What Kind of Seasonal Property Maintenance Matters for Your McKinney Rentals?

Across the sweltering summers, dry winters, and rainstorm-soaked springs, one thing remains true for your McKinney rental properties: seasonal maintenance year-round is a must to keep your investments operating at maximum profitability.

The vastness of Texas and its associated ecological diversity make seasonal property maintenance in North Texas different from the East, West, and South. While lawn care might be rolled into your lease as a tenant responsibility, between tenants, it's beneficial for the health of your investment properties if you maintain your rentals—inside and out.

In today's blog, we'll discuss some of the unique seasonal maintenance needs of rental properties in North Texas, and how investors can address them to protect their real estate portfolio.

Keep in mind that all of these maintenance needs may not apply to you, depending on the wording of your leasing agreements. You can use this as an opportunity instead to outline which responsibilities fall on your tenants when it comes to seasonal property maintenance.

Spring Into Action on Your Maintenance

Compared to the entirety of Texas, McKinney is, on average, colder and wetter. We also experience more precipitation on average than in other parts of Texas.

While peak rainfall won't hit until late spring and early summer, the springtime is a great time to start recovering from winter weather before summer heats up and hits your rental properties full force.

Check Every Seal

Occasionally, McKinney still experiences enough of a temperature drop to merit a freeze watch. This juxtaposition between the extreme heat of summer and the comparative chill of winter is enough to wreak havoc on your seals.

Repairing caulking is a DIY project that can be done over the weekend—especially if your properties are in-between tenants. Use this as an opportunity to repair crucial sealing that helps keep your property cool in the summer and dry in the winter.

Inspect the Roof

The late spring months leading up to summer are prime tornado and hail season in North Texas. After every severe storm involving damaging hail, your roof merits examination. Keep a lookout for raised nails and misplaced shingles: both are signs the roof of your McKinney rental properties has seen better days and may require an expert roofer to take a closer look.

Don't Skip Your Foundation

Your investment properties in Texas face the unique challenge of being built on clay-rich soil. The expansion and contraction of this soil mean that if your foundation isn't properly irrigated and drained, serious faulting can develop. Given that winters in North Texas are relatively dry, the spring is the perfect time to check on your foundation.

Clear out Your Gutters

Before May storms hit North Texas is the best time to make sure your gutters can handle the sporadic—and frequently overwhelming—rainy season. Clear out your gutters and inspect draining mechanisms to ensure your properties are ready.

It's Time for an HVAC Check

Your HVAC systems must be functioning in your rental properties prior to summer to ensure the comfort of your tenants—and that your investments remain profitable long-term. As an expert property manager in McKinney, we always recommend leaving this work to the professionals, so you don't risk DIY damage to your units.

There's No Vacation From Summer Maintenance

While summer storms are less frequent, baking heat can present certain issues for your McKinney rental properties as well. Use your summer inspections as a chance to check up on the continued maintenance of your foundation and HVAC as well as certain yard-care elements that weren't there in the spring—especially if you're between tenants.

• Add mulch around flower beds and trees to preserve moisture, offer protection, and provide nutrients during the summer heatwave. Planting species that are native to Texas will reduce your need to water, and you'll find them to be hardy, low maintenance, and beautiful long term.
• Investigate for signs of pests around your investment properties and take care of them promptly. Pest complaints are serious—and can quickly get out of hand if left unattended. Common pests in North Texas are mosquitoes, fire ants, cockroaches, and termites, but rodents can also invade your McKinney rental properties when conditions inside are more favorable than out.
• Give your foundation a thorough looking-over during the baking summer heat: make sure your irrigation systems are keeping it properly "watered."
• Check for any leaks or damage from the early summer rains, and address dampness appropriately: don't give mold a chance to find a foothold in any of your investment properties.

Don't "Fall" Short on Autumn Maintenance

With the somewhat cooler temperatures that grace our autumn months here, the post-summer wind-down process for property maintenance gets an extended stretch, generally leading into late November.

It's not unheard of to have a string of warm days extended even into December, but you should have most of your properties' fall maintenance needs taking care of before the first "freeze watch" reaches North Texas.
Autumn is a great time to:

• Perform another seasonal clearing out of your gutters and other drainage systems. Fallen leaves can wreak havoc on your gutters during sudden winter storms.
• Prevent fires by educating your tenants on how to clear lint traps in dryers across all of your units, check smoke detectors, and examine fire extinguishers (if you provide them).
• Use this as an opportunity to prepare any vacant properties for winter: set the thermostat to guard against a potential freeze, reclaim the yard space from summer growth and fallen foliage, and prepare any irrigation systems you have for the cold.
• Service your heating systems. While North Texas certainly doesn't experience the bitter chill associated with other states, unhappy tenants as the holiday season approaches are an easy way to increase turnover when the leasing term expires—and potentially cost you excellent tenants.

Don't Put a Freeze on Your Winter Maintenance!

While winters in North Texas often feel like extended autumn until late December or early January, it's important to prepare your McKinney investment properties for any potential cold snap.

• When a freeze is imminent, caution your tenants to leave faucets dripping by text or email. This can help prevent burst pipes and expensive repairs down the road. Take the time to work with your tenants and educate them on the location of the main water valve should an emergency occur.
• Inspect for cracks or damage in walkways and driveways around each of your investment properties. Repairing these prior to a freeze could help prevent slip-and-fall accidents.
• Walk the exterior of each of your McKinney rentals and inspect for any damaged insulation or exterior surfaces. When the temperature dips, that is prime time for rodents and other pests to seek shelter inside your properties.

Trimming Trees

Seasonal maintenance in North Texas also means addressing the needs of any trees on your property. It often slips the minds of investors to have an arborist come and check on any trees surrounding your investment properties.
A skilled arborist in McKinney will check for dead or damaged limbs after the winter freeze has ended. These can become a serious risk and potential source of damage for your properties when severe storms arrive.

The best time to consider trimming your trees in Texas is in winter leading to early spring before budding occurs and tree activity renews.

Let a Property Manager Be Your Boots on the Ground

Managing the seasonal maintenance for one property can be daunting—let alone managing it for five, ten, or even more! At some point, successful investors know that turning to a property manager in McKinney is a smart move for their investment portfolio.

A property manager local to your investment properties has the staff and capabilities needed to address everything from seasonal maintenance and inspections to placing tenants in your properties.

When you're an out-of-state investor, this becomes especially crucial to growing your wealth through real estate: when you can't be there, a property manager in McKinney can be your boots on the ground.

At RentHub Property Management, we support landlords and investors of every skill level. Whether you're a seasoned pro or just getting started, we offer our incredible library of resources to you—at no charge. One of the reasons we do this is because we know that when you succeed at growing long-term wealth through real estate, we're doing something right.

So, if you prefer to get your hands dirty when it comes to working with your investment properties, download our FREE Seasonal Maintenance Checklist! This guide will help you to identify crucial maintenance targets year-round for your real estate holdings—and help you to protect your assets.

Download The Checklist