A lot of families are now considering buying an additional property. For one thing, it can be a great investment if you have a second home. It ties up a substantial sum of money, and when you come to sell, it’s likely you will have made a small fortune. After all, the current housing market is seeing properties rise in price over the years. So you could potentially end up making thousands when you sell. Also, you could use the second property as a perfect place to escape to when you are not working. It will save you having to fork out a small fortune on hotels for your holidays. And if you decide to rent out the additional property, it can be a great extra monthly amount for your household. After all, once you have paid off the mortgage, you will have some money which you can put in your bank. However, when you have a second property, it can be a challenge to keep it in good order. After all, if it’s located far away from your own home, it might not be easy to get to. So you might not be able to keep it in good condition. And then the value of the home might fall over time. However, this does not have to happen if you get some things in place. In fact, here are some ways you can ensure you keep your second property in good order.
Arrange a cleaner and gardener in the area
It’s hard to be able to keep on top of the property if it’s situated miles away from your humble abode. But as you know, it’s so important to keep it in good order if you want it to stay at a high value. Therefore, you need to put something in place so that the property stays clean and tidy. It might be a good idea to arrange a cleaner to visit the property at least once a week. They can ensure the floors are vacuumed, and the kitchen is cleaned properly so that you won’t have tons of dust or a pest infestation anytime soon. They will also ensure it’s spick and span all year round. You can find cleaning companies in the area by looking online for a reliable and trustworthy firm. It’s also worth getting a gardener to take care of the property. After all, if no one is taking care of the yard, it’s so easy for it to go overgrown. And then when you go to next visit the property, it might be a challenge to get it back in control. You might end up finding a ton of garden pests if the lawn provides them with a good place to hide too! Therefore, arrange a gardener to go at least every couple of weeks to ensure the lawn stays in good nick.
Rent it out to a tenant
You might worry that renting out a second property might cause it to be messier. In fact, a lot of people get put off renting out their additional property due to not wanting to cause problems in the humble abode. However, it can actually be a good way to keep it in good nick. After all, if it’s sitting there empty for months on end, it could come into a lot of problems. For example, you might end up with pests which aren’t found until you pop over to the property. And without the heating and water on, it can leave you needing to call an engineer when it’s time to put it on. Therefore, renting it out to someone means the property will keep on being used. And any problems such as pests will be identified quickly. To ensure it stays in good nick despite people renting it out, make sure you set some rules in place. After all, it will ensure they will keep the property in good order if they could be at risk of being kicked out or losing their original deposit. And arranging to go visit the property every couple of months will ensure the tenants keep it in good nick too!
Go for a property with good building management
If you go for an apartment or condo within a building, you have to make sure that the actual building stays in good condition so that you sell it for a high price in the future. After all, no one will want to buy a property which is situated inside a dirty building. In fact, it will put them off before even going inside the property. Therefore, you need to make sure you opt for a property which has good building management. That way, you can ensure they will professionally maintain the building, so the exterior of the property will always look in good nick. In fact, when you are finding about potential places such as new condominiums for sale, always ask about the building management. That way, you can feel assured that if you do buy the place, it will be kept in good nick even when you can’t go visit it every week to give it a deep clean!
Make it as low maintenance as possible
You can also ensure that the property stays in good order by making sure it’s as low maintenance as possible. You don’t want to fill it with loads of items that require a lot of care. Otherwise, you will find they will be a nightmare to clean when you can go visit the additional property. Therefore, put as less furniture in the property as possible to keep it low maintenance. And if there are things like sofas and beds, get a cover which will enable you to keep them in a pristine condition even when you are not using them. And remember to avoid things like plants for the property which will need lots of TLC. Otherwise, you will struggle to keep them alive in the home. If you have a garden, keep it low maintenance by opting for artificial grass instead. That way, it will stay in good condition despite you not visiting very often!
And remember to pick a location for your second property which has good weather. That way, you don’t have to worry about the harsh weather ruining the property.
