Property Maintenance and Handy Services when Moving House

We help you understand the benefits of hiring a property maintenance or handyman professional to help you get the place ready for when you move in or out of a property.

You're moving! Do you need Property Maintenance and Handy services?

Whether you are renting or buying there are always those little dings and dents that become more obvious when your stuff isn’t there aren’t there? Even when you are moving into a brand-new property, you can be left with the little scars of less than perfect trade-person-ship or moving remnants that remind you that your spatial awareness could be better. What about that broken latch that you never got around to replacing, or the gutters that needed cleaning last summer and it is now next summer, maybe you have a broken fence with a paling or two missing?

If you are moving out OR moving in, and no matter where or how you live your lifestyle, a property will always require maintenance and upkeep. Wilful damage, recklessness, accidents, wear-and tear, weather and the scourge of time will all “run-down” a property and therefore reduce its market value and liveability.

What exactly does Property Maintenance encompass?

Property Maintenance by definitionis the upkeep of a dwelling where people live, or a commercial venture where people work (in this instance, it is distinctly different to “facilities management”.)

In the case of a rental property, it is the landlord’s responsibility to maintain major property repairs to comply with housing maintenance and health and safety standards in the state or territory where the dwelling exists. However, the tenant is required to guard the property against any unreasonable damage that may occur as a result of day-to-day living, such as gardens, broken fixtures, wilful damage, dents and damage to walls or plaster work, damage to flooring etc. These are generally considered outside the scope of day-to-day wear-and-tear.

If you are not sure what you are responsible for as a tenant, you can check your state or territory regulator for more information:

• Queensland: https://www.qld.gov.au/housing/renting/tenants-rights-responsibilities
• New South Wales: https://www.nsw.gov.au/housing-and-construction/renting-a-place-to-live/during-a-residential-tenancy
• Victoria: https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/housing/renting/renting-guide
• Tasmania:http://tutas.org.au/factsheet/repairs-maintenance/
• South Australia:https://www.sa.gov.au/topics/housing/renting-and-letting/renting-privately/during-a-tenancy/Repairs-and-maintenance
• Western Australia:http://www.tenancywa.org.au/fact-sheets
• Northern Territory:https://consumeraffairs.nt.gov.au/for-consumers/residential-tenancies
• Australian Capital Territory: https://www.justice.act.gov.au/renting-and-occupancy-laws

Why you should care – a lot!

The test of timeand children and petsand parties can make or break the liveability and saleability of a property. If you rent, you are hyper-aware of this because you are constantly mindful of the deposit/bond that you invested at the beginning of the lease agreementthat you want to get back and keep your clean record for the next property you move to. Thankfully though, there is legal recognition of the difference between “damage” and “general wear” so there is no expectation that you leave the place as though you were never there to begin with.

Owning your home demands attention to property maintenance for a different set of motivations. It’s your investment and you need to protect it in case you sell it later, you are house proud and want people to see your home at its best always, you are a “flipper” and have bought the property to renovate and sell at a profit, or … you just accidentally break stuff cause that’s who you are! Toddlers and animals can be very tough on walls and insect screens, or if you run a business from your home you may have specific issues that need maintenance regularly, like your driveway gets hounded by your heavy excavation equipment that you use for your asphalting business, for example.

The bottom-line though, really is your bottom-line, maintaining a property can avoid larger and more expensive problems to fix later on.

The exterior and the interior

If you are in a financial position to maintain your property regularly with the help of qualified tradespeople or you are handy yourself, the motivation for your desire to maintain your property will be born of generally two reasons:

1, You are concerned with the visual presentation of your property because you like to admire it, or you like other people admiring your home, and/or

2. You are concerned with a financial investment (either owning or renting) to maintain the value or increase it. In the case of renting, it’s all about your bond return and your ongoing rental reputation.

The exterior of a home requires a different management mindset to the interior and this is where you can call on the many and varied skills of a dedicated Property Maintenance professional or Handy service. 

