Tips for Addressing Maintenance Issues (with respect to the tenant)
Fixing tenant complaints is an inevitable phase of being a landlord. Unavoidably, even the best property supervised by the most experienced landlord will have problems that bother tenants.
How promptly and effectively you manage these complaints will decide how long you hold on to your tenant. Tenants that don’t get response to their concerns are marked more likely to pass out.
Frequently occurring Maintenance Issues
Maintenance and servicing issues are invariably classified as one of the prime reasons for tenants moving out. There can be nothing more annoying for a tenant if any maintenance issue occurs frequently and the Tenant has to address it at regular intervals. Make sure to fix maintenance issues permanently with Professional & Expert Technicians.
It is also important to discuss with your tenant about servicing of the equipments at regular intervals to avoid break down of the equipments.
Timely Response
Tenants get annoyed and frustrated when landlords take too long to respond to the requests or neglect to answer at all. No tenant will like to have to send reminders to the owners to look after their concerns.
Proper Communication & Follow up
There is nothing better than a tenant feeling that there is always someone to help and sort out their maintenance issues.
- Having clear-cut regarding responsibilities – Not every maintenance problem is the responsibility of the landlord. The tenant must understand that they are responsible for reasonable health, cleanliness, and hygiene standards within the rental property. The major and infrastructural works are mostly taken care by the Land Lord and the minor works and the running expenditures are taken care by the tenant.
- Take Pictures before and after Maintenance work is done – Make sure to share the pictures with the tenant / request the tenant to share the pictures after the maintenance is done. This ensures miscommunication for instance the window would have been repaired but the painting may have been left out.
- Follow up with your Tenant after Repair Works – Once the repair is done, catch up with the tenant and ensure their satisfaction with the work.
Regardless of the type of complaint you are facing, you have to remember the following points:
- Listen to the tenant complaint
- Respond quickly to the complaint.
- Hire a professional to take care of the complaint
- Make sure to follow it up with the tenant after repair works
- Educate the tenant for regular maintenance after repair works.
Finally, when the tenants sense that someone is always there to help them solve their issues, the retention rates will increase.
Energy Saving Tips for House Owners
Introduction
Saving energy in your home always used to be a reconsideration, but as the times have changed, it has become a most important thing for the homeowners. Homeowners are constantly looking for the latest and most convenient energy saving tips – energy saving tips for your home.
Reducing your home’s energy consumption leads to lower your bills and fewer emissions released into the atmosphere – it is a win-win possibility to save energy. Most energy saving tips for your home can be done with minimal effort.
Efficient Lightening
Lights appear to be such a small phase of your home, but they can either bother or support your home’s energy savings based on how you handle it.
One of the simplest methods to save energy is to remember to turn your lights off when you leave the respective room. Follow that good habit with energy efficient light bulbs, such as LEDs or CFLs, and you will be right on your plan to a more efficient home.
And the next important way is to make sure your lights are not placed near your thermostat. The heat from lights could cause your thermostat to run your furnace or air conditioner more than you need them to.
Motion detecting lights are growing more popular among homeowners, where you do not have to be conscious to turn the lights off.
Place a Programmable Thermostat
The best energy saving tips growing its popularity right now is to replace your old manual thermostat with a new programmable type. They automatically adapt to your agenda by providing you control of your home’s temperature no matter where you are, and you will have more planned and various other options to help you save energy as much as possible.
Upgrade your appliances
Old refrigerators, washers, dryers, and other home appliances were not actually made with energy efficiency in mind nowadays. So, when you decide to replace your old appliances, keep a lookout for a new appliance with the “Energy Saving Star” tag. These appliances are guaranteed to help save you money on energy bills. The cost of those might be bit costly, but they will end up paying for themselves by savings on your bills.
Install Energy Efficient Windows and Doors
If you feel the need to put up your furnace and air conditioning more than you should, your windows and doors may be to blame. Drafty windows and doors can certainly take a toll on your home’s energy efficiency. Replacing your windows with strong vinyl windows will surely lower your energy bills.
