Maintain properties to preserve capital value

Well maintained rental homes not only attract the best tenants and secure the highest rentals, but preserve capital values and ensure that they appreciate over time. However, many landlords are reluctant to conduct regular maintenance often to their detriment. "Lack of upkeep and regular maintenance is not only costly down the line when avoidable major repairs are required, it can also be downright dangerous," says Jill Lloyd, an area specialist for Lew Geffen Sotheby's International Realty.

Landlords should also be able to provide an electrical compliance certificate to tenants, who should ask for these. Speaking from a personal experience, Lloyd says her daughter could have been killed by an electric shock in the bathroom of a rental home on their first night. "The whole geyser and plumbing system was live, and water and electricity don't mix well. Fortunately, I was there and saved her. "The pool pump was connected to the sub box in the cottage and there was no earth leakage on that.

Lloyd says landlords must have their electrical compliance certificates issued by reputable people. She believes that not only should water and electrical components of rental properties be checked between tenants, especially where there are multiple tenants, such as in student accommodation, but owners of rental homes should be required to periodically produce compliance certification.

Regular maintenance is critical to attracting quality tenants, says Jenna Pietersen, a rental agent for Lew Geffen Sotheby's International Realty