Why Detroit Investments Need Quality Maintenance Services

Updated February 3, 2022

When embarking upon your career as a property investor, you may have been warned back in the early days that you'd eventually face some challenges regarding maintenance as you pushed for growth. However, until you go through the process, it's difficult to determine what might happen to your properties.

By now, you've likely seen some of the difficulties involved with attempting to handle your own maintenance as your portfolio has developed—and even some of the difficulties associated with working across multiple contractors to address property care.

Today, we want to break down why property investors need a one-stop shop when it comes to quality maintenance services—and how Detroit investments benefit from them.

About Maintenance Services

There's a difference between property management and property management maintenance services. Hiring a property management company means they'll help you with managing renters. That includes collecting rent and managing maintenance calls, but it doesn't necessarily mean they have the connections you need to handle maintenance!

Property maintenance services typically work in conjunction with property management if you happen to be working with a skilled partner like Own It Detroit. Even though these are two different facets of property care, combined, they both help owners of Detroit investments effectively manage and maintain their rental units.

Property maintenance services for multi-family properties typically include:

• Air conditioning and heating maintenance and repair
• Fixing electrical issues
• Handling flooding emergencies
• Performing locksmith tasks
• Maintaining the lawn and yard
• Painting interiors and exteriors
• Upkeeping common areas.

Working with a property management partner who has a dedicated team to handle all of these needs (and more), or working with a property partner who has dedicated contractors on call to manage such repairs and upkeep is what helps investors with a sizeable portfolio keep growing. When you reach this level, you need to build efficiencies into your process to support a sustainable expansion—and property management helps you do that.

The Benefits of Consistent Maintenance Services

Quality maintenance services help those who don't have the experience or physical capabilities to perform the duties property owners must complete—especially at scale. The benefits of working with quality maintenance service professionals include the following:

• You'll save time: It doesn't matter if you're renting to one resident or have over 100 units, it takes time to fill those vacancies! You'll find this is especially true if maintenance must occur before renters move in.
• You'll save money: While it might not happen overnight, it's possible to save money in the long run. For example, if you attempt to handle projects that are outside of your experience, that's going to cost you time and money. A professional maintenance company paired with expert property management can complete these tasks the right way.
• You'll have access to expertise: The work that maintenance service professionals complete must be thorough, correct, and high-quality. Working with an experienced and licensed maintenance professional means they have the background and specialties to complete the work you require.
• Your investment has additional protection: The law stipulates that rental properties must meet certain building codes to be safe. If anything should go wrong throughout the repair process, or with the work after repairs are finished, insurance protects your investment. That means the maintenance service professional must be licensed and insured to ensure you're receiving the best protection.

Understanding When Maintenance Should Occur

You know from experience that maintenance services for rental properties involve a wide variety of inspections, repairs, and other tasks. Each of these services has two common goals: the first is to obtain or retain quality renters, and the second is to perform cost-saving measures.

Keeping properties well-maintained involves high-quality, year-round services. It's tough for real estate investors to foresee significant repairs or expenses like busted pipes or a blown roof after a severe winter storm! However, common maintenance issues are the kind every owner of Detroit investments should anticipate happening.

That's where routine maintenance becomes critical for your continued return on investment. Keeping maintenance services on a weekly, monthly, and annual schedule keeps things running smoothly and prevents breakdowns from occurring. For example:

• Even though snowfall is moderate in Detroit, check for leaks following melting snow or heavy rain.
• Keep an eye on nearby tree limbs for your multi-family units to ensure your property is secure.
• Prevent leaks and mold by inspecting and re-caulking bathtubs and showers regularly.
• Test each rental unit's carbon monoxide and smoke detectors at least once monthly.
• Each rental unit's air conditioning and heating units (HVAC) should have annual inspections.
• Drive-by inspections can take place bi-weekly just to gauge the health of your investment properties.
• Water heaters should have a bi-annual inspection and flush to keep the unit working well.
• HVAC filters should be inspected or replaced by your or your renters at least every quarter.
• Your gutters should be cleaned, inspected, and repaired after every season.

Doing these kinds of tasks creates a pleasant living environment for residents while simultaneously saving you on the cost of repairs down the road.

How to Find High-Quality Maintenance Providers

You want a maintenance service professional that can complete the job the right way the first time. This means finding professionals who know what they're doing—and are available when you need them. Finding high-quality maintenance service professionals for your Detroit investments involves the following:

• The contractor should be licensed and insured to do work in Detroit
• The company must have a proven track record for handling the tasks you require
• Your provider of choice should have positive reviews and customer interactions listed online
• Your provider should also be a specialist when it comes to emergencies—or have the skills to handle them
• A contractor or vendor must be qualified to work in a home around children safely—so you should vet your picks.

OID Can Provide the Kind of Service You Need!

If you want to invest in Detroit with service provided by transparent, seasoned, professional investors, then the team at Own It Detroit has the background and experience your business needs to succeed! As investors with sizeable investment experience ourselves, we have dedicated maintenance processes in place to ensure your portfolio has the care it needs to fuel sustainable growth!

You deserve a better investing experience—and that's exactly what you'll receive from OID! Get in touch with us to start investing with superior maintenance care for your Detroit investments!