Additionally, your entry doors are a primary donor to your home’s energy saving perspective. Replacing your old entry door over a steel or fiberglass door is a smart investment for homeowners. If you are not ready to do a full entry door replacement, then consider introducing a storm door. Storm doors add an added layer of insulation, stability, and energy efficiency to your entryway.
Pull the Plug on Wasting Energy
Like turning off the lights when you are not in the room, you should also unplug any devices or appliances when you are not using it.
Having things plugged is referred to as “phantom loads.” It is stated that 75 percent of the electricity used to power home electronics is consumed while the appliances are turned off. To make the method a bit easier, plug your devices or appliances into power layers so that you can unplug the power band when you are not using them rather than unplugging everything one by one.
Vinyl Siding Saves Energy
Your home’s exterior coating plays the main role in how your home consumes energy. If you have broken, crumbled out siding then the outdoor elements have an easy way into your home.
In return, you will have to put more pressure on your heating and cooling systems, which will raise your energy bills.
Conserve Water
There are some energy saving tips that can assist you to conserve water in your home. Using limited water will lower your water bills certainly, and using limited hot water will help reduce your gas bill.
Some steps can be followed to take control over it like setting your hot water temperature to a moderate degree, taking quicker showers, and being conscious on how much water you use when preparing dishes, washing clothes, and dishwashing.
You can also establish efficient new showerheads and toilets that are designed to use limited water to help you save money.
Overlook Your Garage Door
If you have a connected garage, you can lose a lot of heated or cooled air through your garage door. This can affect the temperature of your home and will cost you more energy bills.
The best solution for this dilemma is to get a steel garage door. Steel garage doors are made to withstand any harsh weather. It has a lather core that restricts heated or cooled air from passing through it. Also, make sure your garage’s molding is not damaged as it inhibits drafts from hiding into your garage under the door.
Use these effective Energy Saving Tips to Reduce Your Home Energy Bills
Being a homeowner, it is important to be mindful of your usage of energy so that you can reduce the bills as low as you can. By understanding and following the above energy saving tips, you can definitely notice the gains on your future energy bills and develop the footprint you are leaving on the environment.
Ascertaining Rental Value
Now that you have purchased a property and ready to rent it out, you have to derive the right price range for renting it out. It is mandatory to know the optimum rental value because a lower rent will result in loss to the Property Owner and higher rental value will result in putting off the prospective tenant – discover rental value.
To make sure that you derive at a right price, explore the following factors:
Market Value
The Rental value of the property is in direct proportion to the Market Value of the Property.
Market value of a property is the current value of the property in respect to the infrastructural developments. For example a new fly over or a metro rail link increases the value of the property and will increase the rent of the property.
For properties in demand and developments of infrastructural facilities like drainage and metro water by the Municipality also increase the value of the property along with decreases the recurring expenses eventually you can command a higher rent.
Stalled infrastructure projects, congestion in traffic, depletion of natural resources & availability of essential commodities, increased pollution levels etc decreases the market value and also affects the rental value.
Property’s Desirability
Apart from the location, infrastructure developments, type of property, Sq. Ft. of the property are some of the general factors.
The other specific factors with respect to the unit like parking facility, amenities in the house, design of your unit, size of the bedrooms, storage, location of your unit (in the same street), balconies, view of your property, facing, age of the building – can have different desirability levels compared to the other properties.
Prevailing Rental Rate
It is important to do a research into the market of your area. Look around the neighbourhood for similar properties and enquire about their pricing. You can also contact a local Property Consultant of Property Management Company who can advice on the Rental Value as per the market.
Vacant Properties
It is also important to make a list of vacant properties in your neighbourhood. Vacant Properties for a long time indicate that the demand for the property is less or the pricing of the property is not viable in the market.
In a saturated market, a reasonably priced property will not be rented out quickly. In such a market, the House Owner has to consider offering incentives or additional amenities if required.