Then you should take into account the type of property maintenance required on a regular basis. Most landlords or owners end up playing catchup with what is known as reactive work- forking out a tonne of money for emergency works that could have been avoided. Like new spouting for gutters, house floods caused by broken flexi-hoses, broken/blocked air conditioners, stained/ruined carpet, or roof leaks.

All of which could be prevented with these scheduled maintenance services like

• Gutter cleaning and roof check (save money by combining)
• Have your flexi hoses checked annually or anytime you have a plumber over – this is a 15-minute job and the hoses if needed replacing will only cost approx. $10 + labour but it will save you a flooded room or worst a flooded house.
• Aircon filter clean (6monthly) and chemical clean (annual)
• Annual carpet clean – whether this is a DIY or outsourced – it prolongs the life of your carpet.
• Fire Alarm checks – annual

Centralise the services

There are SO many things “wanting” around the place before you can move!Why weren’t these things THIS obvious before? You have walls to be filled and painted, the patio is a bit daggy and the garden is much overgrown (thank you Queensland tropics)! 

The appliances! The oven needs a service before you leavebecause it’s just not heating up like it used to. The bathroom taps are ALL dripping and the pool pump has been on the blink all winter. These are just the things you know about ...

Overwhelmed much?

You can sit down for a whole weekend, google and yellow-pages all of the different services you need, write down phone numbers or email requests for quotes for each service, just a quick list means you may need a gardener, a pool tech, an electrician, a plumber, an appliance repairer (which brand of appliances are they even?), a painter and decorator – three quotes for each one with booking times for the Tradies to MAYBE show up, hmmmmm – calculating the time that will take???

Why not just get quotes for Property Maintenance companies who can coordinate all the services you need at once and provide the expertise for each task? Three quotes will be all you need in total, and finding a company that is positioned to manage all your requirements together, is not as hard to find as it once was.

Before a move …

You can engage with Property Maintenance services to help you with a whole range of tasks before needing to consider whether you need more specialised trade services to fix any issues that require a more complex skill-set. If you are moving out, you may need maintenance services to help with tasks such as:

• Painting and repairing internal or external walls.
• Window repairs and replacements.
• Repair or replacement of doors.
• Maintenance to decks, patios, porches, gazebos and verandas.
• Roof repairs.
• Ceiling maintenance.
• Basic carpentry.
• Plumbing.
• Electrical repairs.
• Dismantling of furniture.
• Rubbish removal.
• Appliance maintenance and repairs.
• General property maintenance and gardening.
• Cleaning.

After a move …

If you are moving into a new place, you may hire handy services to help you achieve those little personal touches to the new space and help you settle in. Some tasks you may consider engaging with these services could include:

• Reassembly of furniture, and even moving it around the space.
• Installation of electronics, televisions, monitors, aerials.
• Carpet or floor-covering care or installation.
• Painting and decorating.
• Electrical and solar services.
• Plumbing.
• Locksmithing.
• Shelf installation.
• Installing curtain rods and blinds.

The cost of Property Maintenance and moving

One may argue that the cost of NOT maintaining the property outweighs any costs incurred to keep it in check, and the costs are variable depending on how long it’s been since maintenance was performed, how many things need attention, how old the property is and how hard on it you have been on it while living there.

Realistically though, everyone has varying budgets and financial flows, so where you live and what you need will be wholly dependent on how little or large you live property wise and how much you can realistically afford to keep updated.

Some Property Maintenance and Handyman services will charge an hourly rate, while they may quote you a flat individual fixed fee for certain tasks. The best way to assess the cost to you is to arrange for a free call out quote.

We spoke with the team from Universal Tradesmen and their advice is, “Don't be tight with purchasing materials, especially on small jobs, 2 trips to the hardware store for a negligible bit of material will destroy your profit.”

Reap the benefits in the long-run

As mentioned, the goal of Property Maintenance is to reduce the long-term impacts of property neglect. This will not only help your hip-pocket over time, but you will benefit from living in a neat, safe and secure home that when managed well, can last lifetimes to come.

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