A rental home’s garage plays a big part in the total appeal of the home. But even tenants who want to preserve the appeal could still be damaging a rental home’s garage without realizing it. Damage to garage interiors, garage doors, windows, and other elements is not unheard of, and it’s not always because of misuse or neglect.
Sometimes, a tenant tries to help but simply doesn’t know the proper way to clean or maintain a rental home’s garage. When that is the case, expensive and unnecessary repairs are often the result. By giving your Belleair tenants the right information, you can do a lot to prevent unintentional damage and keep your valuable investment in good condition.
A garage is an important part of a quality single-family rental home. A good garage door enhances the home’s curb appeal, while the interior, windows, cabinets, and even the garage door opener can have a big impact on a tenant’s satisfaction. But none of these are to be ignored, instead, they should be maintained correctly to keep them in good working condition. If one part of the garage is damaged, then every other part would also be affected. The whole garage will turn to be more of a burden than an asset.
Being the most visible exterior element, the garage door needs to be kept working properly and looking nice. This is why it needs to have regular cleaning and maintenance. There are multiple ways a tenant could damage a garage door accidentally. They may not know the basic maintenance tasks that need to be performed and end up not doing any maintenance at all. They may also clean the door but use the wrong tools or cleaning products. For example, the materials that make up each garage door varies between different types of doors. Some are painted, while others are vinyl or metal. When a tenant power sprays a painted door clean, they would be causing extensive damage to the garage door. It may be an accident, but regardless of motive, using the wrong tools for the job can cause problems. Harsh household cleaners may also damage a door’s exterior finish, causing far more harm than good.
Moving past appearances, for a garage door to work well, it requires a functional opener, springs, hinges, and rollers. These elements may rust, wear out, or break over time and through heavy use. In fact, if a garage door produces a lot of noise when it opens or closes, it may be a sign that the door’s hardware is in trouble and needs to be lubricated. The useful life of a garage door can be greatly extended just by doing this one simple maintenance task.
The windows, floor, and cabinets in a garage are the parts that typically get unintentional damage. A leaking car engine may make oil stains on concrete floors that are very hard to clean up. Exhaust fumes, dirt, and other substances can collect on windows and seriously compromise the tracks, locks, and glass. Cabinets may be crushed or broken by heavy storage items or even parking a vehicle too close. Comparable to the garage door, these difficulties can be kept in check by simply conducting regular cleaning and maintenance, the problem is that many tenants don’t know how to do it.
For instance, dealing with motor oil stains require a distinct process that is different from cleaning up other substances. The correct tools and cleaning materials should be used or else the effort of cleaning it may make the problem bigger instead. Harsh chemicals or scrub brushes can scratch or damage windows and window tracks as well as cabinets, but regular household cleaners may not be enough to get the grime off either. So that continued wear and further damage would be prevented, it is best for a tenant to have all the right information and a good amount of oversight. This way, they can ensure that the rental home’s garage is kept in remarkable condition.
Keeping track of a tenant’s cleaning and maintenance record can be time-consuming and difficult for property owners. That is why hiring a professional property management company is a really smart option.
At Real Property Management TradeWinds, we help property owners teach their tenants on the proper care and upkeep of their rental homes in Belleair and conduct regular checks to ensure that such tasks are being done. Our team of property management professionals can help secure your valuable investment from unintentional damage and prevent expensive and unnecessary repairs. Please contact us online or call us at 727-400-4722 to learn more about how we can serve you.
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