A.D. Property Management
Our Business is Property Management in Orange County California
Property repairs shrink Landlords
profit
Becoming a Landlord has many benefits, and many people get
into the business to make a nice profit, but there are problems that do arise
that many new Landlords have not budgeted for.
When a Tenant calls that first time and needs something to
be repaired, a Landlord may break out into a cold sweat, especially if they are
barely getting the bills paid and maybe just squeezing out a couple of bucks at
the end of the year. As every experienced Landlord knows, repairs are part of the business and you need to budget
so much for repairs every year and hope that nothing major pops up.
How do you prepare
The question for Landlords is, how do you prepare not only
for the cost of the repairs, but who do you get to do the job at a reasonable
price. The first question, “How do you prepare for the cost of the repairs” is
not real complicated, you need to take a piece of the monthly rent and budget
that for repairs. If you do that, then when the call comes you will be
prepared. Think of it like a “Repair Savings Account”. You use that account for
repairs only, then at the end of the year, what is not spent is part of your
profit.
The next question “Who do you get to do the work at a
reasonable cost” is a more difficult question. When you decide to become a
Landlord, you need to do some research for people who do repairs. The most
common repair is for plumbing, and getting that job done right is important.
First, if you have no experience with plumbers call your friends and find out
who they use for their homes, then call those plumbers and see if they work for
Landlords or Property Managers. If they are experienced with working on rental properties,
then let them know what you are looking for. You are going to be better off
with small independent companies. They will be more flexible with you on pricing
and on availability. The larger companies are much more difficult to work with
and much more expensive.
The key is a good Handyman
The next step is getting a good Handyman. A good one is not easy to find, but when you do fish
one out, they can save you a lot of time and money, not to mention relieve your
stress. If you get lucky and find a good Handyman, they also should have
contacts for other service providers and that cuts your work down to making one
call when something needs to be done. Now a Handy man is usually not a licensed
contractor, so you want to make sure, when something major needs to be done,
you have it done properly.
For major repairs like roofing, is a different issue. If you
are in the process of looking to buy a rental property, you need to make sure
the roof has at least 10 years of life left. If you have a property and the
roof needs to be replaced, make sure the roofer you find has been in business
for many years and offers a very good guarantee. I want to stress that the
roofer you use needs to have a very good reputation, because a guarantee is
only as good as the company you use. If they go out of business, so does your
guarantee.
Once you have your team together and once you get your
“Repair Savings Account” all set up, you will not be taken by surprise when you
get that call from the Tenant. They say you
should always have a positive attitude in life and never think about bad things
that could happen, but in the Landlord business, you need to be prepared for
the worst case scenario and your preparation will make sure your business is
not destroyed by unexpected repairs.
A.D. Cantelmo Property
Management Specializes in Property Management in Orange County
Ca.