Investment property owners, who serve as landlords for their properties and/or managers of their own Home Owner’s Association (HOA), have the natural tendency to become trapped in a “reactive” mode. There just always seems to be too much to do in order to deal with the maintenance work, handle tenant problems, and make sure the properties get repaired, cleaned, and quickly rented out when vacant. This work is important to have an overall occupancy rate that is decent.
The trouble is, without systems in place to deal with many other issues on a proactive basis (i.e. in advance of need), unexpected problems can arise. Some of these problems can be very damaging and potentially expensive to the property owners.
This situation can be improved by using a professional management company such as Gassen in Eden Prairie MN that specializes in homeowner association management for condos, townhomes, common interest communities, and real estate cooperatives.
Gassen uses a systematic approach to real estate property portfolio management in order to produce better results. Proactive property management and/or HOA management includes risk mitigation, regular maintenance, and legal compliance.
Risk Mitigation to Reduce Potential Lawsuits
Regular safety inspections, especially of the common areas, are something that is very helpful and can easily be forgotten or neglected if there is not a system in place to create reminders when things need to be inspected.
A simple error, such as not having the required fire extinguishers recharged when they are due for maintenance, can expose a property owner to serious liability risk. Imagine what would happen if a fire breaks out and the fire extinguishers have not been properly maintained. The lawsuit exposure, in such a case, would potentially be very high. Proactive management looks for things that create legal risks and tries to reduce them before they cause a serious problem for the owner.
Regular Maintenance to Avoid Equipment/Services Breakdowns
A major headache for a landlord and tenants is having a hot water boiler or a heating or cooling system go out when it supplies an entire building. Typically, such systems fail more frequently when they are under stress. Breakdowns usually happen when the equipment is being heavily used. When this happens in the dead of winter or the hottest part of the summer it is a major problem.
One way to avoid such difficulties is to conduct routine maintenance on a pre-determined schedule that monitors and checks such critical systems. Repairs are made in advance of a breakdown to replace worn parts that have not yet failed with new ones in order to avoid a potentially catastrophic failure.
Staying in Legal Compliance with Regulations (Local, State, and Federal)
Regulations are ever-changing. To keep up with the changes means to constantly review the activities of the local community, changes in laws made by the state legislature, and any new federal requirements. Being aware of changes not only helps stay in compliance, it may uncover opportunities based on new regulations.
Contact Gassen Company for a quote regarding professional HOA management and property management services. Gassen provides online services, accounting, and local management. Ask about our 12-minute emergency response guarantee. Get rid of the need to personally deal with property management headaches, while at the same time improve the financial performance of your investment properties.