An investor owner needs to set up a maintenance reserve for rental property, and there’s one major reason why: Peace of mind. I always tell my owners that this is the main reason for establishing a reserve fund for your maintenance needs.
There have been a number of occasions where maintenance and repair work is required at inopportune times. You might need to repair something at holiday time, during the middle of the night or while you’re on vacation. If you’re a landlord who needs to come up with the funds and the time to make those repairs, you’re going to struggle with your other priorities. If you have a reserve in place, the money is already there.
A reserve is a separate account that allows your property manager to go in, get the funds that are needed and pay the vendors quickly. If you have a tenant with an urgent need for a quick maintenance fix, your property manager can handle it efficiently without bothering you. For large ticket maintenance issues like water leaks and furnaces or air conditioning units, we’ll need to involve you. However, for small maintenance needs, we can take care of them by drawing on your reserve.
Another reason that a maintenance reserve makes sense is that it helps us to provide excellent service to your tenants. Tenant retention is important and cost-effective, so responding to their maintenance requests right away will keep them satisfied. For small problems like garbage disposals, electrical work and water heater problems, we’ll be able to help your tenants by servicing them expeditiously. If a wall heater goes out and it gets cold, you want to be able to respond right away.
A maintenance reserves allows us to take away the worry and give you peace of mind. If you have any questions about funding your maintenance reserve, please contact us at South Bay Property Management.