Maintenance schedule for duplex?

[Daniel Soovajian]

Hello!

I just purchased my first out of state investment property in TN (woohoo!) and am looking to create a list of recurring maintenance activities to make sure I'm keeping the property in the best shape possible - and to avoid having key capex items fall into disrepair and incur repair costs that could have been avoided.

For context: the property manager I hired will be conducting two inspections each year, where they'll coordinate a time with the tenants to visit the property in person, take photos and video of the inside and outside, and send back a report/checklist of how the property looks and if they feel repairs are needed.

I'd like to hear BP's feedback as to whether A) I'm missing any key maintenance activities or B) I have things listed here that are overkill and probably not worth the $. Here's my draft list:

1) Lawn maintenance - mow grass and trim back tree branches so that they're at least a few feet away from the house and HVAC systems outside

2) HVAC - each HVAC unit has an electric compressor for cooling and electric forced air for heat - besides removing debris from the outside of each unit, I'm not sure if anything else is really needed (e.g. potentially clean condensate pans if they have buildup)

3) Jet the sewer line - there are a few bellies in the sewer line but the tenants are not experiencing any issues as a result of that. I'm not keen on spending thousands of dollars right now to dig up and replace the sewer line to get rid of the bellies, so I figure jetting the sewer line once a year could buy me some time before I have to pay for a more permanent fix

4) Electric water heaters - flush out the water every couple years; not sure if anything else needed

5) Wood destroying insects - termites and other WDI are a concern in this area but I'm not entirely sure the best way to keep this in check. It sounds like you can pay to treat the outside of the property with some kind of chemical spray that keeps the bugs away, but I've heard that spray will quickly wash away and lose its effectiveness

6) Crawl space - open the vents in the summer and close in the winter to promote air flow in warm weather and keep heat in during cold weather. Debating whether or not I should hire someone to inspect this area and see if there's any standing water or moisture build up (during inspection, there was some moisture build up but I'm planning to fix that by improving the soil grade around the house - so it drains away more effectively)

7) Vinyl exterior - periodically pressure wash it every few years? Would this just bring a cosmetic improvement or would it help extend the life of the viny too? 

8) Metal roof - clean the gutters after the leaves fall from trees; would anything else extend the life of the roof?

Looking forward to what folks have to say. Thank you in advance!

[Brandon Sturgill]

@Daniel Soovajian Congrats on the property. And your approach here is novel, I think folks that think like you should head a regulatory group that keeps slumlords at bay...

I'm sure you'll get some additions responses, but some of these items should be weighed as routine maintenance vs. useful life. For example, if the costs of flushing your water heaters only extends the useful life by a year, than let it roll and have a planned definite replace date. Annual updates to systems are a great idea if you budget for them. A simple tip is to change the hvac filter quarterly...it's a piece of cake and cheap...the tenants can do it themselves. One other item to look at is CIPP lining you main line...it's rare that sewer lines are actually dug up and replaced any longer.

Best of luck...sounds like your properties will be in top shape, you'll have happy tenants, stable income, and top dollar when you re-position by selling or trading your units.