To start off, in most triple net leases, the tenant is responsible to keep the building in a similar condition that they received it in.
Once again, the condition report of the building (plumbing, mechanical, electrical, etc.) before moving in is important. This will help you, as the tenant, to prove that you have maintained the condition of the building.
We understand that there is much to learn about maintaining a building, especially for new clients in their first business. We are reasonable with our clients, and we try to help them out if a maintenance issue is a grey area.
Who should you use to do the maintenance work on your building? Use quality trades. You are ultimately responsible if a mess or a mistake was made by someone you hired to work on the building. Reinhart has a list of professional trades that we trust and use often because they know the properties. When a tradesperson knows a property, it can help you save money because they know the history and might even know what the issue might be before they arrive to look at it. Some of our trades have a repair history on each building and can refer to it to help troubleshoot an issue quickly.
General maintenance to a building may include re-setting doors, painting outside bollards, fixing bent steel, etc. A good maintenance person will get the work done better, quicker and needs to be someone you trust to be inside your building even if you are not there.
Should you set up a maintenance contract for plumbing, heating, water softener, etc.? ABSOLUTELY! Why?
- What happens when the digital battery dies on your thermostat?
- Exactly! It freezes the building. We have seen it happen.
- What happens when the furnace air filters are not changed or cleaned? Let’s see:
- Some furnaces will stop working,
- Some will burn more gas because the hot air is not flowing throughout the building a quick as it should.
- Some will burn more gas because the hot air is not flowing throughout the building as quickly as it should.
The maintenance contracts can be 10 times less money than fixing or replacing equipment from going without maintenance.