As a property owner you are already inundated and overwhelmed with expenses from taxes to repairs so should you really fork over even more of your income to pay for pest control? The answer to this question is a resounding YES!
There are a few really good reasons for this. Lets start with one of the most important: The long term structural health of your property. A reliable pest control plan will include termite treatments and there is nothing more damaging to a home than termites. And the worst part is that they are rarely ever seen by occupants until the damage to the interior of the home has become catastrophic. If you have ever owned a home you have certainly dealt with these miserable creatures. You may even have had your home or an investment property tented or treated with the more modern gel application. The problem just treating the problem is a reactive response and like all reactive responses it comes after the damage is done. These little monsters will wreak havoc on your trusses and cause your roof to age prematurely. They will get into the walls and cause interior cracks and weaknesses in your support beams. Basically, if you do not deal with termites proactively they will proactively destroy your property from the inside out costing you tens of thousands in repairs.
Ok so I know I should stop termites but why should I care about other bugs?
The best reason is to consider your cash flow. Bugs are disgusting and will lead to unhappy tenants which can result in high turnover and thus less cash in your pocket as a month or two passes waiting to find the next great tenant. This is especially true in South Florida where the roaches (aka Palmetto Bugs) are very big and oh yeah, they fly! If you have ever had an encounter with one of these monsters you know the experience can be traumatizing. They don’t fly very well so chances are they will mistakenly fly where you are trying to escape and it may seem like they are hunting you! If you do not proactively work to keep these monsters away from your property by hiring a pest control company then you may end up with complaints by terrified tenants who do not want to renew their lease.
Last reason…infestation!
You cannot control what happens inside your rental property. As much as Real Property Management Miami does to find the best possible tenants, the reality is that some tenants may not be very clean. They may leave dishes out in the sink for days without washing them, they may not take out the trash regularly and they may not clean the house regularly. All of this will attract bugs, and bugs (unlike some humans) prefer to be very long term tenants. If they find a home with a consistent source food they will move in and create a colony which will be much harder to treat and remove than just a minor bug problem. And when the dirty tenants move out and we are trying to find you great new clean tenants, the sight of a few bugs is likely to turn them away. Even if your tenants are not the cleanest you can help prevent an infestation by being proactive.
And now for the good news.
First, you can offset the cost of the pest control as a part of the rent, it is a major selling point to prospective tenants in negotiations. Second, a bug free home is more likely to attract better tenants that will take better care of your property and have pride in their home which can again be a justification for yearly increases in rent. And finally, if you are working with Real Property Management Miami you do not need to do the legwork of finding a great pest control service as we have several highly skilled options that we use regularly and we can often get discounted rates from them since we do so much business with them. You get the benefits of volume purchasing without having to fork out the cash.
So the next time you see a bug think to yourself how that bug can actually make you money instead of costing you money!
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.
