Preventive maintenance is anticipating problems and doing routine inspections or repairs on your rental properties while the equipment is still in good working order. This will prevent you from having to pay for expensive emergency repairs. Your tenants will be happier with their experience in your buildings if you can avoid disruptive services and stick to a preventive maintenance program.

Reactive maintenance is when you respond to problems as they occur. You repair equipment as it breaks down and can no longer function without assistance. Items on property can break down to the point of needing to be replaced if they are not serviced regularly. As you may expect, avoiding reactive maintenance as much as possible is a wise budgetary move.

One of the essential duties of a Branson property manager is to ensure that your renters' living quarters are safe. Property managers are responsible for providing maintenance services, and at your approval, can create a preventive maintenance checklist to stay on top of the preventative maintenance items in your rental home. You will be able to worry less about unexpected costs or liabilities if you maintain your equipment properly. If you don't keep up with making your homes habitable, your renters may file a lawsuit against you, and you may lose even more money than the renovations would have cost.

Here are examples of the differences in maintenance costs between preventive and reactive approaches. All of these prices are based on averages. The cost will vary depending on several criteria, including the size of the house, its location, and the companies or materials used.

Lawn Care

Lawn care is critical because it affects the property's curb appeal and overall value. A preventive approach is bi-weekly (every other week) lawn mowing, during the growing season, which would generally cost $50-60 per service (based on lawn size of 5,000 sq. ft.) if you hired someone to do it. The tenant can be responsible for mowing the lawn if it's in their lease, or you can contract someone to care for it.

If you maintain it reactively, you may have to pay $500 to reseed your lawn. You'll need to keep up with bi-weekly care unless you intend on reseeding your grass between tenants (and losing the curb appeal in the interim).

Sprinkler Maintenance

Your Branson property manager should also perform preventive maintenance on your sprinkler system to keep the grass looking great. During the months when you're using them, go for a test run at least once a month to check for leaks, standing water, and sprinkler heads pointing in the wrong direction. You'll know something has to be fixed if you observe browning grass or uneven concrete. A repair could cost $200 if you catch a minor problem early on.

You may have pipes that leak or rupture if you solely perform reactive maintenance on your sprinkler system. The weight of the sinking concrete may destroy the irrigation line if your sprinklers are watering your driveway. If you don't maintain your sprinklers, your only alternative may be to replace the complete irrigation system, which can set you back $3,000.

Roof

According to experts, you should inspect your roof at least twice a year, preferably in the fall and spring. You may check the shingles for warps and curls that indicate serious roofing concerns from the ground with a pair of binoculars. To uncover faults that you may have overlooked, have a professional evaluate the roof at least once every two years for roofs older than ten years (or once every four years for modern roofs).

If you wait too long, your roof could leak into an empty area of your home, such as the attic, causing water damage. It's also possible that you'll need to replace the complete roof rather than just a few shingles. A total roof replacement can cost anywhere between $4,000 and $10,000, or even higher.

Air Filters

As air filters aren't visible, so it's easy to forget to inspect them regularly. You should review them for dirt or dust once a month. Fortunately, filters are inexpensive, and you should expect to pay less than $75 for a year's worth. Clean air filters allow you to breathe fresh air and avoid the health risks of breathing contaminated air. Clean air filters also help you keep ahead of the game for AC and furnace repairs.

Your AC and furnace equipment, on the other hand, will not be protected if you do not check your air filters regularly. They will work longer hours, putting additional strain on individual components or the unit as a whole. The machine will consume more energy, resulting in a higher energy bill, or you will be forced to replace costly parts. The entire air conditioner and furnace units may fail, costing $1,500 and $3,000 to replace, respectively.

As a landlord of a Branson rental property, you need to establish a guideline with your property management company for how you want your properties to be regularly maintained. Your tenants will be more accountable for the home they are renting, and will be more inclined to report property damage as it occurs, if they know that the issue will be addressed.

Thousand Hills Realty is the premier property management company in the Branson and Tri-Lakes Area. We pride ourselves on offering preventative maintenance services to ensure your rental home is properly maintained. Call us to discuss how our services can benefit you and the rental property you own. We would love the opportunity to work with you! (417) 337-8081