An integral part of many successful real estate investment strategies involves property renovations. The right renovations can greatly affect long-term property values and rent prices. Of course, you don’t have to be an investor to care about getting your money’s worth out of home improvements.

While reducing rental property turnover is key to maximizing your cash flow, it’s also the inevitable reality of owning a rental. While you can’t avoid turnover from time-to-time, you can take proactive steps to avoid lengthy vacancies and delays. When you do, you’ll bounce back better than ever.

All of us are well-versed in what property management is designed to do for our residents and our investment properties. When we consider property maintenance, we usually think of those responsibilities: fixing or replacing broken appliances, changing locks and performing major repairs.

At the most basic, core level, owners and managers are required to provide a habitable space for residents. What this means can vary based on local law, but these standards always involve things like safety, health, and cleanliness. Some tasks, however, don’t necessarily always fall to property management. Your residents have responsibilities, too.

While they may not be vital to the habitability of the property, there are things residents have to do. Sometimes those lines can get blurry and cause contention: so let us clarify.

Remember that these guidelines are typical and may vary under different legal regulations.

Summer isn’t all fun and games. For many of us (especially in the Southern and Southwestern U.S.), summer can get unbearable. Heat, whether dry or humid, demands a conscious effort to wear sunscreen and stay hydrated.

People aren’t the only things that can be damaged by sun, heat and humidity. Properties can also be worn down by harsh summer heat. Just like in winter, we have to be mindful of how temperatures can pose problems for our investment properties.

No one likes to do it and no one likes to pay for it. As real estate investors, staying on top of property maintenance is a key way to keep your tenants content and build a reputation as an investor who cares for their business. Even when you have property management handling the nitty-gritty details and hands-on aspects of property maintenance, that doesn’t mean investors can ignore maintenance and simply rely on that management company.

Smart real estate investors stay in front of property maintenance by accepting it as a capital expenditure (capex) that is going to always be there.  Maintenance is what prevents major issues and when issues arise, whether you landlord yourself or use a management company, time and action are vitally important.  The longer we wait as real estate investors to address maintenance issues, the bigger the problems become and the bigger bite they take out of our check books.

One off the number one reasons people are drawn to renting is the idea of a maintenance-free lifestyle. Yes, not having to deal with broken appliances and property upkeep is an alluring notion for many. For real estate investors, though, when buying investment property, dealing with property maintenance can be a big pain. While particularly big repairs always hurt the wallet, the fact is that any maintenance task takes time and effort to properly address.

The sooner you catch a problem, the sooner you can fix it. So what’s a landlord or property manager to do when tenants keep things to themselves?

Winter. It can be a magical wonderland that conjures up images of chestnuts roasting on an open fire and Jack Frost nipping at one’s nose, but more often than not, winter can get downright dreary. Whether it’s slushy, dirty snow, brown winter grass or bare tree branches, winter can hit your curb appeal hard.

I came up with a list to help turn the dreary winter look into a tidy and well-kept property.  These ideas can help properties rent quicker and at a higher rate.  Just because winter is dreary does not mean our real estate investing properties have to be!