Keeping Up Maintenance on Your House or Airbnb
Owning a home is great…until your HVAC needs to be repaired. Or even worse, if something breaks while guests are in your short-term rental property that you rent out on Airbnb! I have some friends that own an amazing house in a popular ski town, unfortunately their heating failed in the middle of winter. They had to spend thousands of dollars repairing it because they were first time homeowners and hadn't done maintenance on it, and it was a remote town so getting someone out there cost more. To top it off, there were Airbnb guests in their home when it happened, so they had to refund the money to guests. Don't let this happen to you!
What should you do to avoid this scenario? 3 things: Get a trusted maintenance person, keep up routine maintenance checks on your property, create a schedule.
Have a trusted maintenance contractor that you can call ASAP
- Keep a relationship with the maintenance workers I find to be good, like HVAC, plumber, electrician, carpenters, for example. I have a list of reliable local contractors so I can immediately call someone if anything happens.
- Set up these contractors so that if there's an emergency after-hours, I can call them.
- Always make sure guests know that if something goes wrong, they can report it to you.
Keep Up Routine Maintenance Tasks
- Make sure you inspect things regularly so you can catch any issues, like checking plumbing for leaks and making sure drains are clear. If you do see something, fix it. This is especially true for safety-related fixes—which you should immediately do.
- Regularly inspect HVAC systems, and replace air filters every 1–3 months.
- Always test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors monthly
- Seasonal work should never be put off. It can cause so much money and damage later on. Always make sure you clean the gutters and downspouts, especially if you live somewhere that has all 4 seasons!
- Make sure you prepare your home for big weather events if you can—like preparing your pipes if a particular winter storm will be coming through, so they don't burst and flood your home.
Creating a Maintenance Schedule
- Keep a maintenance log to track repairs so you don't forget.
- Use property management software or calendars to automate reminders
- Schedule monthly walk-throughs to catch issues early.
- Coordinate maintenance around guest check-ins to avoid disruptions.