Tampa Bay, Florida, is a prime city for investing in rental property thanks to high employment rates and a growing economy. These factors all contribute to low vacancy rates, but they don't make it any easier to be a landlord.
Preserving the value and appeal of your property is a priority if you want to succeed in this market, and maintenance coordination is one of the major components of this. Hiring a property manager is an excellent solution for streamlining these operations.
However, your monthly fees don't cover maintenance costs. Read on to find out who pays the bills for property maintenance in Florida.
What Do Property Management Fees Include?
When you hire a property manager, you enjoy a host of services that help ensure the success of your rental business. These include:
- Property maintenance
- Tenant placement
- Property inspections
- Rent collections
- Precise record-keeping
Some property management services also include eviction protection plans. They may include other legal guidance if required.
Property management fees do not include the cost of maintenance and repairs to your property. They do include maintenance coordination.
Your tenants are only responsible for extraordinary maintenance expenses. These include damage to the property caused by them or their guests.
What Is Maintenance Coordination?
Maintenance coordination is the process of streamlining the routine maintenance tasks involved in keeping a property in good condition. Property managers usually work according to an annual schedule of checks and preventive tasks.
They also keep tabs on the property's overall condition during regular inspections. These include move-in and move-out inspections to ensure each tenant arrives and leaves with a clean slate.
These are some of the inspections included in these checks:
- Annual roof inspections
- Pest inspections
- Safety equipment inspections
- Plumbing and electrical inspections
By law, landlords must keep their rental units in a safe, habitable condition, so these checks are important. Property inspections are a good opportunity to perform some routine maintenance tasks, like changing the batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide detectors or replacing HVAC filters.
Ensuring you stay up-to-date with routine tasks helps you avoid costly repairs and replacements later on.
Thanks to the latest property management software, property management services can manage tenant repair and maintenance requests promptly. This helps encourage lease renewals.
They take care of sourcing contractors, negotiating the best prices, and overseeing the work. They forward the bills to the landlord for payment.
Sometimes, property management services may pay repair or maintenance costs out of your tenants' rent payments or a reserve fund created for this purpose.
Landlords can make arrangements with their tenants to take care of some of the more frequent maintenance tasks, such as lawn care, as long as these requirements are stipulated in the lease agreement.
Save Time and Money with Property Management Services
Hiring a property manager is the best way to maximize property maintenance coordination, save you time and money, and preserve the value of your property.
Arrico Realty and Property Management is backed by over 20 years of experience in Florida real estate. We can assist you with a full bouquet of services to help you maximize your Tampa Bay investment properties.
Discover an easier route to success as a landlord today.
