On the topic of owning rental homes in Old Southwest, identifying and tracking the condition of a home’s exterior elements is equally important as knowing when to replace the carpet or repaint the walls. It doesn’t matter if you’re renting out a property you just recently built or one that you’ve owned for many years, knowing the age of each item and how long it can be reasonably expected to last is an important part of successful rental property management.
A good landlord or property manager understands the healthy lifespan of common exterior elements of your rental property in Old Southwest. A product’s lifespan is how long a product is expected to be useable under standard conditions. For instance, a quality cement patio lasts upwards of 50 years because of the remarkably durable nature of cement. At the other end, wooden decks go for approximately ten years since they are very sensitive to natural elements.
For reference, we’ve listed a few common exterior items and their average lifespan:
- Garage Door: 15 years
- Automatic Garage Door Opener: 5-10 years
- Wood Fence: 10 years
- Stucco Exterior: 20-50+ years
- Vinyl Siding: 25 years
The concept of a lifespan becomes relevant when you have a tenant that has caused property damage that goes beyond normal wear and tear. As an example, say your vinyl siding gets damaged, but it is more than 25 years old, the tenant shouldn’t be held responsible for the cost of repairs. If the vinyl siding is fewer than 25 years old, the tenant would likely be responsible to pay some or all of the cost of repairs.
A smarter thing to do than waste time and money on a trivial lawsuit is to stay ahead of property damage. With proper knowledge and a proactive approach to property management, you can keep all elements of a rental home– both inside and out– in great condition. Regular replacement of items beyond their useful lives is one way to avoid bearing the full cost of repairs caused by tenant negligence. Another way is to have regular property evaluations to monitor all the parts of the rental home.
Real Property Management Colonial offers a thorough property management program that gets you ready for the future with maintenance plans, property evaluations, and much more. We have the skills and information to keep your Old Southwest real estate investments profitable for several years to come. Would you want to know more about how we can serve you? Go ahead and contact us online or call us at 540-595-7411.
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.
