Preventative maintenance isn’t just a great way for property owners to ensure asset longevity—it’s also one of the best ways to boost tenant retention and lease renewals. By adopting a regular schedule of maintenance, landlords can effectively save themselves money and the headache of falling behind on legal regulations.
However, cost-effectively maintaining a property isn’t as simple as it may appear: in St. Louis, we have four seasons that are quite different from one another. In 24 hours, the temperature can change dramatically: you might run your AC and heat on the same day. Anticipating sudden changes while also planning for long-term wear and tear requires an experienced team.
How to Perform Preventative Maintenance
Semiannual preventative maintenance, which should be conducted at least twice per year, can identify problems while they are still relatively inexpensive to repair. For example: a single loose shingle on the roof is easy to replace. However, a roof with dozens of missing shingles and/or leaks and sagging could end up flooding the units below during a late summer thunderstorm, resulting in extensive and costly damage. This damage can dramatically lower the value of the property, especially if it takes a protracted amount of time to repair.
Cost savings come in the form of regular and thorough preventative maintenance. Mogul Realty recommends regularly inspecting:
- Plumbing system. Clogs, leaks, and signs of corrosion should be addressed immediately in order to prevent water damage.
- HVAC System. Always make sure to regularly change filters and thermostats. Also, by cleaning the furnace in the Fall and the exterior of the AC in the spring, the performance of a property’s heating and cooling systems can be improved, prolong the longevity of the system, and lower the energy costs for tenants (a win-win). Tenants who cannot control their indoor climate will be less invested in maintaining their unit, which could lead to costly repairs later. Never underestimate the importance of tenant comfort!
- Smoke & CO Detection. Replace batteries and test the carbon monoxide and smoke detectors.
- Electrical System. Faulty outlets, exposed wiring, and problems with the circuit breaker can lead to fires and other safety hazards.
- Common Areas. Perhaps a tenant piled up some gasoline-soaked rags when working on their car in the parking area, or a former occupant forgot to remove cardboard boxes from the stairwell when they moved. Cluttered and/or dirty common areas can quickly lead to danger and damage. By keeping these spaces clean, Mogul Realty minimizes the danger to a landlord’s property. We also perform appliance upkeep, make sure that all fire extinguishers are current, the lighting in the common areas is working, and that there are no blockages to the emergency exits.
- Structural Elements. Balconies, walls, and the foundation should be regularly checked for cracks or other signs of damage. Window and door seals should be evaluated to make sure they are still watertight. In Saint Louis, we have a lot of old housing stock, mostly built with brick. Therefore, we need to keep an eye on the tuckpointing, which is a method of repairing deteriorating brickwork joints. While it’s not needed every year, every few years areas between bricks will need to be spot tuckpointed. It is much cheaper to perform small repairs before they become big and costly.
- Pest Control. Setting up bait stations for rodents, ants, and other pests on a seasonal basis in Saint Louis will help prevent infestations and keep resident satisfaction high. Ants tend to attack in the warmer months; rodents can arrive during rainy periods. In multi-family properties, Mogul Realty has discovered that it never hurts to put out preventative traps before pests make themselves visible.
- Roof & Gutters. Clean debris from the roof, as well as assess the overall condition and make repairs if necessary before they become bigger problems. We also clean out the gutters. During the winter, St. Louis is frequently covered in snow and ice. If the gutters are not clean, it will create ice dams that can potentially cause damage to your roof and interior walls.
- Eyes on the property. The overall condition of the property is much easier to maintain when maintenance and other staff are frequently on the premises. as well as how the tenants are treating the unit. We can determine if they are keeping the place clean, or if we need to address the condition of the unit before permanent damage occurs.
Compliance with Regulations
While health and sanitation standards, building codes, and fire safety regulations can easily be met as long as landlords or a property management service like Mogul Realty performs the preventative maintenance described above, it’s also vital to pay attention to local laws.
Reduced Long-Term Costs
Preventative maintenance is, of course, vital to the physical integrity of the property. However, it’s also crucial for maintaining tenant satisfaction. Finding, vetting, and leasing to a new tenant takes time and money; maintaining a long-term tenant relationship, on the other hand, reduces long-term costs. Mogul Realty is on-site so frequently that we catch many issues before they end up negatively affecting the tenants.
Having a proactive maintenance plan that will identify potential problems means they can be found early, which will help preserve the beauty and desirability of the property. Ultimately, by reducing long-term costs, landlords will not only maintain their property values but also likely help them to grow.