What services do you subscribe to through your PM?

I am wanting to know what types of maintenance services you subscribe to through your PM?
I know that I am subscribed to an annual smoke alarm service but that is all my PM is offering

I have heard of annual/bi-annual shower silicone replacement services,
annual household taps servicing (replacing washers/serrvicing all taps/shower heads throughout the property etc.

What services are you signed up for already or would you sign up for?

I know there will be a lot of tight owners in our community (I am generally one of them), however I do believe in maintaining things to avoid having to replace things because they have not been maintained.

What are all your thoughts?

 

Wow that seems way over the top IMHO. Great you are thinking about these things but I shudder just imagining the response we would get from landlords recommending a twice a year shower silicone replacement!

Smoke alarms yes, gutters yes (frequency depending on the property characteristics) but I think the rest on a yearly/twice yearly basis is mostly unnecessary.

- Luke

 

Sorry I meant biennial=every second year for silicone, not twice yearly that would definitely be overkill for sure.
The reason for the silicone question is that silicone has fungal inhibitors which do expire every 2-3 years.
I'm not sure than many property owners are aware of that until its too late.
If silicone isn't replaced regularly, moisture can get behind silicone and cause shower leaks.
Tap washers also have a short lifespan and often tenants don't think its worth reporting, causing staining to basins/tiles etc.

 

Compliance =/= maintenance.

Compliance issues
- smoke alarms (the start of every new tenancy and also annually if tenancy goes for >1yr)
- water efficiency (to charge for water etc)
- swimming pool (every 1-2 years, current cert must be provided with every tenancy start)
- gas system (some tenants were not able to get a gas account unless they had a compliance cert)
- asbestos (management plan required in some types of properties)

Maintenance (preventative)
- timber pest inspection
- anything else relevant to the property

Maintenance (reactive)
- as required (when it fails etc)

"What services do you subscribe to through your PM" - You're not really subscribing to anything. The PM is an Agent of the Lessor, undertaking works on their behalf. The PM isn't selling these services. The PM generally makes nothing from these 'services' - no skin off their nose, however if your property is not compliant, I'd like to think a lot of PM's won't take it on to manage because although not accountable if something goes wrong, they'd likely have ACA on their door step, even though the buck stops with the owner, and if your property is not well-maintained then who's going to want to rent it..

 

Other than the smoke alarm maintenance the others are infrequent requirements eg gutters depends on the trees which can be done every 6-12 months the others are as required.

In some applications silicone will last 20 years in others 5 years tops.

Shower head/tap maintenance when tenant vacates.

 

Im not sure if I am "subscribed" as such, but my properties are all with the one PM, and on the engagement agreement when I signed her up to manage my properties, there were boxes I could tick if I wanted automated maintenance services like the smoke alarm and gutters etc