There are two kinds of return on investment in real estate.
- Rent, which can be invested to pay for acquiring another asset
- Property Appreciation you get in the long term
So, you have to look at a rent bearing property as helping to acquire two assets – property appreciation of the current asset and acquiring an additional asset. So maintaining your property is twice more important.
your goals for your property for the longterm would be
- Need the property to hold good value
- Lower cost of net maintenance and repairs
- Easier to rent out in less time at better rents
- Easy to sell the property with a good property appreciation (but not that easy unless your maintain)
So, understand different types of repairs/ maintenance activities
- Periodic Preventive Maintenance, something you do before it becomes a repair, a problem.
- Occasional repairs, which can be avoided through periodic maintenance
- Less Frequent
NOTE: Attend to any minor or major repair immediately. It is best to frequently check and do periodic maintenance so that necessity for repairs is minimal.
Preventive Maintenance may include
It ONLY requires periodic Inspection. Maintain only if needed after the Inspection.
- Full deep cleaning (flooring, windows, bathrooms, kitchen, wardrobes,
- checking rolling windows and doors
- Polishing/ painting of wooden doors exposed to sun light and rain
- Terrace cleaning and trimming of tree branches
- Decongestion of drain lines in both kitchen and bathrooms
- Checking rusting of metal hinges, fixtures etc
- De-greasing of chimney
- Checking MCB and earthing and worn-out power lines
- De-scaling stainless steel taps, health faucets, shower plates, sink etc
- Sealing of leaking kitchen platforms, gas pipeline and bathroom tiles.
Occasional Repair is when there is a problem
Most repairs arise because of no maintenance and neglect and can be avoided.
- Jammed drainage lines leading to smell and accumulation of waste
- Off the hinge modular kitchen doors
- Creaking and struggling sliding windows and doors (very expensive and laborious to repair)
- Hard water scaled and stained bathroom tiles that are tough to clean up
- Stained living room and balcony tiles
- Deteriorating bathroom doors and frames due to water leakage under tiles.
Less Frequent repairs
Can be expensive to repair and therefore it is best to avoid. Periodic Inspections can help catch issues at infancy.
- Loose door hinges
- Pest eaten up door frames
- Earthing and electrical issues
- Loose tiles and kitchen platforms, loose wardrobe doors.
How much does property maintenance cost?
Here are approximate rates which can vary based on location, time and other conditions.
- Full Deep Cleaning for a semi furnished 2 bhk, 1000 sft costs about Rs. 4000-6000 recommended once in 9-12 months.
- Property Inspection service costs Rs 300-600 (depending on location, type of property) to check the health of the place and give you a full report.
- Bathrooms deep cleaning inc windows, mirrors, geyser inc de-scaling faucets, shower plate, taps will cost about Rs 2000 for two bathrooms, standard size.
- Kitchen deep cleaning covering chimney de-greasing, wardrobes, baskets, de-scaling sink, taps, cleaning platform, utility area, window glasses costs about Rs 2000.
Remember that the cost of repair and hassle associated with getting a perfect repair out-weights the periodic maintenance costs you invest on.
But people spend more time and money, on average, to maintain a Rs 10 lakh car than on a Property worth 1 Crore. Car is a fast depreciating asset while a real estate property keeps appreciating, thanks to constant Urbanisation and change in consumer behaviour. That is why we have written this article!
”Strategy is to focus on one thing and get it right. It is not about doing many things” – A Harvard Business Consultant.
The strategy here is to ONLY frequently/ periodically inspect the property and do necessary maintenance activity. You will start seeing good results and also realise that your net cost on repairs actually go down.
Why do you need to do a Profession Inspection
- A good professional checks things in the property that a regular owner or tenant may not notice.
- He or she can deal professionally with the tenant without hurting the relationship between owner and the tenant
- He or she can advise on the repairs and help you save cost without hurting quality of repair.
- Tenants may not be really be inclined to report the full status of the property for different reasons of all shades.
- You save a lot of time and effort commuting.
- You may also want to read about How to choose the Best Property Management Company
Avail Periodic Inspection service today
If you are an NRI or an absentee property owner who needs help with doing periodic inspection, we can help you. And it totally is worth it!
