Can a landlord really build in cost effective ways to save tenants money during and at the end of a lease?
True Story
One of our international clients had an employee from a foreign county that was just learning how to drive. You might recall when learning to drive that they tell you to keep your heel on the floor to help control the gas pedal more effectively. Well…….imagine you’re pulling up to your building and there is a slight incline to your parking stall and a small bump about 20 feet from where you are about to park. As you approach that bump, your lovely little Honda Accord does not make it over the bump and you roll back for another shot. Not realizing your heel is off the floor, you gas it, jumping over the bump and driving your car right into your office! True story!
Good news was that he drove right into his own office. Perhaps he could have put a request in for a parking garage instead of making his own!
What the heck was the point of the story?!!! Crazy things happen, but we are ready for it.
Cost-effective ways to maintain and repair your rental property with Reinhart:
Exterior
We have stripes on many of our steel industrial buildings at the 6 – 8 foot mark in case someone drives into the building (like in the story above). This saves ordering a 20 foot or longer steel sheet to fix it. We have huge cost savings on shipping because of the shorter length as well as cost savings on installation because we only need to tuck it up under the 6 – 8 foot strip. Plus, it can be done quickly to keep your building looking good.
Flooring
Flooring can be damaged in a variety of ways:
- The bane of industrial work is dirty boots with rocks embedded in the soles, etc. This can rip up and wreck a floor very quickly.
- A water line can break and destroy some flooring.
- A bad case of cleaning supplies or the wrong cleaner can damage the floor.
Stuff happens – how do we solve this issue?
For main floors, we use are now using colored epoxy concrete that can take a beating and be re-polished quickly and cost effectively.
Sometimes flooring products can be discontinued so instead of fixing a small area, you can sometimes be faced with needing to do the whole floor. In some properties, we use carpet tiles and buy extra to give us the ability to change a few out quickly if needed.
Shop Walls
The wall that separates the shop from the offices is most likely to be damaged up to the 8 foot mark. In order to save painting the whole wall, we put a strip at the 8 or 10 foot height to save some paint and painting time.
Gravel, Gravel, Gravel
It can be very expensive. We are able to keep the gravel clean from clay by using high strength fabric to keep it separated from the clay base as well as GEO-Grid to strengthen the ground to help settle down the frost heaves every year.
Condition Reports
When you move into a building, it is a must to do a walk-around with the landlord to take video and/or pictures of the current condition of the building. After many years in a lease, it is easy to forget the original condition of the property. Ask for a condition report of the mechanical, plumbing, electrical, and water system while you are at it. Good paperwork makes good friends. This will make the turnover process at the end of the lease go much more smoothly.
Buying A Building – A Quick Checklist
| ☐Environmental Report | ☐Mechanical Inspection |
| ☐Plumbing Inspection | ☐Electrical Inspection |
| ☐Structural Inspection | ☐Real Property Report |
Environmental Reports
Do your own environmental report before moving in. For the money, it can save you a ton of pain. Have it in your company’s name instead of the landlord’s name in case you ever need to prove that there was no fault if a situation arises.
If you are going to do a major renovation, it is a good idea to request some costs (per sq. ft.) on items such as flooring, paint, etc. from a few contractors before you move in. This will help with your budget.