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Spring Preparation Part I: Property Maintenance

 

Spring is a time of new beginnings. Flowers are blooming, lawns are returning back to their lush green color, and the overall hustle and bustle of spring is upon us. Spring is a great time to give your rental property a check-up.  After a winter of extreme temperatures, especially if you live in the midwest, it is important to find out how the interior and exterior of your property weathered.

Interior –

While the interior of your property didn’t take the damage that the exterior did, there are still some important aspects to check out. First, make sure you check your smoke detectors. Replacing the batteries in all of your smoke detectors now reassures you that they are functioning properly if an incident was to occur.

Replace your furnace filter to prevent any extra wear and tear on your furnace. A dirty filter can make it harder to heat and cool your home. The furnace compensates by running longer and harder, which can lead to higher bills. A $15-$30 filter can end up saving you hundreds of dollars in utility bills. Plus, it can increase the life expectancy of your furnace. This goes straight to your bottom line as an investor because you won’t have to replace the furnace as often.

Spring is a great time to have your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system checked by a technician. The humidity that the spring brings will attract dust and other debris to your system.  A technician will check aspects that the average person can’t. Making sure your registers open and close in each room and changing your furnace filter are simple checks that don’t require a technician.

Exterior –

The winter snow and ice can cause a number of problems on the exterior of your property that you have to deal with in the spring. Clearing your gutters can save you a lot of potential headaches. Built up debris in the gutters can cause them to overflow and possibly leak into the foundation of your house, or into the basement.

The cold air in winter can cause the caulk around your windows to contract and crack. Replacing the caulking around your windows eliminates those pesky drafts and can also keep the bugs out of your property.

Let’s not forget about lawn maintenance when spring time rolls around. Make sure to trim any bushes that may be around your a/c unit or pushing up against any screens. Bushes and trees that are in contact with the house act as a highway for bugs. Spraying for weeds will keep them at bay so they aren’t a constant chore during the season.

Taking care of these aspects inside and out can lead to your rental home being in optimal condition for the rest of the year.

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TJ Lokboj

TJ Lokboj is an entrepreneur with a passion for adding value to the real estate investing industry through adopting digital transformation. Some of TJs companies have been featured in Yahoo Finance, Morningstar, Benzinga, and many other publications.

TJ is the managing partner of Holdfolio, a real estate investment firm that leverages a premier crowdfunding platform.

He is also a member of the Forbes real estate council and co-founded SyndicationPro, which is the #1 syndication management SaaS solution in the market today.

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Ready to invest in real estate?

We make real estate investing simpler, more transparent, and accessible to individual investors.