Five Step Preventative Maintenance Program
September 1, 2010
An expense that saves you money— it sounds like an oxymoron. It takes small problems and keeps them that way. Patching a small leak in the roof now stops major water damage later. Of course it’s elementary. But why is it then that so many landlords don’t do any preventive maintenance?
Preventive maintenance (PM) is more than going over to fix something when a tenant calls to say it’s broken. By the time a tenant notices something and calls to tell you it’s broken, the building could fall down. It was only after the water started running out on the floor from the small leak under the sink that they called you. By then it had found its way to the ceiling below, causing sheetrock to crumble and walls to stain.
Preventive maintenance means planning for repairs and maintenance, rather than letting them plan your life. It is putting a small amount of money into your property now to save big money later. It starts with a well thought out plan.
Designing a preventive maintenance program has five steps:
1) Take an inventory of equipment and building.
2) Determine necessary tasks.
3) Calculate the cost.
4) Schedule the tasks.
5) Keep records.
Take an inventory of equipment and building
Every item in the building should be listed and described, including its manufacturer, operating procedures, location in the building, date and purchase, and existing warranties. If appropriate, list where you can obtain parts, as well. Walls and supports should be listed by location and described. A complete inventory is a big job, but once done makes the preventive maintenance program infinitely easier.
Determine necessary tasks
What type of inspections and maintenance should be performed and how frequently? Walls, doors, windows and roofs should be scheduled for painting, caulking, sealing, or patching as appropriate. Equipment such as furnaces, air conditioning, pumps, motors, and dishwashers need to be regularly inspected and serviced. The exterior of the building needs to be inspected periodically.
Calculate the cost
How much time, labor and money will the preventive maintenance program require? Budget for it, based on whatever past figures you have and the amount of work you expect will be involved.
Schedule the tasks
Since they vary in frequency (some weekly, some monthly, some semiannually, some annually), you need to work out a full-year schedule. See the article “Setting Up a Preventive Maintenance Program” elsewhere in this issue.
Keep Records
These will show whether certain activities should be performed more or less often. From these you can also determine the cost-effectiveness of the program.
Consistency is the watchword. Set out a program and stick to it.
About the Author: Bob Cain
Some 30 years ago Bob Cain went to a no-money-down seminar and got the notion that owning rental property would be just the best idea there is for making money. He bought some. Trouble was, what he learned at the seminar didn’t tell him how to make money on his rental property. He went looking for help in the form of a magazine or newsletter about the business. He couldn't find any.
Always ready to jump at a great idea, he decided he could put his speaking and writing skills to work and perform a valuable service for other investors who needed more information about property management. So Bob ferreted out the secrets, tricks and techniques of property management wherever he found them; then he passed them along to other landlords.
For over 25 years now, Bob has been publishing information, giving speeches, putting on seminars and workshops, and consulting for landlords on how to buy, rent and manage property more effectively.
