Real Estate Investors: Important Things to Know About HVAC Systems
As a real estate investor, you already know that limiting your monthly expenditure is one of the primary ways to maximize your profits. What you might not know is that your HVAC system is one of the most crucial pieces of equipment to monitor and maintain, especially in warmer climates where the AC will be called on constantly throughout the year.
Below, we’ll be discussing how routine HVAC maintenance can help save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars in the long run. We’ll also go over how you can lower your carrying costs and how you can use HVAC maintenance to maintain a long-standing relationship with your tenants.
Efficient HVAC Equipment Can Lower Your Bills
In many areas across the United States, HVAC equipment will be called upon for heating and cooling on a consistent basis all year.
This not only puts a ton of strain on the equipment but can also leave you with a massive electric bill that cuts into your profits.
That’s where routine HVAC maintenance comes into play. Since the equipment is under constant stress to battle the high outside temperatures, the moving parts are more likely to break down over time. Common issues include broken or malfunctioning fan belts, blown motors, and leaking refrigerant lines, among a variety of other problems.
You can check for some of the more common issues by walking through your property with the HVAC system running and looking for warning signs. Keep an ear out for strange noises coming from your equipment, warm air coming out when cool air should be, and low airflow.
If you notice any of these symptoms, you can diagnose the underlying issue yourself if you’re comfortable doing so. Access your HVAC system, check that the fan belts aren’t broken or frayed, clean the condenser coil, and make sure the drain pan is clear of debris. Changing your filters pre-emptively can also go a long way in keeping your system running as intended.
Alternatively, you can schedule routine service with an HVAC specialist. When you bring in a technician for ongoing maintenance, they will complete a full inspection of the equipment, replace damaged parts that could fail in the near future, and ensure all moving parts are adequately lubricated for efficient motion.
Avoiding this kind of preventative service often leads to significant damage to the system. Your tenants might experience warm air coming from the HVAC vents, no circulation at all, or insufficient cooling capacity.
The likelihood is high that some piece of equipment will break, resulting in the system going down, frustration from your tenants, an emergency situation for you, and a costly repair bill to get the system back up and running. It’s much more cost-efficient to prevent damage than it is to fix it once it occurs.
Additionally, if your system isn’t cooling efficiently, your tenants’ natural solution will be to reduce the temperature or increase the fan speed, both of which call for more energy and drive up your utility bills.
Scheduling maintenance through your property management software is a breeze, and a properly maintained HVAC system will run as efficiently as possible to reduce your utility bills and keep them from cutting too much into your profit.
Property Condition Reports Can Help Boost Your Profits
Another thing that can help you save money on your HVAC bills is your property condition report. These are crucial assessments of your building equipment, including the HVAC system, to determine the current status, expected ongoing maintenance costs, and repair and replacement costs for the future.
Scheduling a property condition assessment will give you a quick snapshot of the condition of your HVAC system currently. You can use the report to determine if it’s more cost-effective to carry out repairs or replacements now or wait until some point in the future. These assessments also typically estimate the money you need to set aside for repairs going forward.
With these numbers, you can more accurately decide when preventative maintenance should be carried out to maximize your profits. If your equipment is nearing the end of its useful life, scheduling routine maintenance could help extend its life and delay having to pay for a replacement.
Your HVAC System Can Help Maintain Landlord-Tenant Relationships
Finally, scheduling HVAC maintenance can help improve the relationship you have with your tenant and potentially save you thousands of dollars you might lose to tenant turnover.
You can schedule a walkthrough of the property with the tenant so that both of you can check the systems for good functionality. During the inspection, make sure vents aren’t covered by furniture or debris, replace the air filters, and clean the HVAC returns. These small actions will show your tenants just how much you care about your property and, more importantly, them.
You can also just send an HVAC technician to complete service for you. While routine maintenance on the equipment might go unnoticed by your tenants, you can let them know you’ve gone out of your way to schedule services that will strictly benefit them. You can take the opportunity to ask them if they’ve noticed any problems or inefficiencies with the air conditioning, which will show that you care about their well-being and not just your profit.
When you use seemingly unnecessary maintenance to improve your landlord-tenant relationship, the tenants will be more likely to continue renting from you. Many tenants will know from experience how challenging and rare it can be to find a good landlord, and the chances are good that they won’t want to give that up for a different space.
Additionally, no tenant wants to deal with the AC and heat going down constantly. They expect their living space to be cool and comfortable, and the frustration from outages could drive them to look for another living arrangement. Ensuring that your equipment is inspected and maintained frequently will help prevent it from breaking down and putting strain on your relationship with your tenants.
Scheduling services with your management software takes little to no time and effort from you, but it can go a long way in making your tenants feel truly at home. Your unit is more likely to remain occupied by a happy tenant, which means your profits will continue to flow.
Wrapping Up: Maximizing Profits With HVAC Maintenance
Real estate investors need to walk a fine line between maintaining their property and the equipment inside it and maximizing their monthly profits. One of the best ways to accomplish both of these things is to carry out routine maintenance on your HVAC system. You can easily schedule service or an inspection via your property management software, and within no time at all, you’ll have taken steps to reduce your monthly expenditure and prevent costly repairs.
Plus, any routine maintenance or other services that show your tenants you care about them, their comfort, and their happiness will go a long way in keeping them in your unit and maintaining your monthly influx of rent.
Article provided by Blue National HVAC
