It is easy for us to forget about routine maintenance on our rental properties
Out of sight, out of mind right?
Gutter Clearning
When the rainy season comes (insert your Seattle joke here) I am reminded of gutter and downspout maintenence. This simple chore can save thousands of dollors in repairs down the road.
Water running down the side of the house, down the facia boards, soaking up under the roofing material is never a good thing, and if left unchecked will cause a lot of damage real fast. We may have a tenant who will take it upon themselves to clean the gutters if they are easy to reach.
More likely though, a tenant will never let us know if the gutters need cleaning….some don’t even know that is something that needs to get done. After 20 years in the bizz, I have seen major damage that could have been prevented by simply cleaning the gutters and down spouts a couple of times each year.
Reminding Tenants
I remind our property owners of the necessity of gutter cleaning at least once per year, depending upon the property and the amount of trees in the area. Some properties will require a gutter cleaning 2 or 3 times per year. Once as fall begins, again after all the leaves have fallen, and often again in the spring.