Your rental properties require ongoing care and maintenance to retain their value. This includes seasonal rental maintenance. However, you may not have the time or skills to perform these maintenance tasks yourself. Hiring a contractor is well worth it.
Keep these five tips in mind when looking for a contractor for your seasonal rental maintenance.
1. Start With Referrals
Do you know other rental property owners? If so, then this is a great place to start. Ask them who they have worked with and what their experience was like. This can give you a trusted first-hand experience.
Another option is to ask contractors that you have worked with in the past and trust. Perhaps you’ve hired a plumber to do work on one of your homes. You could ask them if they know a reliable electrician or tile contractor.
If you want to make the referral process easy, work with a property manager. They manage many more rental homes than you and have more experience when it comes to working with contractors. They can connect you with contractors that they trust and have ongoing relationships with.
2. Check the Credentials
Before you start working with any contractor, check that they are licensed, bonded, and insured. A reputable and established business should have proper credentials. Paying a contractor that lacks these credentials is going to want you to pay them off the books. This can put you in a precarious position.
First, if anyone gets hurt or something goes wrong, it’s your liability insurance that will have to cover it. Second, you need to keep accurate records for your own taxes, so you’ll want to be able to report expenses, such as your contractor. Third, if you don’t hire a licensed contractor, your landlord insurance may not cover the work that they do to your rental home.
3. Pricing
While you should never hire a contractor based solely on price, you can’t ignore it either. Never choose a contractor simply because they are the lowest price. There’s truth to the saying that you get what you pay for. Conversely, don’t go broke by hiring the most expensive contractor and assume that they are the best.
4. Communication
It’s important that whoever you work with be someone who will effectively communicate with you. They should respond to your phone call or email within a reasonable amount of time. Otherwise, you’ll be left waiting and wondering. This is unacceptable.
Most reputable contractors will respond within 24 to 48 hours. This prompt communication ensures that your rental home’s needs get addressed promptly. Since many seasonal maintenance tasks are time-sensitive, this prompt communication ensures they’re done when they’re needed.
5. Do You Get Along?
Maybe you find a licensed contractor that is affordable and returns your call within a reasonable amount of time. However, your personalities don’t mesh well, and you find them unpleasant to deal with. This won’t bode well for an ongoing relationship.
You need to be able to trust that the contractor you hire will act professionally around your tenants. This means you need to consider the contractor’s professionalism and personality. They should be pleasant to work with and respectful of your tenants.
Get Help With Your Seasonal Rental Maintenance Contractor Search
It can be time-consuming to find the right contractor for each seasonal maintenance task you have for your rental property. When you work with a property manager, you can save yourself this time and frustration. They have ongoing relationships with local contractors that provide quality work. If, for some reason, you need a service that their contractors don’t provide, they will do the legwork of finding you the ideal contractor.
Contact our experienced team today and let us help you connect with reputable contractors for your seasonal rental maintenance.
