With spring in the air, flowers in bloom, and baby birds singing, it can be easy to forget that your Bethesda rental is at risk thanks to heavy rainstorms. And, with heavy rainfall comes damage, and lots of it. Flooded basements, overflowing rain gutters, washed out gardens, and so much more can happen to your investment property with just an afternoon of rain.
In order to avoid the spring’s heavy rains from wreaking havoc on your rental property, there are very specific things you should do to protect it. After all, water damage is not something you or your tenant want to deal with, ever, so why not prevent this from becoming a problem in the first place.
Keep reading to see the best ways to protect your rental property from spring’s heavy (though necessary) rain in order to save yourself the headache and costly repair bills.
Avoiding the Damage Spring Rains Can Have on Your Bethesda Rental Property
1. Conduct Seasonal Inspections
It is normal for your Bethesda property management company to perform move-in and move-out inspections of your rental property to ensure your tenants have not caused any property damage. However, a highly qualified property management company, such as Bay Management Group, knows the importance of routine inspections, especially when the seasons are about to change.
Before spring is in full force, you or your property management company should inspect the exterior of your rental property. Here are some of the key things to be on the lookout for:
- After fall and winter have become long lost memories, it is important you clear your property’s gutters of all leaves and other debris. This is so the gutters can do their job once the spring rains come. If water cannot flow properly through the gutters, your property may sustain significant water damage. It is also important to make sure the gutters are firmly attached to the property and that they face away from the property so water drains away from the property and its foundation.
- Roofs tend to deteriorate over the years and without proper inspections, broken, loose, or missing shingles may go unnoticed, even throughout heavy rainstorms. Unfortunately, if your property’s roofing is not in tiptop shape, come the rainy season, your tenants may experience some of that rain indoors.
- Cracks in your rental property’s foundation are inviting places for water to go. Make sure you check the sidewalk for cracks, seal them appropriately if found, and close all gaps completely. If you are unsure how to do this properly, enlist the help of a professional to prevent re-cracking later on.
These three things should be at the top of the list for you and your property management company to be on the lookout for every time you inspect the property. Though your tenants should be maintaining the rain gutters as best they can, problems with the roof and property’s foundation are likely to fall into your hands and become your issue to deal with. Prevent the costly repairs that come with ignoring these issues and letting spring drop lots of rain directly on top of them by staying on top of the issues and fixing them beforehand.
2. Yard Maintenance
Strong winds and torrential rains have the ability to do a lot of damage to your rental home’s yards. If your tenant is not familiar with the weather patterns in your rental property’s region, inform them at move-in time what they are responsible for come springtime. This will help to protect your yard, property, and your tenant’s personal belongings. See how here:
- Save the yard. Have your Bethesda tenants trim all of the trees, shrubs, and bushes once the weather starts to warm and spring starts to make an appearance. Wind and rain have the ability to tear up large, loose, or dead tree branches and bushes leaving large holes or damaging plants. Not only will this be unsightly, it will be costly to replace.
- Save the property. In addition to causing you a lot of grief when it comes to your well-maintained landscaping, spring rains can also cause damage to your rental property. If a large tree branch blows off and hits your property, your tenants may have a hole in the wall or broken windows to contend with. Any tree branches that look loose should be removed.
- Save the personal belongings. If your tenants have personal belongings such as patio furniture in the backyard of your rental property you may want to suggest to them that they move those items inside during the height of the springtime rains. This also includes things such as gardening tools, lawn ornaments, BBQ grills, and children’s toys. A gust of wind that accompanies heavy rains may blow these items into your home damaging both them and the property. Placing these things inside a shed or garage while not in use is not only a great way to help protect your tenant’s belongings but also keep your property intact.
3. Check Windows
In the past, we have discussed how to know when it is time to replace or repair your windows. Well, we are here to tell you today that inspecting them before the spring rains hit is as great a time as ever to check them for leaks, broken seals, cracks in the glass, and anything else rendering them weak.
Weak windows are more susceptible to breaking during a strong storm and leaking as the rains hit down hard, thus damaging the interior of your property. If you wish to avoid a phone call from an upset tenant about a broken window or water damage from a leaking window, it is important to replace or repair any windows that will not withstand heavy rainfall.
4. Get the Right Insurance
Understanding that flood damage coverage does not typically accompany standard homeowners or renters insurance policies is important if you have a property that experiences serious rainfall each year. Here are some important facts you should know about flood insurance:
- You do not have to live in a serious flood zone to have flood insurance
- Sometimes rainfall can affect non-flood zones and cause serious damage
- Understand what your flood insurance covers because it does not always cover everything
- Know the many types of water damage and get coverage for the type your property is at risk for
- Flood damage coverage is usually affordable as an add-on to your existing insurance policy
- It usually takes 30 days for flood damage insurance to kick in so make sure to plan ahead
Knowing these things about flood damage insurance can help protect you in case you aren’t able to protect your property on your own from serious rainfall.
In the end, knowing what you and your tenants can do to protect your rental property from heavy spring rains is essential for maintaining a strong-standing property free of damage. No property owner wants to get the call that their investment property has been severely damaged in a storm and that the tenants that are residing there must be placed elsewhere while the damage is being repaired. Thus, the heavy emphasis on preparation.
If you want help managing your Bethesda rental property, especially when the heavy spring rains hit, contact Bay Management Group right away. Not only can we help you with all things property related, we also can help you prepare for instances like heavy rain that have the potential to damage your property. So, get in touch today and see just how much of a difference Bay Management Group can make for you and your property.