When autumn begins and the leaves proceed to drop, this can cause the gutters to be congested with leaves. To keep your Houston Heights rental property in perfect situation day in and day out, it is critical to have cleaning gutters a typical segment of your property maintenance routine. But who should be responsible to clean them? Even though petitioning your tenant to undertake the errand may sound like an excellent plan, there are important reasons why you should not have them perform regular gutter maintenance. Even if they’re confident to do what they’re exerting, 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 result in damaged foundations, roofs, and other structural elements of the property. They will likely lure insects and other pests, besides other health hazards like mold. When gutters are not scoured frequently, they can provoke severe conundrums that you might not expect to see until it’s too late.
Cleaning gutters is not a difficult task, but it consumes a lot of time and awareness of how to undertake it decently. 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. Wielding these tools, you can easily remove large debris from the gutters to keep water flowing in the right direction. It’s critical to make certain 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 recommendations may 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 few explanations of why asking your tenant to perform gutter maintenance is not a good idea. Your tenant may not perceive 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. Comparably, if a tenant cleans the gutters but executes an imperfect job of it, you may not understand that there is a problem for months or even years. Thinking that the job has been concluded suitably could cost you months or even years down the road.
Another point to ponder is your tenant’s condition and protection. 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 so much peril that may likely happen, it is not a wise proposition to ask your tenant to climb a ladder to execute building repairs on your rental. 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 ensure that your tenants are safe and thwart any costly aftercare. Even if you decide to accomplish it yourself or enlist someone skilled to implement it for you, the amount of time and expenses included are small in contrast to the consequences for not ensuring your gutters are properly maintained. At Real Property Management Heritage, we also add regular gutter maintenance with our other quality property maintenance services in Houston Heights. With our backing, you will have more time to address the more useful characteristics of your real estate investment business. For more information, call us or contact us at 832-708-8157 today.
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