Buds and blossoms and cleaning up the winter’s mess: it must be spring. Springtime comes with new growth, both in gardens and on your property management maintenance checklist. What do you need to do this spring to ensure that your multi-family units are ready for the new season?

Seattle property managementExterior Home Maintenance 

When you own multi-family properties, you need to think about the building(s) as a whole, issues that impact individual units, and the landscaping around your building. What should be on the menu for your spring cleaning?

  • After the long winter, you need to clean out the debris from your gutters so that they’ll flow easily in the spring rains. Check downspouts as well. Look for warped or damaged gutters and repair them.
  • Clean the moss and branches from your roof. Check the roof for loose shingles and damage.
  • Check your doors for damage and drafts and repair or replace them. Look at the screens on your doors and windows as well, and repair them if necessary.
  • Check siding to see if it needs to be washed or repaired.
  • Repair the sidewalks if there are any cracks from winter ice and snow.
  • Ensure that swimming pools and other outdoor recreational areas are safe, clean, and in good repair.
  • Add awnings, trellises, and other ways to moderate the interior home temperature from the outside.
  • Improve exterior lighting so that people can walk in and out safely at night.
  • What does the landscaping look like? If there are leaves and branches scattered due to winter storms, now is the time to clean them up.
  • It’s time to mow your lawns for the first time as well. You can also aerate and add lime to the lawn to keep it healthy and moss-free.
  • Get ready to water the lawn this spring. Check the sprinkler systems for leaks and damage.
  • Prune off dead or damaged parts of trees and shrubs.

Interior Home Maintenance and Improvements 

While your tenants are responsible for daily maintenance of their units, you need to make sure that common areas and individual units are working well this spring. What do you need to do to keep homes clean, safe, and comfortable?

  • Look at exterior and interior caulking and repair or replace it. Fill cracks on the window sills.
  • Hot water heater. Lubricate the pump and motor and get your heaters ready for a spring of hot water.
  • Air conditioner. Tune up your air conditioner and replace cracked and worn belts.
  • The foundation. After a long winter of rain and ice, you need to make sure that your foundation has not shifted. According to Home Advisor, you should “check foundation walls, floors, concrete, and masonry for cracking, heaving, or deterioration.”
  • Repaint the walls once it’s warm enough to ventilate the building well after painting.
  • Take a closer look at carpeting after the winter season and determine whether you need to repair carpet tiles in common areas or replace carpeting altogether.
  • Add a programmable thermostat to manage the interior temperature of common areas of your mutli-family units.
  • Upgrade to more efficient interior lighting, such as florescent or LED bulbs.

Get ready for the spring. At Lori Gill and Associates, we’re here to help you manage your properties. Whether you’re struggling with seasonal maintenance or searching for new tenants, our Seattle property management business will help your business grow. Connect with us today.