The changing seasons and the cooling weather remind us that winter will arrive soon here in the Gainesville, Ga area. Before it does, there are several important maintenance tasks that you must do to protect your rental properties from the cold weather. By completing these tasks, 
your rental properties will be ready to endure whatever winter brings.
One important component to cold weather preparation is to drain your sprinkler system. Blowing out the system will protect it from damage caused by frozen and burst lines. Exterior faucets must be properly drained, closed, and covered before the first freeze arrives, or they might crack or burst. Also detach, drain, and store garden hoses to keep them ready for warmer weather as well as potential use to fight a house fire until your local fire fighters arrive.
If any of your rental homes in north Georgia have pipes that run through cold basements, crawlspaces, attics, or garages, it’s important to keep them from freezing as well. One easy way to do that is to wrap them with foam covers or insulate them with heat tape. By taking the time to prevent frozen pipes, you just might save yourself an expensive repair bill (and a flooded basement) at the worst possible time. You should also require that the residents to keep the homes at a temperature of at least 60 degrees during freezing nights. Preparing for winter also means shutting down and covering the rental home’s A/C or swamp cooling unit. Covering the unit keeps it from leaking freezing air back into the house. It also protects the unit itself from damage caused by harsh winter weather. This is an important task that you should finish before the temperatures dip too low.
Now is also a good time to check and replace the batteries in all the property’s smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors. Changing the batteries in all smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors every six months is an important way to promote the safety of your rental homes and your Residents. And remind your Residents of their obligation to keep walkways and sidewalks clear of snow and ice as well.
While these tasks are all important ways to winterize your rental properties in and near Gainesville, Ga., there’s no need to do it all yourself. The professionals at Real Property Management are your rental property winterization experts. We can take care of these and other important seasonal maintenance tasks for you while you are free to enjoy the best of the season. To learn more, please contact your professional Property Manager at Real Property Management Stellar.
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