As the temperatures are dropping, landlords must ensure their properties are ready for fall/winter if they want to avoid unpleasant and costly surprises. Our estate agents in Newham say that ensuring proper fall maintenance for your rental properties is a surefire way to prevent issues like clogged gutters or water damage and safeguard your investment.
In this article, our estate agents in Newham are sharing a few tips on how to perform preventative maintenance and ensure your property’s systems are functioning properly.
Our estate agents in Newham are highly experienced in finding tenants, maintaining relationships with them, as well as supporting landlords, and properly maintaining and managing their properties. To learn more about our landlord property management services, call 0207 055 0441 today!
What you can find in this article:
Best Fall Maintenance Tips for Landlords
Prevention is paramount if you want to keep your rental property safe and your tenants happy this fall according to our estate agents in Newham. Cold weather comes with the real possibility of water or other types of damage that could end up costing you a lot more than a few checks and verifications performed at the right time.
Here are the best tips our estate agents in Newham have for landlords who want to get their properties ready for the cold season and ensure no interior or exterior damage affects their investment or the well-being of their tenants:
Check the Gutters and the Roof
One of the main tasks our estate agents in Newham recommend all landlords do before the temperatures drop and winter takes over is to check and clean the gutters as well as the roof.
As the leaves are falling, they often clog the gutters or build up on the roof. This increases the risk of water building up and infiltrating through the property’s roof and walls. To prevent this type of water damage, our estate agents in Newham recommend you closely inspect the roof and gutters. You should ensure they are free from leaves and debris and there are no cracks or damage that may allow water to affect the property.
You can use a rake or leaf blower to perform this task yourself or call in some specialists. Our estate agents in Newham advise you enlist the help of a property manager or a roof/gutter cleaning specialist to get the job done right.
Depending on where the property is located, a specialist may also recommend installing gutter guards to keep leaves and debris from building up. This can be a good way to keep out large debris, but you will still have to check the property’s roof and gutters every fall if you want to avoid leaks and other issues.
Check the Insulation
Once you’ve cleaned out the gutters, our estate agents in Newham recommend you move on to checking the insulation of the home. Performing this task each fall can help you prevent water damage but also keep utility costs down for your tenants.
Like water, air can find its way into the home through the smallest of cracks.
To prevent this and keep your tenants feeling cosy all winter long, our estate agents in Newham recommend you inspect the property’s doors and windows, as well as the basement and attic and seal any cracks.
The simplest way to do this is to use foam insulation. It lasts from five to 10 years and does a great job of closing off even the smallest of gaps and cracks.
Just like for the gutters, our estate agents in Newham advise you enlist the help of a specialist to do this task. They can remove the window and door casings and reseal them and identify all the places where spraying foam insulation is necessary.
A specialist can also check that all windows and doors are closing and operating correctly all winter long.
Check the Boiler
With temperatures dropping, the first thing your tenants will be reaching for is the heating system. Because the boiler has had many months of inactivity up to this point, our estate agents in Newham recommend you get a specialist to perform a safety check for the boiler.
According to our estate agents in Newham, landlords must get their boilers serviced on a regular basis instead of only getting them fixed if they break. This will help extend the life of the boiler, keep the warranty, and prevent serious damage than can be caused to the property by a faulty boiler, like water leaks.
Our estate agents in Newham say that the best time to have the boiler services is in early autumn.
If you do find there is something wrong with the boiler, you will have to decide whether to repair or replace it.
When managing properties for landlords, our estate agents in Newham always strive to provide options and help landlords weigh in the pros and cons of repairing versus changing the boiler.
In most cases, its best to rely on the findings of the professional checking the boiler. If the cost of the repair is 1/3 of the cost of changing the boiler, you should consider changing it. This is because you may find yourself having to pay for additional repairs over the next one to three years and end up spending just as much as you would to get a new boiler.
Do a General Safety Check
To do a proper fall maintenance safety inspection, you should instruct your property manager or hire a specialist to check for:
- loose or rotted decking boards
- rotted stair treads
- popped nails
- staircase railings
You should also consider checking:
- the HVAC system and changing any necessary filters
- the chimney
- the fireplace
- any vents
Last but not least, our estate agents in Newham recommend you update your property insurance policy.
Properly preparing your property for winter is far better than being exposed to unpleasant and costly surprises. To protect your investment, follow the tips our estate agents in Newham have shared above and you will minimize the risk of getting emergency calls or damage to your property in the dead of winter.
If you are a landlord and want professional support and property management services for your rental properties, contact our team of experts. With our help, your property is kept safe and your involvement in managing the property and tenancy is minimized. To learn more about how our estate agents in Newham can help you, contact us today at 0207 055 0441.
