality tenants, and ensure long-term profitability. As a real estate investor in Nashville, you need to understand the basics of property maintenance, as well as the best practices to make sure your property stays in top shape.
Let’s talk about how a partnership with Apex Ventures, Inc. can lead to better maintenance policies and a more profitable investment property.
Good Starts: Create a Maintenance Checklist
We like a checklist. It keeps us organized and it ensures that nothing is missed at your property.
Most of the management systems we have in place are consistent and automated. This ensures that mistakes are kept to a minimum and nothing gets missed. However, we also appreciate the nuance of every property we manage. Your rental home is different from other rental homes. So, we make sure there’s plenty of room for customization. Your investment will have unique needs, and we want to make sure we meet them.
So, the first step in mastering property maintenance is to create a checklist of all the tasks that need to be performed on a regular basis. This will help keep track of what needs to be done and when. This might include seasonal maintenance, preventative maintenance, and a quick service call on that appliance that may have been giving us trouble over the last year.
The checklist helps us decide when it’s time to clear the gutters or inspect the HVAC system. It lets us know when replacing something might be more cost-effective than repairing it multiple times.
To put together a great maintenance checklist, we’ll start by inspecting your Nashville rental property from top to bottom and identifying areas that need attention. Then, we put together a list of maintenance tasks that need to be performed, such as checking the roof for leaks, inspecting the HVAC system, and updating appliances.
Conducting Regular and Routine Inspections
Regular inspections are crucial for maintaining your property. This is part of what we do as your property manager. We inspect before a tenant moves in so we can document the condition of your property. We inspect after a tenant moves out so we can evaluate any damage that was left behind, charge the security deposit accordingly, and begin to prepare the property for the next tenant.
We also inspect at least once during the lease period so we can check in with your tenant, look for potential lease violations, and of course keep up with any maintenance needs or requests.
Our team carefully and thoroughly inspects the exterior of the property for any signs of damage or wear and tear. This includes checking the roof for any missing or damaged shingles, inspecting the gutters for clogs, and examining the foundation for any cracks or signs of settlement. Inside the property, you can expect that we’ll inspect all appliances, the HVAC system, and plumbing fixtures to ensure they are functioning correctly.
Regular inspections help identify any issues before they become major problems, allowing you to address them before they cause significant damage. This is important because deferred and unreported maintenance items are always more expensive than those routine and preventative repairs.
Inspections also help us to reduce emergency repairs. We get an idea of where potential problems may be brewing.
Keeping Up with Landscaping and Curb Appeal
Whether you have a single-family rental home, a unit in a multi-family building, or you’re an HOA who is trying to keep the value of their properties as elevated as possible, landscaping is an important part of maintenance. We understand this, and we encourage the people we work with to understand it, too.
Curb appeal counts.
It plays a crucial role in attracting and keeping high-quality tenants. Maintaining your property’s landscaping is an excellent way to improve its curb appeal and create a welcoming and attractive environment for tenants.
This does not have to be over complicated. We don’t recommend any ornate landscaping. Tenants won’t want to move into a property where they’re worried they’ll have to keep an entire rose garden thriving. Here’s what we do:
- Make sure that the lawn is mowed and well-kept
- Trim back hedges, bushes, and tree branches
- Keep the garden and trees trimmed
- Remove any debris from the front steps, walkways, or driveways
Proper landscaping maintenance keeps your property looking great, which can translate into higher rental rates and a better return on your investment. It’s as easy as hiring a landscaping service. You can even roll this into your rental amount so it’s not cost-prohibitive.
Responding to Tenant Maintenance Requests Promptly
Responsiveness is absolutely critical when it comes to maintaining your property. If you receive a notice that something has broken at your rental home, and you ignore that report for a few days, your tenants are going to become quickly frustrated. You’re also putting the condition of your property in danger.
Your property management partners at Apex Ventures, Inc. have a system in place to ensure that all maintenance requests are captured, documented, and acted upon right away. We keep in close contact with you, as the property owner, and with your tenants as maintenance is arranged and completed.
It’s important to be prepared for this. Even if your property is new construction or perfectly maintained, things will happen. Tenants will inevitably request maintenance from time to time. It might be something critical, such as a leaking pipe or an outlet that’s sending smoke signals. It could be something minor; a toilet that sounds funny or a garbage disposal that’s jammed.
Responding to these requests promptly is critical for maintaining good tenant relations and ensuring tenant retention. We understand this, and we’ve established a clear system for tenants to submit maintenance requests. Once they come in, we make sure to respond promptly to each request.
Addressing maintenance issues promptly shows your tenants that you care about their comfort and are committed to ensuring they have a safe and comfortable place to live.
Benefits of an In-House Maintenance Team
When your Nashville property management partner has an in-house maintenance team, you get a lot of peace of mind around the condition of your property. You know that help is only a phone call away, and you’re not even the one who has to make that phone call.
Our in-house maintenance team offers a lot of support, including:
- Timeliness and efficiency. One of the most significant benefits of having an in-house maintenance team is that they are readily available to address maintenance issues. Urgent maintenance requests can be attended to immediately without the need for external contractors. Our in-house team can also prioritize maintenance tasks based on urgency, resulting in a more efficient allocation of resources.
- Lower maintenance costs. Outside contractors may charge high fees for their services, and the cost of repairs and maintenance can quickly add up. With an in-house team, we get better deals and our team is able to negotiate with suppliers and material providers as well. Over time, this can lead to significant cost savings, which is important for landlords or property investors looking to maximize their profits.
- Control over quality of work. With our in-house maintenance team, we have more control over the quality of work being done. We can set and manage the standards for our team, ensuring that every maintenance request is carried out to the same high standard. Furthermore, we can regularly train and educate members of the team, ensuring that they keep up with best practices and use the latest technology and tools.
When we need to consult with outside vendors and contractors, we have those relationships in place. Our in-house team, however, is our first line of defense when it comes to maintaining properties, and it works out better for you and your tenants.
Mastering property maintenance is vital for anyone who owns or manages rental properties in Nashville. When you work with our team, you can expect us to create a checklist of maintenance tasks, perform regular inspections, maintain the landscaping, respond to tenant requests promptly, and provide a professional maintenance team. These are all critical steps to ensuring your property stays in top condition.
Let’s talk about the unique maintenance needs of your Nashville rental property. Please contact us at Apex Ventures, Inc.
