Property Maintenance Checks

[Scott Forney]

Looking for some input here on regular maintenance of rental properties. We just purchased 4 units from a retirement home, where they primarily housed elderly and disabled individuals. We have inherited 2 tenants and they have gotten used to the retirement home replacing furnace filters every 4 months for them.

I don't think this is a terrible idea to have this scheduled to change these filters 3 times per year, it would save wear and tear on the furnace and a/c, and I would know that it is being replaced. Also would give me excuses to get my eyes on the rest of the unit.

Anyone else do this, or is this an expense I should be avoiding? Furnace filters get pricey when you are buying 8 at a time! Also, as we grow the portfolio, I could see this getting to be time consuming.

[Julie Hartman]

We do this as part of our service to our owners and as an excuse to peek inside the house at regular intervals. We change furnace filters on a quarterly basis because we use our furnaces a lot here and the filters can get quite dirty in that amount of time. You should be able to write off the cost of the filters and you can buy them in bulk online. We do once a year full inspections as well but the filter changes are a quick "random" check even if we can't go into every room.