Yes, regular property maintenance benefits you all around. First, you save money on repairs, preventing major ones from occurring. Second, you face less stress and lower risks to have an emergency. At last, you keep your tenants happy as they enjoy good living conditions.
That is why landlord's maintenance contracts are so popular.
What is Property Maintenance?
Property maintenance is a complex of tasks to ensure smooth property functioning. The term refers to the care you shall give to your villa, apartment, or office regarding its facilities, appliances, and even adjacent territory.
In general, property maintenance splits into two main activities. The first are activities associated with regular care. In other words, this is about pre-scheduled tasks. The second are activities that aim to restore proper functionality. That is to say, this is about repairs.
Value of Property Maintenance Services
Efficient property maintenance is a key to ensuring comfortable living conditions for its inhabitants. Therefore, for you as a landlord, sufficient care has the following effects:
It helps to retain tenants;
It adds value to the property.
The first effect is urgent. Indeed, who wants to leave a home that is clean, comfortable, and well-functioning? And, on the contrary, who wants to live in a place that is ramshackle and unsafe? The second effect may be deferred but larger still. To clarify, a well-maintained villa or apartment enjoys a higher rental price.
Thus, multiply these two and you will get a full idea of true property maintenance value.
Top Trends in Property Maintenance
While we provided some maintenance and repair tips for landlords and tenants in one of our previous posts, it is important to say a few words about trends we are facing. And yes, you can regard this as another valuable tip.
First, nowadays, landlords tend to outsource care tasks to property management companies, which typically have a wide vendor network. Therefore, they can significantly reduce maintenance costs while ensuring excellent quality.
Second, annual property maintenance contracts gain more popularity. That is to say, these contracts provide greater piece of mind. Moreover, such contracts may even include some repair services.
Finally, one of the steadiest trends is the division of maintenance responsibilities between the landlord and the tenant. To clarify, the tenant gets to be responsible for minor repairs.
Typical Property Maintenance Services
The list of property maintenance activities includes as follows:
Plumbing services (plumbing facilities installations and repairs, drain tube unclogging, etc.);
Electrical services (socket replacement, full or partial rewiring, lighting services, etc.);
Cleaning services (washing windows, cleaning rooms, ducts, pools, etc.);
Air conditioning services (repair, replacement, or servicing);
Handyman and painting services;
Pest control and gas safety checks;
Lawn and yard maintenance. Below, we present a few examples of typical maintenance checklists for villas or apartments.
Summer Maintenance Checklist
UAE summers are famous for their extremely high temperatures. Therefore, you shall to pay more attention to your cooling facilities as well as ensuring the fire hazards will not be your case.
Here is the brief checklist of summer to-dos:
Cleaning air con filters, ducts, and vents;
Cleaning a swimming pool;
Mowing and watering lawns;
Gas and fire safety checks;
Fumigation and pest control.
Autumn Maintenance Checklist
In autumn, you need to check your home system health after intensive summer and prepare your home for the upcoming winter.
Some of the autumn maintenance tasks include:
Cleaning aircon filters;
Servicing a water heater;
Check plumbing and toilet facilities for leaks.
Winter Maintenance Checklist
In winter, when the outdoor temperatures in Dubai are pleasantly cool, it is high time to prepare your property for the year ahead.
Here is the brief checklist of tasks to perform in winter:
Painting;
Pest control;
Refurbishing garden;
Smoke detector batteries replacement.
Spring Maintenance Checklist
In spring, prepare your villa or apartment for the hot summer, while not forgetting about other tasks.
Here is the brief checklist of summer must-do activities:
Deep property cleaning;
Testing a smoke alarm system;
Full servicing of an air conditioning system;
Check weather stripping and replace if necessary;
Garden, lawn, or yard maintenance (removal of shrubs, moss, etc.).
How COVID-19 Is Changing Property Maintenance
Yes, COVID-19 greatly affects everyone and everything. And property maintenance is not an exception. However, in most cases, the impact here is not about the range of services provided. Of course, changes in maintenance activities exist. For example:
Postponing and grouping non-essential repairs and requests to reduce the number of visits (read as contacts); More sanitizing activities (for instance, deeper cleaning for high-touch areas and ducts). Still, emergency call-outs, essential repairs, and gas safety checks stay in priority. The changes are more about how the services are provided.
First, mask-wearing and social-distancing regimes are becoming habitual.
Second, the communication approach is changing. To reduce the intensity of visits (again, read as contacts), many companies exploit video calls to assess the issue online. For example, often some advice is enough to fix an issue.
If you want to arrange sufficient property maintenance, you can fully rely on us. Find our more on “What we do” page to know more about the services we provide. Or contact us right now to get a quote.
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