Winterization is Coming!

Hey there all you Tenants, Landlords, Property Owners and Property Managers. We’re already well into October, and it’s starting to show. The weather outside is changing, and the inconvenient truth is that there are measures you’re going to have to take if you want your House, Apartment, Condo or Duplex to stay warm and cozy even as the global climate goes totally haywire, creating a worldwide superstorm that plunges us into the next ice age. Okay, maybe not if Dennis Quaid has anything to say about it, but still, it’s getting colder.

Obviously your response to the changing climate is going to vary depending on where you live. For some of us it means snow, for some of us it means rain, and for people in Southern California it means maybe wearing a shirt with sleeves. Winterizing your rental property means something different across the country, but it’s always important. Winterization? you might find yourself saying, but it’s only fall! Well that’s true, but the point of winterization is being prepared so you don’t have to worry later, when it’s actually winter.

So what should you do? Well, as a Property Owner, Property Manager or Landlord, you should be vaguely aware of the climate in which your property exists, and therefore have an idea of the type of weather your tenants can expect in the coming months. Let your tenants know if there are things they should do, and if there is any assistance you can provide them. They might need to switch out the screens for storm windows, and they might want to make sure the heat works in the house before they really need it later. This stuff should be in the lease, but it might be helpful to contact your tenants as a reminder if there are things they need to do.

On the other hand, Tenants living in a house, apartment, condo or duplex and preparing for the changing seasons should heed any instructions passed on from a property manager or landlord. If they’re telling you to do something, it’s probably for a reason. Things like making sure the flue in the fireplace works before starting a fire will save you smoking your whole rental property out. Things like having someone come to fill up your oil tank if you have an oil-run heating system will keep you warm later.

There are optional steps you can take to further insulate your property as well, since heat retention is key for keeping heating costs down. Window covers and insulating door seals are cheap, easily removed ways to improve heat retention, especially on older houses that have less insulation built in.

Whatever it is you need to do though, the most important advice we can give is to get started on it now, while it’s still nice enough to do things outside without being miserable. That way you can be relaxing at a balmy 75 degrees in the coming months instead of huddled around a space heater with your teeth chattering. Remember. Winter is coming.

Do you have rental questions of your own? Comments? Concerns? Love letters? Hate mail? Let us know: Hometownrant@hometownrent.com

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