5 Basic Steps to Prepare your Property for Winter and Fall

Boston gets very cold this time of the year, so generally, we are on the lookout for preventive maintenance to prepare your property for the onset of the fall and winter seasons. 

Here’s our checklist that has been proven to ensure our properties are ready for the cold months.

#1 Test all heating systems.

We call or email all of our tenants and say, “Hey, before it gets too cold turn on your heater. See if it works, see if there are any issues.” That way, we don’t have to deal with emergency charges or anybody not having heat when they need it most. Furthermore, it gives us more time to fix any issue before it actually causes problems.

#2 Schedule all boiler servicing.

Our plumbers start to schedule the servicing of all our boilers. It minimizes boiler breakdown and emergency calls, which saves you, the landlord, money as well as prevents tenants from not having heat.

#3 Prepare back-up heaters.

No matter what and no matter how much preparation, we always want to make sure we are prepared. So what we will do is set up back ups for our heating systems. We bring in temporary ones, plug them in, and make sure it will be enough for the season. If there is no heat during a specific time, we will drop space heaters off to our tenants.

#4 Complete fall cleanups.

We will do basic maintenance to ensure that your properties are winter-ready by doing a fall cleanup of the landscaping. That means we make sure any loose leaves, twigs, or other debris of that nature are collected and removed from the property, so it won’t be sitting underneath piles of snow and potentially cause problems in snow removal.

#5 Clean up the gutters.

Winter is prime time for ice dams. Clogged gutters lead to water buildup which turns into ice due to the cold. These iced dams get into roof shingles, melt in interior units, and therefore, cause further damages. Most experts recommend downspouts and gutter cleaning at least twice a year. The ideal times to clean them are right before your rainiest seasons of the year or right before you start experiencing snowfall if you live in cold climates.

Our commitment

If you or anyone else you know is looking for a proactive property manager that thinks ahead to make sure that you are taken care of, please think of Green Ocean Property Management: where you get more than a property manager, you get peace of mind.