While it may be tempting to leave some of your personal items at your rental property so you can take advantage of available storage space, it’s not a good idea. You do not want to continue keeping any personal belongings at the property when you have a tenant living there.
Lots of property owners are always asking me if they should buy a home warranty. To answer that question, I have a personal example to share with you. Last year, we had a house in Green Valley that one of our investors owned, where the air conditioning condenser popped in the middle of August. It was about 115 degrees when the tenants called to report the problem. We checked our records and noticed the owner had purchased a home warranty, so we called the warranty company. They sent a vendor out to inspect the problem, then they sent another vendor out to confirm t hat the condenser needed to be replaced. These were vendors we did not have established relationships with. So, the warranty company eventually informed us that our new air conditioning unit would be installed within 7 to 10 business days. When it’s as hot as it is in Las Vegas during August, you can’t leave a tenant in a home without air conditioning for that long. It’s a habitability issue. So, the owner ended up paying thousands of dollars out of pocket to get a new condenser so the tenants could continue living in the home.
Home warranties come with a different way of doing things. The companies are not always customer service driven. Because we do not have a relationship with their vendors and we cannot use our own vendors, we are at a distinct disadvantage.
Another question property owners often ask me is: can I do my own maintenance? If you own rental homes and live close by, you might think it’s appropriate for you to run out and fix the dishwasher or install a new garbage disposal all by yourself because you tend to be pretty handy around the house and you think you can handle it. We always discourage this. Again – I can tell you from personal experience, it’s not a good idea. I own a few rental properties in the area and even though I’m a professional property manager, I ask other professionals to manage those properties for me. It’s a good idea to keep a little distance between yourself and your tenants. Your tenants want some privacy, and owners can occasionally get emotional 
about what may be happening at his or her property. We are able to stay business like when it comes to how we approach service requests and repairs.
If you have any questions about warranties and the challenges of trying to do home repairs yourself, please contact us at Ravago Group Property Management.
