Orange Beach is one of the best places in Alabama to purchase an investment property. That's thanks to high rental rates, high demand, and rising property prices.
However, there's more to owning a rental unit than snapping up a great deal and finding tenants. Owning a rental unit involves many landlord duties and responsibilities.
For instance, under Alabama tenant rights law, landlords must maintain their properties in an acceptable condition for human habitation. Hiring a property manager is one way to achieve this, but who pays the maintenance costs involved?
Read on to discover more about maintenance coordination and maintenance costs.
Do Property Managers Pay for Maintenance?
When you hire a property manager, your property management fees cover a range of services to help you make the most of your property. These include:
- Property marketing
- Rental valuations
- Tenants screening
- Lease management
- Rent collection
- Evictions
These fees do not cover the costs of maintaining your property, but they do include maintenance coordination. The landlord pays all costs associated with maintenance.
You can either set up a fund for maintenance and allow your property manager access to it or pay the bills when you receive them. Sometimes, your property management team will pay maintenance costs on your behalf and deduct the amount from your owner's disbursements.
What Is Maintenance Coordination?
Maintenance coordination involves setting up a schedule of routine maintenance tasks for a property. This includes things like:
- Roof inspections
- Gutter clearing
- Painting
- HVAC servicing
A property manager keeps track of when these tasks must occur and arranges for a local contractor to take care of them when necessary. Their ongoing relationships with these professionals ensure they get prompt service and the best prices.
Attending to routine maintenance tasks preserves the value of your property and prevents unnecessary repairs.
Routine property inspections are an important part of maintenance coordination as they allow the property manager to detect any problems early on. Attending to small repairs and maintenance issues helps you avoid costly major repairs and replacements.
Tenants' Maintenance Responsibilities
Tenants aren't required to pay for routine rental property maintenance beyond keeping the unit clean and safe. If they damage something beyond normal wear and tear, they must pay the costs associated with repairing it.
If tenants have any maintenance requests, they must submit them to their landlord. They may not carry out maintenance on the rental property and deduct the costs from their rent.
Landlords may request that tenants take care of some routine maintenance tasks, like lawn care, as part of their lease agreement.
Hire a Property Manager to Simplify Rental Property Maintenance
Although there's no getting away from the fact that landlords pay for all rental property maintenance costs, effective maintenance coordination can help reduce these costs.
The professional, qualified team at PMI Integrity Properties is backed by a franchise with over 20 years of experience in Alabama real estate. We offer our landlords a full range of property management services and cost-effective maintenance strategies.
Discover the easiest and most affordable way to preserve the value of your Orange Beach properties.
