There is no bigger mistake that a landlord can make than to neglect maintaining a rented property in spic and span condition, says Schalk van der Merwe, co-franchisee for the Rawson Property Group’s Somerset West franchise - and, he adds, tenants will dislike inadequate maintenance more than ever before because they are likely to be paying top dollar prices on their leases. Van der Merwe said that maintenance and upgrading have to be ongoing and regular if good tenants are to be kept content and deterred from moving on once theirleases expire.
In making a property attractive to tenants, he said, the first step should always be to ensure that it is as secure as possible. Boundary walls are these days an essential item and homes without security alarm systems and/or burglar bars are difficult to rent.
The second step in the maintenance programme, said van der Merwe, should be to install better flooring – wood, laminated wood or tiles of a superior quality are expected by tenants today. Then, too, he said, the maximum that a landlord can afford should be spent on making the kitchen and bathrooms more sophisticated and attractive – and the fixtures and hardware are readily available to make this a fairly simple task.
If, on the other hand, said van der Merwe, a rented property is inadequately maintained, tenants are quite likely to take the law into their own hands and default on their rental payments. This illegal practice is especially likely to occur if unsatisfactory maintenance results in the premises becoming uncomfortable to live in, e.g. unable to be warmed or cooled, or if the tenant’s property is damaged, e.g. by water leaks. Certain landlords, said van der Merwe, will go to great lengths to avoid appointing a rental agent, but in his experience one of the big advantages of employing an agent (apart from their proven ability to check references and the tenant’s background, to manage tenants and to get payments on time) is that their regular inspections that will reveal when maintenance work has to be done and they will usually ensure that this happens.
Occasionally, said van der Merwe, tenants and landlords, will offer to do the work themselves, instead employing an outside contractor. It has to be accepted, however, he said, that, except in very rare occasions, they will probably not be as proficient as the person whose job it is to do this work full time and they may well actually lower the value of the property by inferior workmanship.
For further information contact the Rawson Property Group’s Somerset West franchise on 021 851 2656
