Winterizing Your Investment (Pt 2); Two Easy Steps to Protect your investment

Last time we talked about how to make the interior of a home more comfortable during winter. Now let's talk about how to protect your investment properties. These two easy and important winterizing tips deal with the exterior of the home; something a lot of tenants forget about. Let's face it, a lot of homeowners forget about it too!

So before your house looks like this: 

here are two easy tips every homeowner should take to protect their investment.

1) Clean up! One of the most important ways to protect your investment is to get it cleaned up. Specifically, any area or system that can be damaged by winter's cold weather should be cleaned up. Gutters should be cleared of debris so that rain or snow melt can be removed quickly and not pool or damage the roof. Any tree limbs that may be damaged by Missouri's frequent ice storms and cause subsequent damage to the house should be removed. Window air conditioning units should be removed and the windows should be checked for proper function. The furnace or heating unit should be checked by an HVAC contractor to ensure proper and safe function. If there is a fireplace, it should be checked and cleaned as well, both to protect the house from fire, and the occupants from injury.

2) Protect! Outdoor plumbing is the main issue. Sprinklers need to be blown out and emptied of water. The system should be shut down for the winter so no water reenters the system prematurely. Outdoor faucets or hose bibbs need to be protected and covered from damaging freezing temperatures. A broken outdoor faucet often leaks inside the house, usually in a basement where no one goes for long periods of time. A broken faucet can quickly flood a basement. If there is plumbing in the attic, as some older homes have, it should be inspected to be sure that it is properly protected with insulating pipe wraps.

So the question is: who do you want protecting your property? If you're like most landlords, you won't be able to trust your tenants to properly winterize your home and protect your investment. Luckily, we're on your side! Provident Management offers a winterizing package to make your life headache free and keep your property in good shape so that you make money! We will cover all those items listed above and arrange for an HVAC contractor or Chimney Sweep if needed. Just another way Provident Management protects your investment while offering you the highest possible return. Contact us for more information. We also provide free referrals to HVAC contractors or plumbers in the St. Charles area if  that's what you need. Please call us so we can help protect your house.