As to rental home ownership nationwide, grasping well and keeping up to date on the state of each home’s exterior elements is just as critical as contemplating when to replace the carpet or repaint the walls.
Whether you’re renting out an older property or a newly built home, appreciating the age of each item and how long it can wisely be expected to last is a vital part of successful rental property management.
Importance of Maintaining Your Property’s Exterior
A good landlord or property manager ascertains the healthy lifespan of common exterior elements of your rental property. A product’s lifespan is the length of time it should last, observing standard conditions. To gve an example: a quality cement patio could last upwards of 50 years, arising from the remarkably durable nature of cement. However, wooden decks only last about ten years, given their sensitivity to the natural elements.
For quick reference, we’ve listed certain common exterior items and their average lifespan:
- Garage Door: 15 years
- Automatic Garage Door Opener: 5-10 years
- Wood Fence: 10 years
- Stucco Exterior: 20-50+ years
- Vinyl Siding: 25 years
It’s focal to learn how long an element is expected to last in your property, specifically if your tenant brings about damage beyond normal wear and tear. By way of illustration, if the vinyl siding, which is over 25 years old, gets damaged, the tenant shouldn’t be held responsible for the repair expenses. But on the flip side, if the vinyl siding is less than 25 years old, the renter would possibly be responsible to pay some or all the repair costs.
Stay Ahead of Property Damage
Rather than spend time and money on an unproductive judicial process, the helpful option to accomplish is to be ahead of property damage. With detailed and pertinent information, and a proactive system for property management, it’s truly possible to manage and keep every single component of the rental home – both in and out– in fine form. Normally replacing items beyond their beneficial and useful lives is one way to avoid bearing the full cost of repairs by virtue of tenant negligence. Another is implementing regular property evaluations to ascertain the state of various areas of the rental home.
Real Property Management Cairn gives a full property management program that integrates preparing for the coming years with maintenance plans, property evaluations, and a whole lot more. We have the essential equipment and skills needed to take charge of your Forest real estate investments profitably and effectively for the predictable future. Contact us online or at 434-215-3028 today!
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