When autumn takes place and the leaves fall down in shades of red, yellow and brown, you’ll most likely find your gutters jammed with these leaves. To make sure that your Pasedena rental property is always in a flawless state, it is recommended to make cleaning gutters a common portion of your property maintenance routine. But who should be responsible to clean them out? Although asking your tenant to implement the work may be a good idea, there are important reasons why you should not have them perform regular gutter maintenance. Even if they appear to know what they are exercising, 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 culminate in damaged foundations, roofs, and other structural elements of the property. They can also attract insects and other pests, and that does not even include other health hazards like mold. When gutters are not cleaned well, they can cause some alarming challenges that you might not be able to perceive until it’s already too late.
Cleaning gutters is not a difficult task, but it eats up your time and know-how of how to implement it accurately. 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. Working with these tools, you can easily remove large debris from the gutters to keep water flowing in the right direction. It’s important to establish first 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 suggestions may include 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 reasons of why asking your tenant to perform gutter maintenance is not a good idea. Your resident may not realize how to clean a gutter without damaging it, or even without causing damage to the roof, siding, and other areas of the house. Even residents with good intentions may accidentally cause damage that will be expensive to repair. For good measure, if a resident cleans the gutters but does mediocre work, you may not spot that there is an obstacle for months or even years. Believing the work was completed decently could cost you months or even years down the road.
Another manner to observe is your tenant’s health and welfare. 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 a lot of danger involved, it is not a feasible idea to propose to your resident to climb a ladder to complete the property upkeep on your rental property. 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 residents shielded and prevent pricey repair work. Even if you do it yourself or commission qualified personnel to execute it for you, the time and effort involved are just tiny against the consequences for not ensuring your gutters are properly maintained. At Real Property Management Avitus, we include regular gutter maintenance with our other quality property maintenance services in Pasadena. With our support, you will have more time to center on the more significant factors of your real estate investing business. For more information, contact us or call us at 281-570-6357 today.
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