With reference to rental home ownership nationwide, comprehending and keeping an eye on the state of each home’s exterior elements is just as critically important as anticipating when to replace the carpet or repaint the walls.
Whether you’re renting out an older property or a newly built home, grasping well the age of each item and how long it can, within reason, be expected to last is a key part of successful rental property management.
Importance of Maintaining Your Property’s Exterior
A good landlord or property manager takes into account the healthy lifespan of common exterior elements of your rental property. A product’s lifespan is the time it should last, in keeping with standard conditions. As an example: a quality cement patio could certainly last upwards of 50 years, taking into account the exceedingly durable nature of cement. However, in contrast, wooden decks only last about ten years, given their sensitivity to the natural elements.
For your instant reference, we’ve listed some 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 crucial to be conscious of how long an element is expected to last in your property, absolutely if your tenant creates damage beyond normal wear and tear. Such as, for instance, if the vinyl siding, which is over 25 years old, gets damaged, the tenant shouldn’t be held responsible for the repair cost. On the other hand, if the vinyl siding is less than 25 years old, the renter would perhaps be charged with paying some or all the repair costs.
Stay Ahead of Property Damage
Rather than spend time and money on an unproductive judicial process, the fitting option to put into effect is to be ahead of property damage. With the right and worthwhile information, and a proactive system for property management, it’s undoubtedly possible to manage and keep every single component of the rental home – both in and out– in good condition. Conscientiously replacing items, as scheduled, beyond their useful lives is one way to avoid bearing the full cost of repairs due to tenant negligence. Another is running regular property evaluations to carefully look at the state of the various areas of the rental home.
Real Property Management of the Rockies contributes a full property management program that inlcudes preparing in the years to come with maintenance plans, property evaluations, and so much more. We have the equipment and professional mastery to manage your Fort Collins real estate investments, making them extremely profitable for the expected future. Contact us online or at 970-658-0410 today!
Originally Published on March 22, 2019
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