Uncommon Repairs to Consider When a Tenant Leaves

When a tenant inevitably vacates your Long Beach rental property, there are a few items you should consider repairing. Common repairs include paint, flooring and general maintenance. Be wary though, as there are some items that if left unchecked could result in an expensive repair.

While the common repairs and maintenance are often expected by landlords, we invite you to consider a few uncommon repairs or at the very least inspect to make sure it doesn’t become costly.

Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC)

Cooling and heating in your Long Beach rental property needs to be working properly before putting your unit back on the market. After a tenant leaves, a routine inspection should be done on the HVAC unit. Many times a simple replacement of the filter is enough, but occasionally the unit itself needs to be cleared from debris as this can drastically reduce the HVAC’s efficiency and reduce the lifespan of the system. 

Regular maintenance is key to improving functionality of your HVAC system. Failure to do this may lead to leaks which will cause the unit to work harder to maintain temperatures, putting unnecessary stress on the components. Faulty circuit wiring can also cause HVAC systems to fail, wiring can become damaged due to unwanted pests, a careless worker or even an earthquake. An $80 to $220 service call fee can save you over $5,000 in repair costs. 

Electrical Wiring

Due to the majority of homes in Long Beach being built in the 1940’s wiring can be old and outdated. Old wires can become overtaxed risking electrical fires. Many older homes no longer have the ability to keep up with modern living. If you notice your tenant complaining about breakers tripping often, you may need to consider an electrical rewiring. This is an expensive job, and some homes only need a partial rewire to be safe to live in. 

The cost of a rewire depends on the size of the home and cost of material among other things. You should expect between $5,000 to $15,000 depending on these variables although prices change regularly based on fluctuations in raw materials. Although there are some electrical upgrades that can be done to your Long Beach rental to help keep long term tenants as well.

Plumbing

Although water leaks can be common under kitchen and bathroom faucets, do not neglect outdoor water lines such as sprinklers and the mainline. If you wish to maintain curb appeal with a healthy green lawn, a broken sprinkler pipe can damage that image. It is difficult to notice anything wrong at first. If you or your tenant notice the water bill suddenly becomes obscenely high, this can mean there is a rupture in the sprinkler line. Common causes for these lines to break include the continuous pressure applied by compacting soil, animals digging or burrowing can chew through the pvc or tree roots can sever or damage the line.

Tree roots can also invade the main waterline, especially in older homes. Consider hydro jetting your pipes to clear out debris, tree roots or anything causing a back up in your plumbing. Hydro jetting blasts water into your drain at a high psi. On average the cost of hydro jetting is between $250 - $800, depending of course on the amount of pipes being worked on.

Water Heater

If your home is equipped with a standard gas water heater it should be inspected regularly every year. Many times these heaters are inside the unit which makes it difficult to coordinate with tenants for inspections. More importantly, it can be costly to bring a tech to inspect the heater every couple months. Generally you’ll want to look for water leaks, gas leaks or corrosion. If you feel like the water heater is becoming too much of a nuisance, perhaps you should consider upgrading to a tankless water heater.

A tankless water heater is smaller and more efficient than the conventional water heater, and can be gas or electric powered. Tankless water heaters do everything the older variety does, the only downside being the upfront cost. Installing a tankless water heater can range from $1,000 - $3,000 though some can last over 20 years. The most common form of maintenance done to tankless water heaters being a yearly delimeing of the unit’s heating element. Meaning a technician makes sure to remove any build up around the unit.

If you have any questions about other uncommon fixes you may need to look into after a tenant vacates your rental call us at (562) 888-0247 or feel free to fill out our free rental analysis to see what your rental could yield today.