Why Does the Age of Your Spanish Springs Rental’s Exterior Matter?

On the topic of owning rental homes in Spanish Springs, 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 the property you’re renting out is old or new, 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 Spanish Springs. A product’s lifespan is how long a product is expected to be useable under standard conditions. To illustrate, a quality cement patio lasts upwards of 50 years. This is due to the highly durable nature of cement. Wooden decks, however, only last for a comparatively short ten years since they have proven to be 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. To illustrate, if 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.

Rather than spending too much time and money on a lawsuit that would drag on, the smart thing to do would be 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 Corazon prepares you for the future with maintenance plans, property evaluations, and much more. This is all part of their comprehensive property management program. We have the skills and information to keep your Spanish Springs real estate investments profitable for several years to come. Would you want to know more about how we can serve you? Please feel free to contact us online or call us at 775-826-1414.