Here are 5 steps to take care of your rental property heating system in winter and protect your investment and your tenants, the maintenance check up provided by Keepe.
You get a sudden phone call from your tenant in the middle of a deep cold snap and the tenant is panicking because the heating system suddenly stopped working.
Their home is getting colder and colder.
In less than an hour, you get two more calls from two more tenants reporting malfunctioning heating systems.
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- What if your trusted maintenance professional is on vacation?
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- What if other contractor companies you can think of happen to be unavailable?
This might sound like an unlikely situation, but it actually happened to a property manager in a big city.
That property manager had always relied on the same contractor before and assumed that living in a big city would guarantee access to several others in an emergency.
It can make it easy to underestimate how the maintenance solution you are used to might actually not be the most effective solution for you.
5 steps to take care of your heating system in winter
Here is where preventative maintenance comes in too – instead of waiting for the worst, prepare for the cold.
Our heating, ventilation and air conditioning experts explain how the following 5 steps can help you take the best care of your rental property heating systems to avoid the headaches of unexpected emergencies:
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- It is essential to schedule a thorough inspection of the heating system once a year, ideally in the fall but early winter works too. By doing so, any potential issues can be identified before the cold season and the tenant calls with an emergency.
- Tenants should be reminded that air filters need to be regularly checked and replaced every 90 days. This will optimize a property’s air flow and avoid furnaces and central systems to become overworked, which is also more expensive.
- Â Vents should be inspected often to prevent clogging caused by debris and dirt. Especially after leaves falling in the fall, hiring a professional for an inspection of vents and ducts is the best way to ensure that your tenants can enjoy an efficient and safe space with adequate air flow.
- As different heating systems have different maintenance needs, it is best to consult a trusted technician and promptly schedule the recommended maintenance services for your particular system. The money you might save by skipping the occasional service is not worth the future expenses and headaches brought by a heating crisis in the middle of the winter season.
- Now is the time to compile a readily-available list of reliable local technicians you can trust in an emergency. When finding yourself dealing with sudden emergencies, wasting precious time searching for a new contractor can become a stressful process. Not to mention that the pressure from tenants to get something fixed quickly can lead to rushing the selection process, and hiring someone who turns out to be unqualified for the job can result in even more problematic and pricier damages.
About Keepe:
Keepe is an on-demand maintenance solution for property managers and independent landlords. Keepe makes hundreds of independent contractors and handymen available for maintenance projects at rental properties. Learn more about Keepe at https://www.keepe.com.
