Owning and managing a commercial property can be a fulfilling and lucrative endeavor. You can’t expect to sit back and let profits roll in without rolling up your sleeves and getting to work, though. Even after you lease a space, you’re responsible for a lot of the maintenance.
Maintaining your property is crucial, not just for safety or legal purposes, but for business. The more care you take with your spaces, the better they’ll look, helping you develop a good reputation with tenants. Frequent maintenance can also help you prevent some costly issues.
There’s a lot to do when maintaining commercial properties, but here are five points you should be sure to hit.
1. Pay Attention to Your HVAC System
One of the most crucial parts of your property to check up on is its HVAC system. If your heating and cooling aren’t working correctly, it could harm your tenant’s business. Regularly inspecting these systems and making small fixes as issues arise will prevent any expensive or hazardous mistakes.
Make sure you change out HVAC filters at least every three months to ensure airflow and prevent mold. You should also have an HVAC technician service the system at least once a year to keep it running smoothly. If your tenants ever reach out to you about an issue, respond as quickly as possible.
2. Routinely Inspect Safety Equipment
All of your properties should have safety equipment like fire extinguishers and smoke detectors in them. that providing these tools isn’t enough to stay safe. You have to make sure they’re in working order, too. If you don’t, you could easily find yourself in a sticky legal situation, or worse, a dangerous accident.
You should test carbon monoxide detectors at least once a month, according to the U.S. Fire istration. The same goes for smoke alarms, and it doesn’t hurt to change the batteries in these devices frequently, either. If you’re ever unsure about the maintenance schedule for a piece of equipment, check its manufacturer recommendations.
3. Clean and Repair the Roof
Since you don’t see the top of your roof that often, it can be easy to neglect. If you put off roof maintenance for too long, though, you run the risk of a costly breakage. Debris like leaves and snow can pile up over time and damage your roof, so it’s best to clear it before it becomes an issue.
Whenever you go up to clear debris, check the condition of the tiles, too. If you see any cracks, get someone to fix or replace them as soon as possible. If you’re doing repairs yourself, make sure you get the right ladder for the job, too.
4. Keep Everything Well-Lit
At first, lighting may not seem like a particularly critical part of maintenance, but it’s an essential safety measure. Poor lighting is the leading cause of slips and falls, which could result in an injury lawsuit. Providing adequate lighting will keep you in safe legal standing and protect people’s health.
Whenever you visit your property for other maintenance needs, take a look at the lights. If you notice any dim or out lights either in or outside the building, change it as soon as possible. It’s a good idea to keep spare lights on-premise so you can do so quickly.
5. Treat the Property for Pests
Finally, be sure to maintain pest control, especially during the warmer months. Any bugs or rodents in your property could scare tenants and their customers away and may be a health code violation. Before you even lease an area, make sure you hire a reliable pest control service.
When looking at pest control solutions, keep the people in your building in mind. More than 7,000 people are unintentionally poisoned from rodenticides a year. Ensure your pest treatment schedule doesn’t endanger people, preferably not overlapping with your tenant’s busy hours.
Keep Your Property in Peak Condition
If you’ve never managed a residential property before, the maintenance considerations can seem intimidating. Once you know what to do and can establish a schedule, though, it won’t cause you much trouble. Maintenance is essential, but it doesn’t have to be challenging.
Follow these steps, and you’ll be able to keep your property in brand-new condition for as long as possible. You’ll keep people safe and improve your standing as a businessperson.
Author Bio:
Oscar Collins is the managing editor at Modded. He writes about cars, fitness, the outdoors and more. Follow @TModded on Twitter for more articles from the Modded team.
