6 Tips to Winter-Proof Your Rental Property

The weather can be an unpredictable and frightening element for property owners and property managers. Extreme weather conditions can take a huge toll on buildings. Spring and summer property maintenance tasks are a cinch. However, winter is a different ballgame with serious and potentially costly consequences.

 

Winterizing Your Rental Property

As a property owner, it is your responsibility to ensure that your tenants remain safe and comfortable all year long. It is never too early to start weatherproofing your rental property. After all, it is important to protect your most important assets from the ravages of freezing temperatures, snow, ice, and even rain and water.

 

Furthermore, weatherproofing your property will reduce the need for costly repairs. Doing so before the winter season rolls in can save you a fortune. Some of the best ways to winter-proof your rental property include:

 

Check Your Eavestroughs and Roof

As a rental property owner, one of your top weatherproofing priorities is to manage water flow. The rain, for instance, can lead to significant water leaks. Thus, it is important to check for such problems and know what to do about them before the onset of freezing temperatures.

 

For example, minimize areas where water can freeze and expand, thereby creating leaks. Such areas include downspouts and gutters. This also means securing your property’s shingles.

 

Check Your Pipes

It is important to wrap the pipes in your rental property with an appropriate material to keep them frost-free. In addition to keeping them from freezing, this will help prevent blockages and burst pipes. If there are any problem areas, whether inside or outside, you need to deal with them first.

 

Hire a Professional to Inspect the Furnace

Your tenants do not want to live in a winter wonderland. It can be extremely frustrating to have the heat go out during the winter season. If this happens, your chances of getting prompt repair services will be quite low due to the high demand for furnace repairs during the winter months.

 

Also, you will probably end up paying more for an emergency callout. So as a proprietor or property manager, you do not want to wait until the furnace breaks down. You should be proactive before winter by scheduling an HVAC inspection and service.

 

Check the Doors and Windows

A lot of heat can escape through drafty doors and windows. For this reason, you should take some time to winter-proof around your property’s doors and windows, in addition to replacing them if brittle or cracked.

 

Check Smoke Detectors

It is important to check the carbon monoxide alarms and smoke detectors in your rental property before the winter season. If these important gadgets are battery-operated, you need to replace the existing batteries with new ones, preferably the long-lasting kind.

 

Plan for Ice and Snow Removal

You do not want your rental property’s front driveway to turn into a wintertime ice rink. If you are responsible for ice and snow removal based on the rental agreement, you need to arrange for these services well in advance.


 

To learn more about winter-proofing a house, contact Prime Property Group at our offices in Oakland or Sacramento, California. You can call (510) 225-0470 or (916) 822-9655 today to schedule an appointment.

View a list of our rental properties,  https://www.primepropertypm.com/rentals.html

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