Maintenance is an expensive part of investing in real estate. When you’re renting out a San Diego property, you’re going to have routine and emergency repairs. The vendors you use to complete these repairs should be licensed, insured, and bonded. It’s the only way to protect yourself, your property, and your tenants.
RentSimpli is a full-service San Diego property management company specializing in single family homes, townhouses, condos, mobile homes, small commercial buildings and small apartments. We know it can be tempting to hire some guy off the street for half the price of what it would cost to hire a professional. But, saving a few dollars really isn’t worth the risk. In today’s blog, we’re telling you why.
Guaranteeing a High Quality of Work
When your property needs a repair, you want the problem fixed the first time. This illustrates why it’s so important to work with licensed vendors. A professional plumber, electrician, painter, roofer, or other repair person will have the experience and the expertise required to complete the repair correctly and maintain your home. If something goes wrong or the issue isn’t completely resolved, they’ll come back to check on their work and make sure they find a solution. Licensed vendors and contractors need to keep their customers happy. They’re going to stand by their work and avoid cutting corners.
Protecting Yourself from Liability and Claims
Let’s say you need some trees trimmed because the branches are starting to cover the roof of your property. Instead of hiring a licensed and insured professional, you agree to let your cousin’s brother do it, because he’s home from college and looking to make some money, so he’ll charge you a lot less for the work.
If that cousin’s brother falls off a ladder and breaks an arm or a leg or a neck, you’re going to be responsible for his medical bills. You can also be sued for a variety of other things, and the $100 you saved on the tree trimming project will quickly become a $10,000 expense.
It’s not worth the risk. Don’t hire anyone who doesn’t have adequate liability and worker’s compensation insurance. Ask for proof before you hire a company or a vendor.
Respecting Your Tenant Relationship
You also owe it to your tenant to send high quality, professional workers over to the property. Tenants don’t want to open the door to a random name and phone number you found on an index card or a Craigslist ad. When they let people into their home, they want to be sure they are licensed, professional, and insured vendors who take their work seriously.
Using the right vendors also shows your tenants that you care about the property and their needs. This will help with tenant satisfaction and improve your tenant retention rates.
Trying to save a little bit of money on maintenance and repairs by hiring unprofessional and unlicensed vendors is a terrible and potentially risky idea. If you’re not sure where to find great vendors and contractors in the San Diego area, contact us at RentSimpli. We’d be happy to serve as your San Diego property management resource.
We serve landlords, investors, and property owners in San Diego, La Mesa, El Cajon, Chula Vista, Santee, Rancho Bernardo, Escondido, Fallbrook, Temecula, and Murrieta.