Also make sure to evaluate the reasons for a property being vacant for a long time. The reasons could be insufficient parking, storage, location of the unit, physical home size – bedroom sizes, bathroom, furnishing in the unit, etc.
Properties that are rented out quickly have a possibility of fetching a higher rent.
Other Factors
The other factors which determine a slightly rental value are type of fittings and fixtures, clubhouse & facilities (like swimming pool, club house, jogging track, supermarket, visitor parking, etc), schools close by, connectivity, additional balcony as compared to the similar properties in the locality.
Conclusion
Evaluating the above factors will assist you to
1. Respond to the prospective tenants appropriately
2. Minimise the Vacancies
3. Assess the increase or decrease of rent in future.
Want to rent your house – Know tenants priorities
When tenants search for a property, there are certain features that top their list – Want to rent your house Know tenants priorities:
1. Location – The Location of a property always plays a most important feature of the property. Tenants will also pay a higher price for a property at the right location or on the main road. Tenants may also compromise on other amenities if the location of the property is very desirable.
2. Safety & Security – One of the greatest motivator for a tenant is the safety and the security for him, his family and his belongings. This is one of the prerequisite for a long term tenant because the tenant will feel more comfortable when he is in the property and when he is away from the property.
3. Live able conditions – The tenant also looks into how well the property is constructed, maintained, the security, the neighbourhood, water facility, drainage facility and infrastructure and social infrastructure available nearby. Tenants do not prefer isolated properties or with poor infrastructure or amenities to stay.
4. Parking / garage – No one wants to park his vehicle outside the compound in the street or search for a parking on a daily basis (as in some apartments where there is scarcity of parking or no allotted parking). Tenants prefer an allotted car park.
5. Schools Nearby – For tenants with school aged children, this is a first and foremost priority. Every Parent wants the best of education for his child and will want to avoid long distance travels of his child to school saving the time and energy of the child so that the child can concentrate on his studies.
6. Peaceful or quiet place to live in (or Sound Proof Walls) – This is one of the most important factor for a tenant to live for a long term. This means that the property has to offer a peaceful living environment with minimal interruptions and loud traffic or unnecessary disturbance during late night hours. If there are disturbances, tenants tend to move out after some time.
7. Natural Light & Ventilation – Houses that have natural sunlight and ventilation which is bright are preferred than houses that are dull and gloomy. Abundant natural light gives a more comfortable feeling and also saves the electricity bills for the tenant.
8. Storage Space – This is a very important aspect when the tenants are looking for a house. Tenants need space to store their stuff and prefer a house which has enough cupboards to store them. Sufficient storage facilities like lofts, cupboards, wood work or modular kitchen attract the tenant.
9. Internet Connections and Wifi Connections
10. Ready to Move in Condition – If a property requires cleaning, painting carpentry or any plumbing and electrical works, it needs to be done. Repairs in the property and common areas are disruptive and annoying and poor condition of the property can put off a prospective tenant. The first impression that a tenant gets on visiting a property will persist in their mind and will set an expectation that this is how the property is to be maintained.
11. Walk able distance to nearby amenities – It has been seen that tenants feel more comfortable when the amenities like super market and other basic things are at a walk able distance.
12. Age of the Property – Some tenants feel that they should move in a property which is new. The reason for this is that they feel that a new property will not have any issues towards repairs and maintenance but by proper maintenance of the property, the tenants will still be attracted to it.
13. Well Maintained House – The tenants always prefer a house that is well maintained and do not want to get into issues of maintenance and repairs at a regular basis. They would also prefer a house where the repairs and maintenance can be taken care of immediately whenever required.
14. Cooperative Land Lord – The tenant and land lord relationship is a mutual relationship and both the parties should be cooperative, courteous and mutual respect for each other. All the promises and points agreed upon by the tenant and the owner as per the Lease Agreement should be kept up and honoured by both the parties.