The moment that autumn transpires and the leaves begin to float down may also result in gutters jammed with detritus. To ensure your Richardson rental property is in delightful form each year, it is pivotal to make cleaning gutters a routine and a part of your property maintenance routine. But who should be responsible to clean them out? Even though requesting that your tenant carry out this chore may feel like a wise decision, there are important reasons why you should not have them perform regular gutter maintenance. Even if they sound like they know what they are fulfilling, asking a tenant to clean your rental property’s gutters could lead to serious injury or property damage, both of which could result in expensive problems later.
Functioning gutters are an essential part of preventing expensive repairs. Overflowing gutters can cause damaged foundations, roofs, and other structural elements of the property. They can similarly lure insects and other pests and on top of that, other health hazards like old may occur. When gutters are not cleaned constantly, they can elicit considerable problems that you might not be able to recognize until you can no longer fix it.
Cleaning gutters is not a difficult task, but it does take time and a knowledge in knowing how to do it properly. The right equipment is required, and proper safety procedures should be observed. Most gutters can be cleaned with a ladder, hose or sprayer, and a trowel or plastic scoop. Using these tools, you can easily remove large debris from the gutters to keep water flowing in the right direction. It’s pivotal to guarantee that you move debris away from the downspout and check vertical pieces of the gutter for blockages. Flushing these parts with a hose can be quite effective in most cases. Other options may be to use a power washer to get the more stubborn dirt out of gutters and downspouts but must be used with care or risk damaging the gutters or even the house itself.
This is one of the factors why asking your tenant to perform gutter maintenance is not a good idea. Your tenant may not understand how to clean a gutter without damaging it, or even without causing damage to the roof, siding, and other areas of the house. Even tenants with good intentions may accidentally cause damage that will be expensive to repair. Likewise, if a tenant cleans the gutters but does a deficient job of it, you may not comprehend that there is trouble for months or even years. Thinking the job has been accomplished appropriately could cost you months or even years down the road.
Another thing to consider is your tenant’s health condition and security. To reach the gutters, it is often necessary to use a ladder and other equipment notorious for causing accidents and injuries. By one estimate, there are more than 36,000 deaths from falling off ladders in the United States every year. Ladder-related injuries are even higher, with more than 164,000 accidents reported annually. With considerable jeopardy involved, it is not a great idea to petition your tenant to use a ladder to operate property maintenance on your rental house. Should they fall and hurt themselves, you could be sued and found liable to pay their medical and legal expenses.
Cleaning the gutters on your rental property once or twice a year can keep your tenants safe and avoid overpriced improvements. Whether you execute it yourself or enlist an expert to do it for you, the total time and expenditure included in this kind of task are insignificant in comparison to the consequences for not ensuring your gutters are properly maintained. At Real Property Management One Source, we even integrate regular gutter maintenance with our other quality property maintenance services in Richardson. With our services, you will have spare time to pursue the more important attributes of your real estate investment business. For more information, contact us or call us at 214-721-0727 today.
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