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How to Prepare & Maintain Your Investment Property Between Tenants - House of Home | Furniture
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How to Prepare & Maintain Your Investment Property Between Tenants

It pays to get ahead in life. After all, not much in life is free. Between the cost of living, raising kids, treating yourself once in a while, taxes and the bills – it makes sense to seek alternative income streams.   A great way of earning passive income is by investing in property. Now, it’s not as simple as just buying a house and renting it out. You’ve got to consider property management in South Melbourne, as well as things like landlord insurance and more.   Furthermore, you need to maintain your investment property to a decent standard if you want tenants to live there. They deserve the quiet enjoyment of a house with all the creature comforts that we all love.    That’s why in this helpful article we’ll share how to prepare and maintain your investment property between tenants. When one lot of tenants move out, follow these steps to ensure your home is ready for the next ones.  

Repairs and Patching Up

Living in a house causes wear and tear, and tenants can leave with a “reasonable” amount of wear and tear without having to relinquish their bond. This doesn’t mean they can leave gaping holes in the wall or broken windows, but little scratches, dents and dings are all acceptable.   So, the first thing to do is to patch small holes, fix up little scrapes and scratches and get the place looking nice again.  

A Lick of Paint

If you’ve had long term tenants, for longer than five or more years, chances are your investment property will need a fresh coat of paint before the next tenants move in.    You can do this yourself with some time and effort, it might take a weekend or two’s worth of work. If you’re time poor or just hate painting, hire a professional who will do a top-notch job.   

Check, Service and Repair Appliances

The next step is to have all your appliances checked and serviced, and repaired if they are not working correctly. This may include dishwashers, gas heating, air conditioners, hot water systems and any other appliance that your tenants will rely on to enjoy their new home.    A special note here is smoke alarms. For any modern home, these should sit hard-wired into the roof, with a backup battery in case of a blackout. These need to be replaced every ten years. You should keep a record of this, and it might be that now is the right time to replace the fire alarms.   

Change the Locks

It pays to be security conscious, even if you’ve had five-star tenants. Changing the locks in between tenants is always a great idea. You never know what may happen, so play it safe. Include any locks on windows and other entry points.   

Get a Pest Inspection

Finally, the last step is to arrange a pest inspection. A professional exterminator will check for signs of rodents, insects and other pests. If there are any they should be treated appropriately, as no tenant wants to move into a pest infected property. Also, termites could mean bad news for your property, so it is good to have your property inspected for these blighters as well.   

Summing Up

In this blog, we’ve explained how to maintain and prepare your investment property between tenants. Conduct minor repairs, put on a fresh coat of paint and have any appliances inspected, serviced and repaired if required. Change the locks for peace of mind, and arrange a pest inspection as well. Follow these tips to be a tip-top landlord.