If you own a rental property in Visalia, you’ll need to know how to handle maintenance emergencies. We always recommend that owners have a sound preventative maintenance plan in place. This will cut down on unexpected repairs, replacements, and outages.
When you do have an emergency at your rental property, however, you’ll need to know what to do. Your residents will need to be prepared as well.
Hopefully, you’re working with a Visalia property management company. Property managers are equipped to handle any emergency situation at your rental property, whether it’s weather-related or something that’s developed from a power outage or a plumbing disaster.
It’s extremely important to focus on understanding the root of the emergency issue, and not necessarily the result. If all the plumbing in your rental property suddenly stops working, it could be as simple as a corroded pipe or as serious as a foundation issue.
Here’s how we handle the emergency situations that you probably don’t like thinking about when it comes to your real estate investment.
Identifying and Resolving Maintenance Emergencies in Visalia Rental Properties
Before we think about wildfires, excessive heat, or a major earthquake, let’s focus on potential problems that come from inside the home.
That means maintenance emergencies.
These types of emergencies can be defined as anything that compromises the structural integrity of your investment or puts your tenant’s safety at risk. That’s an emergency, and you’re going to want to take care of it as soon as possible to minimize loss as well as risk and liability.
Don’t let the initial problem lead to bigger problems. The way you prepare and respond will determine whether you mitigate additional damage or invite it in.
Plumbing and water damage serve as an excellent example. Whether there’s a sudden flood due to an upstairs neighbor leaving a tub running or you have a pipe leaking inside the walls of the property, water can be traumatic for your investment. It damages your home structurally and it causes destruction to appliances, furniture, floors, and personal property. A plumbing problem left unattended can also create the conditions that invite mold and rot. You need to handle every maintenance issue that involves water as an emergency.
You’ll need to know where to find the necessary shut-off valves in your property. You’ll need to know where to find the irrigation line. It may be in the street or in the yard or on the side of the property. There are several locations and you need to know where they are. You also want to know where the gas lines are and how to shut those off in the event of a gas leak.
Make sure your tenants have this information, too. They must be comfortable finding these shut-off valves as well as circuit breakers. They should also know how to operate them. If your home is flooding, you don’t want them to wait around for a plumber to arrive. You want them to know how to turn off the water and prevent further damage.
Preparing for Potential Emergencies
You need a plan for potential emergencies, whether they’re weather-related or a maintenance issue. You can have procedures in place for what to do if there’s a flood or a fire.
Disaster planning starts with knowing your investment property. You have to know its weaknesses and where the greatest risk for emergencies can be found.
What disasters and emergencies are you most vulnerable to?
In Visalia, it probably won’t be a hurricane. There’s not likely to be a blizzard and there are rarely tornadoes. Earthquakes are a concern, however. You need to have an emergency plan in place for earthquakes Fires, too.
Your property manager will prepare for any unpleasant possibilities by identifying potential liabilities and building a plan around them. We’ll have vendor relationships that are going to help us make repairs right away and take preventative measures to keep things from getting worse. We make sure the latest building codes are met in case of earthquakes, for example.
As property managers, we have found that emergency preparedness is one of the last things rental property owners think about, but it actually needs to be a priority, especially in Visalia, where we’re always at risk for an earthquake or a fire.
Make Sure Your Insurance Policy Is Current
A strong insurance policy is a great way to protect yourself from emergencies that you never saw coming.
In additional to your landlord policy, you may want to buy earthquake coverage and an additional flood insurance policy, depending on where exactly you’re located. You should have fire insurance, too, and if you can’t find it, your property manager can make some recommendations around the FAIR Plan.
Review your insurance policies regularly to ensure you’re properly covered in the event of an emergency. Many property owners assume their insurance policies will take care of everything, but the reality is that policies vary widely and may not cover all types of damage or liability scenarios. Engaging with your insurance provider before an emergency occurs can help you identify any holes in your coverage and give you peace of mind that you’re fully protected.
If you don’t have an insurance agent you trust, we can refer you to one.
Keep Contact Information Current and Know Your Local Resources
Property managers need your current contact information.
If you’re not working with a property manager, make sure your tenants know how to reach you. Keep your tenants safe during an emergency by keeping them informed. They’ll need to have access to resources and helplines.
One of the first things you can do to prepare yourself and your tenants for potential crises is to identify your local and state authorities. You need to know who to call in case of an emergency, and your residents need to have the same list of contact numbers.
Cover all your bases. Health pandemics and earthquakes will require different emergency responses than a leak in your home or a fire in your kitchen. Make sure both you and your residents have guidelines in place and are committed to following them.
We are constantly reviewing our emergency plans, whether we’re talking about a leak in the unit, a regional power outage, another pandemic, or a devastating earthquake. If you’d like to discuss your own emergency preparedness, please contact us at The Equity Group.
