The 8 Most Common Rental Property Repairs Every Landlord Must Know

Have you just entered the rental market? Congratulations on getting involved in one of the best investment methods available today.

Now is a great time to get into rentals. Experts are saying that the rental market is bigger than ever and will continue to grow. People aren’t buying houses as much anymore and prefer the flexibility of renting.

But owning rentals does come with its challenges. One of these is property repairs. If you don’t learn about what issues can come up, then you will struggle to take care of problems.

Below are seven common problems you will need to learn how to handle.

1. Garbage Disposals

Garbage disposals are simple but great. They are a way for you to dispose of food that shouldn’t go into the garbage.

But they break all the time. If you have to call a repairer every time something goes wrong, you’re going to be paying money for something that’s usually a simple fix.

The most common reason for failure is being clogged up. People put things down disposals that shouldn’t go down there. You will need to find the clog and remove it.

The other point of failure is the motor. If this is the case, then you will need to have it replaced.

2. Water Leaks

Water leaks can start small, but grow into huge problems if left unchecked.

They can happen all over your house. You can have a problem with your roof, your water pipes might be cracked, or there could be leaks around your windows.

When you allow water to sit, then it can cause more damage to your home. Standing water is a prime area for mold to grow.

Standing water can also cause damage to your siding and floors. It can even cause structural damage that makes your home unsafe.

3. Furnace Problems

If your rental is in a cold climate, then making sure your heat works should be one of your biggest concerns.

But a malfunctioning furnace doesn’t only mean the house won’t warm up. It could also mean there is a more severe problem.

If you use gas to power your furnace, then a leak can cause a safety concern. Gas is very flammable, so a small spark could set a fire or cause an explosion.

If your furnace has a leak that gets into the house, it can also hurt the air quality indoors. Over time this can cause health problems for the people inside and cause carbon dioxide poisoning.

Make sure you have annual inspections performed on your furnace so you can help prevent these problems from happening.

4. Hot Water Problems

Your hot water heater is what keeps the water warm when you need to get in the shower or need hot water from the sink. If it isn’t working, then you are going to have an angry tenant.

If you’re lucky, the problem will be the heating element in the hot water tank. A heating element isn’t too expensive to replace, and you can probably figure out how to replace it yourself.

But if the whole tank isn’t working, then you might end up replacing your tank. You can expect to spend at least $500 to get a replacement and have a plumber get it installed.

5. HVAC

You expect to be able to escape the summer heat in your home. If your HVAC system isn’t working, then it might be hotter indoors than it is outside.

An HVAC can fail for several reasons, so it’s a good idea to call in a professional if it starts acting up. By letting problems persist, you’re straining the system, which can cause more damage in the long run.

A lot of fixes aren’t too expensive. But if you wait too long, the damage could be worse and become unrepairable.

Make sure you keep your A/C system serviced every year so you can solve these problems before they happen.

6. Appliance Malfunctions

Things are easy when things are simple. When you start adding in moving parts, you have more points where it can fail.

Appliances are one of the areas where you can expect a lot of costs. They break all the time.

There are some fixes you can make yourself, but you will probably need to call someone to help for most problems. Appliances are sophisticated, and you could make issues worse if you try to fix things yourself.

An oven is especially problematic if you try to fix it yourself. You can read more about some of the common problems with them so you can avoid areas that you shouldn’t be touching.

7. Pests

The chances are that you will experience pest problems regularly. People are dirty and don’t keep things clean to keep out bugs and pests.

Even if your tenants cause the problem, it’s a problem you still need to fix. Depending on the type of problem, you can handle it yourself.

If you have a more significant infestation, you will need to call in a pest control service to eliminate the pests.

8. Creaking Floors

Nobody likes it when they wake up in the middle of the night because of creaking floors. If you have an older rental, then this can be a regular occurrence.

Luckily, it doesn’t take much to fix this problem. Your flooring isn’t a structural issue, so you can replace the boarding on your floors to correct the problem.

If you don’t want to jump the gun on replacing everything, you can try to put talcum powder on the problem spots. This powder will fix the problem a lot of the time.

Don’t Ignore Property Repairs

You can’t get away from it. You’re going to need to do property repairs at some point during your time owning rental properties.

Make sure you take care of these issues as soon as they come up. You’ll have a happier tenant and a better home that is protected from worse problems down the line.

Do you want to find more tips about owning rental properties? Head over to our blog to learn our latest tips.