Do you own a summer home on Cape Cod? You may even use it as a vacation home rental when you’re not using the property yourself. However you decide to use it, you want to protect your summer home investment. With severe weather often coming to Cape Cod, the wear and tear on homes can be much more significant than with homes inland. So, how can you ensure regular maintenance is done affordably and efficiently?
If you use your summer real estate as a rental property, it’s even more important that you do all you can to keep the house in top shape. You may already have a yearly maintenance plan that goes into effect in the fall. But, if you haven’t considered it yet, you may want to look into hiring a thermal imaging company. Their experts can do an infrared inspection of the roof, walls, windows, doors, and more.
These inspections help protect your investment in two ways. One, you get to find potential hidden maintenance issues that can be repaired before they become a bigger problem. Two, by finding air and water leaks that might exist, no matter how small, you can save on heating and cooling costs. This allows you to save money on upkeep costs, and that’s very important for a rental property. After all, running a vacation rental property already involves paying taxes and insurance, so wherever you can save is a bonus.
The best benefit of doing yearly infrared inspections, though, is peace of mind. You can rest easy knowing that your occupants won’t be dealing with potential maintenance issues during their stay. Even if you don’t rent the property, you don’t want to go on vacation one year to find it’s suddenly too hot or cold in the house.
The financial benefits of proactive maintenance can be quite substantial. Industrial and commercial property managers have plans like this all the time. Why should you treat your Cape Cod vacation home investment any differently? Whether or not you get income from the property or not, even your private summer abode is still an investment. Be sure to treat it like one, and it will treat you well for years to come.
Real estate on Cape Cod is only going to become more valuable over time. Use the money saved from potentially big repairs and savings on heating & cooling to pay off that mortgage. Reap the benefits of your property long before you retire and decide to call the area your future home.
