Is there such a thing as a low maintenance rental property?

Wouldn’t it be great to have a rental property that took care of itself? Oh, the possibilities! As a rental property manager or landlord, having a low maintenance rental property would free you up from a huge bulk of regular tasks so that you can finally get to identifying and addressing the more nuanced and detailed ones.

What would a low maintenance rental property even look like? Would there be robots? Will it involve AI (Artificial Intelligence)? There are existing technologies that could make this all possible. Smart building technology is a thing nowadays. However, this technology hasn’t been tailored for small scale or personal use yet. Maybe in the near future, we could take advantage of these technologies. For now, we’ll stick to analog.

Having a low maintenance rental property can drastically reduce the number of routine chores and regular work you do to manage your rental property. It can make your life as a low maintenance rental property manager or landlord less stressful. While we’re quite a long way off towards having our own AI to take care of the HVAC, cleaning, or lighting, there are a few ways we can make our rental property as low maintenance as possible. Here are a few of them:

A simplified landscape
Simplicity is beauty. A beautiful property facade will always turn heads. Make sure the outside of your property is clean and modern. It doesn’t have to be elaborate, keep it simple. Your landscaping expenditures will be drastically cut and your regular lawn maintenance will be kept to a minimum with a simple outdoor area. Start by assessing your garden. Are there overgrowths or trees that shed leaves constantly? Do away with those and opt for a few trees, perennials, and ornamental plants that don’t shed leaves. Travelers’ palms and yuccas are beautiful yet incredibly low maintenance. Non-fussy flowers like black-eyed Susans and Lavenders will make your garden beautiful and great smelling, too!

A few more tips:

● Invest in mulch beds instead of grass – mulch has so many superpowers. It breaks down to fertilize your plants and prevents weeds, doesn’t require watering or mowing, and more importantly, is inexpensive.
● Extend your outdoor living space – extending your rental property outdoors with a stone patio or grilling area means more chances to entertain and less work cleaning up.

Terra firma
Take a hard look at your floors outside and inside. For outside floors, opt for stone. Bluestones, although a bit pricey, will make a good option as it is very durable and easy to clean. Stone can handle anything you throw at it (literally) and will look amazing. For inside floors, use laminate flooring as they are easy to clean and maintain. It is also one of the cheapest. It looks like hardwood but with less trouble. Other types of flooring that are easy to maintain are: hardwood floors (when finished and sealed, it is very durable), ceramic and tile floors (for certain types of rooms) and concrete (for bare-bones, industrial look).

Fixtures make all the difference
If you have funds for a rain barrel, why not get one? It’s an easy and environmentally friendly way to collect water for your plants. It will greatly reduce your water consumption and make it easier to maintain a lawn. Other fixtures, such as a swing set or a garden bench can add a lot of personality to your rental property. However, be careful in filling your rental property with decorative fixtures. Your tenants will expect you to take care of their maintenance so make sure the fixtures that you install are easy to maintain.

Property protection
Make sure that your rental property is safe from everyday wear and tear. Buy durable materials. Make sure fixtures are protected. Use semi-gloss, which is easier to clean than matte. Add bumpers to doors to prevent wall damage. If you can make concessions for transitional areas such as mudrooms, outdoor washbasins, or outdoor shelving, then do so. This will prevent tenants from tracking dirt into the rental property and will make clean up easier.

The right people
The right tenants will take care of your rental property as if it were their own. They will report repair and maintenance issues before it gets to be a huge (and very expensive) problem. Accepting the right tenants at the onset of the application will bring about a huge difference in how you maintain the rental property.

Help from the pros
If you have a good working relationship with your resource team, they will offer suggestions as to how they can make your rental property a lot easier to manage. They have a wealth of tips and tricks that can make your life as a rental property manager or landlord easier. For example, your landscape contractor can give you tips on which plants are the easiest to grow and to maintain. Your plumber can give you tips on how to properly seal your pipes and drains, to reduce wear and tear and repair issues. Your contractor can recommend the best flooring, paint, walls, etc in order to extend the life of your rental property and reduce the issues of maintaining the rental property.

You can also hire a professional property management team to handle this for you. They can screen for tenants who will help you take very good care of your rental property. They can hook you up with a team of contractors, service providers, and over-all go-to resource people to help you make your rental property as low maintenance as possible.

Davis Property Management can make sure that your rental property is as easy to manage as possible. We can help make your rental property management simpler. You can sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor as we take care of the small details and the day to day management of your rental property. Schedule a consultation with us today. Our number is 425-658-7471 or send us an email at info@davispropertymanagement.com.