The Power of Proactive Maintenance: Protecting Your San Francisco Investment

We understand the challenge of maintaining San Francisco rental homes in a way that’s cost-effective. Expenses around repairs, labor, and even preventative services are rising. Contractors and vendors are increasingly hard to find because the demand for their work is so high. 

These are challenges, but they cannot be reasons for letting deferred maintenance issues pile up. 

A profitable San Francisco investment property is one that’s well-maintained. Good maintenance strategies and proactive repairs protect not only the condition of your rental, but also its value.

We’re talking about the power of proactive maintenance and what you should focus on when you’re thinking about how to keep your property in excellent condition without spending more than you have to. 

Here’s something else to keep in mind: responsive maintenance increases tenant satisfaction.

Proactive Maintenance and Reduced Maintenance Costs 

If you have not seen the evidence yet in your own investment properties, we can tell you as professional San Francisco property management experts that avoiding emergency maintenance calls and deferred repairs will save you a lot of money and protect your investment. Here’s how:



• Avoiding Emergency Maintenance 

Emergencies are sometimes unavoidable. There may be a fire or a flood that no one saw coming and that even the best preventative maintenance plan could not have prevented. Sometimes, however, those emergency calls over the weekend or in the middle of the night could have been prevented. With a careful and proactive maintenance plan, we can estimate when you’ll need to replace the water heater, which may prevent it from failing unexpectedly. Emergencies are expensive for property owners and disruptive for tenants. A good maintenance plan limits them, protecting your property from damage and deterioration, and keeping tenants happy.

• Avoiding Deferred Maintenance 

It’s easy to ignore the slow drip in a faucet or the toilet that seems to be gurgling once in a while. But it’s not a good idea. When a screen is scratched up, don’t ignore it. By taking care of those small problems right away, you’re not only protecting your property from further issues, you’re also showing your tenants that you care about their comfort and needs. You’re also showing them that you care about your property, which will likely move them to take especially good care of it.

By catching minor issues early through regular property inspections and preventative maintenance, it’s much easier to avoid costly repairs now and later. You’ll maintain your property value because regularly addressing those minor issues and wear and tear problems will maintain the investment’s overall condition and value. Good maintenance prevents tenant dissatisfaction and potential legal issues arising from uninhabitable conditions. For example, San Francisco has some pretty strict rules around fire alarms and smoke detectors. Are you compliant? Good maintenance will tell you.

Proactive maintenance, we have found, also extends the lifespan of key property components and systems, reducing the need for premature replacements and allowing you to maximize the lifespan of things like HVAC units and appliances.

Budgeting for Preventative Rental Property Maintenance

To put together a proactive maintenance plan, you’ll want to focus on preventative maintenance. This is going to give you peace of mind, protect your property, and save you money. 

So what are we talking about when we say to prioritize preventative maintenance? That term covers a lot of ground when it comes to repairs, inspections, and seasonal work at your property. Minor and routine services such as pest control, filter changes, and landscaping are a good place to start. Ongoing contracts can be set up with local companies to take care of insects, tree trimming, and painting.

The most important things you’ll want to focus on when putting together a preventative maintenance plan, however, are your major systems, and like all investments, this will require a budget. Don’t get discouraged when you think about what you have to spend on these proactive maintenance measures; you’re still saving money by avoiding emergency repairs and expensive replacements. 

Here are some important budgeting tips:

• Schedule your preventative services before schedules get busy for your contractors. Most repair calls concern heating in the winter, air conditioning in the summer, and then leaks, drips, or plumbing issues all year long. Have that HVAC system inspected seasonally. 
• Put together a maintenance reserve. By saving a percentage of the rent that’s collected every month, you will have a nice pot of maintenance funds to pay for any repairs that need your immediate attention.
• Work with good vendors, and establish those relationships before you need help. When you have a preferred vendor list, you can count on priority service and their best rates.

The key to avoiding emergency maintenance is having a good preventative maintenance plan in place. When you’re proactive and responsive, you’ll find it’s easier to protect the condition of your investment. By implementing a good maintenance budget, you won’t have to worry about how you’ll fund these proactive maintenance measures that make such a difference when it comes to protecting properties and profitability.

How to Be Proactive While Maintaining San Francisco Rentals

Every property is going to be a bit different when it comes to putting together a proactive maintenance plan. If you’re renting out an apartment building in downtown San Francisco, for example, you’ll have different concerns than an owner with a condo overlooking the water. 

Contact us for some personalized and custom recommendations on proactive maintenance. Until then, these are the general practices that we’ve found can be especially beneficial to rental property owners in San Francisco.

• Establish HVAC Service Contracts

Tenants in San Francisco will typically expect to have both the air conditioning and the heat available to them in your property throughout the year. The HVAC system will be well-used and must be maintained. It’s also one of the most expensive systems to replace. You want to keep it running as efficiently and effectively as possible. Preventative maintenance can reduce repair costs. You won’t have to worry about spending thousands of dollars to replace your HVAC system too soon. 

We recommend you enter into a service contract with a local HVAC company, which will not only ensure that proactive maintenance and inspections are taken care of, but will also make it easier to access reliable help when you have a repair that needs an effective heating and cooling system. With a service contract in place, the company will send a technician out to your property once or twice a year to inspect and clean the HVAC. This will ensure that any problems are detected early. You’ll know your tenants are unlikely to complain about their air conditioning not working in the middle of August. It will also increase the life expectancy of your system. 

• Proactive Plumbing Maintenance

Water in a San Francisco investment property is never a good situation. Make sure leaks, drips, and water intrusion are noticed right away and remedied. Small leaks are easy to ignore, but you can bet they’re eventually going to turn into larger leaks that damage floors and walls and potentially lead to rot and mildew, maybe even mold. Be proactive about preventing them in your rental property, and educate your tenants on the importance of reporting water issues right away. 

Anytime you are in the property, take a look at the areas under sinks. Check the floors around toilets and tubs to be sure there isn’t any softening. Look for drooping or discolored ceilings and walls. 

• Seasonal Maintenance Keeps Owners Organized

San Francisco has lovely weather in general, and while we don’t have dramatic seasonal changes like other parts of the country, making your preventative maintenance plans a seasonal issue can help you stay organized and avoid forgetting the things that need to be done. There are still shifts in weather and property needs from winter to spring and summer to fall. Take care of landscaping, pest control, sprinkler flushing, and gutter cleaning once or twice a year, depending on the needs of your property. This will ensure you don’t suddenly have to make major and expensive repairs. 

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