Landscaping maintenance-related decisions may be one of the difficult decisions rental property owners must make. Many Brandywine property owners assume that their tenant will be responsible for keeping the yard clean and attractive, but that might not always be the best course of action.
There are both pros and cons to assigning landscape maintenance to your tenant in the same way that there are pros and cons of taking care of it yourself (or hiring outside help). Take a closer look at the responsibility of landscaping maintenance from both sides. This will help you in choosing the best option for your property.
As the property owner, the simplest way to ensure property maintenance is getting done correctly is to hire a professional to do it. There are clear benefits to taking this approach to landscaping maintenance for single-family rental homes. For example, you won’t need to worry that your tenants will mistreat or neglect the lawn, trees, or other plants.
With proper tending, your rental house will always have great curb appeal, helping you preserve your property values. The availability of landscaping maintenance for your tenant might just become a big draw, helping you attract and keep higher-quality tenants who want the extra convenience and are willing to pay a little extra for it. Most of the time, as soon as your rental property is rented out, many states do not allow you to come on the property unless you give proper notice, or it is outlined in the lease agreement. Even then, it is not a good idea to handle the landscape maintenance yourself.
To add to these concerns, if you plan to do the yard maintenance work yourself, you’ll need the time, skills, and tools to do the job right. It could be an issue especially if you don’t live near your rental property. Also, the time you spend caring for your property’s yard might not be the best way to go about it.
Even so, hiring a professional landscaping company will be an additional expense. If you were not able to figure landscaping maintenance costs into your initial calculations, that could put an unwanted strain on your monthly cash flows. Affordable quality landscaping companies are also hard to come by. The best part of having a property manager: they will have a list of service providers that may even do the work at a discount.
The most common way property owners address landscaping maintenance is to require your tenant to do it. Arrangements like this have many benefits. The tenant takes on the time and expense of mowing lawns, trimming bushes, and pulling weeds, freeing your time and money for other things. Tenants who have been renting single-family homes for many years often already have the tools and experience needed to do a decent job. They may be capable of adequate yard upkeep.
However, not all tenants are willing or able to live up to landscaping responsibilities. If you entrust yard maintenance to your tenant, you do run the risk of doing serious damage to the yard. Abuse or neglect may lead to dead or dying plants. Your property frontage could quickly become a neighborhood eyesore. Not only that, but a corresponding reduction of your property value could also result. Consider also that if your tenants don’t already have a lawnmower or other tools, buying them could present a serious problem. Many tenants don’t want or can’t afford to invest in expensive lawn care equipment.
Also, they may not know how to use such tools safely. If you decide to provide tools for them, you could create a situation where the tenant injures themselves, breaks or damages your landscaping equipment, or both. These might result in unwanted legal problems unless careful steps are taken.
Finally, deciding on who will handle your Brandywine rental property’s landscaping depends on your particular situation. Weigh all the pros and cons and be realistic about your availability and budget, so that you can come to an arrangement that benefits both parties.
If you need some advice on how to handle landscaping for your rental property or would like someone else to take care of it entirely, contact Real Property Management Gold. You can reach us online or call us at 301-392-2172 for more information.
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