How to Easily Maintain Your Rental Properties During COVID

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If you are a landlord of rental property, you need to have it rented all the time to get a good return on your investment. To make this happen, efficient building maintenance is essential to keep good renters year after year. With social distancing necessary to maintain good health during the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s good to plan ahead and be creative with your maintenance options. Here are some tips for maintaining your rental property during the pandemic.

Make a Plan and Communicate it to Your Renters

You will need new protocols in place that follow CDC guidelines for protection against COVID-19. Your renters are expected to pay their rent during the pandemic, and the renters expect landlords to follow the agreed-upon emergency and preventable maintenance services. Each landlord has different circumstances, but here are some general tips that will help you create your own plan.

Non-Emergency Requests Put On Hold

List the priority of issues you will maintain. Seasonal maintenance will come after emergency maintenance. Communicate to your renters that while non-emergency requests will be done, emergency issues will take priority. It may not be easy to get supplies as many everyday businesses are closed. The most common emergency requests are:

• Water and gas leaks that take priority because they can be dangerous to the residents

• Air conditioning or heating systems stop working properly

• Electrical issues that could cause a fire and power outages

• Exterior doors that don’t lock and broken windows

• Mold growing in the walls or under sinks

• Leaking roof

• No hot water

Follow Social Distancing

Staying at least six feet away from other people is one of the most important ways to avoid COVID-19. This seems almost impossible if you have to go into someone’s house to make a repair. The way around this dilemma is to request the renters are out of the premises when you need to go inside. It’s up to the renters how to accomplish this. They can take a walk, use the time to go grocery shopping or simply sit outside for an hour. If you must do the repairs when the renters are inside the house, make sure you and your workers wear masks and gloves at all times.

Do It Online

With landlord software, you can keep a sharp eye on all aspects of property maintenance. The program will streamline your property management duties from rent collection to plumbing. Some of the top benefits of a property management program are:

• Maximin rental exposure through listing sites

• Tenant application forms

• Credit and background checks

• Leases with e-signature

• Renter’s insurance

• Rent collection online

• Rent reporting to three credit bureaus

• Tracking maintenance requests

• Record keeping

Maintain Good Communication

Renters need to feel secure that the property will receive the promised care. Once you have a plan you need to proactively communicate it to each renter. Depending on your situation, you may give a printout to each renter personally, while following social distancing. It may be convenient for everyone if you just send an email. But, you should add a received request to an email to be sure each renter got the news. They shouldn’t wonder if you will fulfill their request. You can tell them:

• The hours and days maintenance will be done

• The response time they can expect for an emergency request and a non-emergency request

• Your plans for maintaining social distancing during the work

If you have elderly tenants who don’t have computers or smartphones, make sure you call them on their landline, so they understand the plan. You could also give them a printout, although you have to be careful to disinfect your hands and the paper first.

Conclusion

As you can see from this list, which includes just a few of the benefits you get from the software. It allows you to give better service to your renters as well as make life easier for you. Another way online programs help is with DIY videos for non-emergency projects. You can give a list of useful how-to-do videos, or put the tenant in touch with a professional who can walk them through a simple repair. Maintaining rental property during the COVID-19 pandemic takes a little creativity in planning on your part. The results can provide efficient service to your renters.