Pretty Leaves! Pretty Soon! Better Prepare Your Residential Apartment Rentals Pretty Quick!

Its a good idea to schedule your calendar to get into those basements and crawl spaces to make sure everything is all buttoned up for another winter season. Best to get this done now before you have to do it surrounded in snow with frozen fingers and bursting water pipes.

Most if not all cell phones these days have a flashlight app. So if you do not have an emergency flashlight in your tool box, it is a good idea to bring a mobile light source with you into the basement to do your winter inspections. One good tip is to go into the basement during the day with the lights for the basement turned off. We are looking for daylight cracks or holes that let in light. Check around dryer vents, oil heating and gas lines, bulkheads in your basement area. If you see daylight now, then this winter your heating dollars will be pouring out these openings where cold air is coming into your building. Plug those up nice and secure now.

Building Sanitary Code 105 CMR 410.201 temperature requirement regulations requires temperatures of at least 64 degrees at night and 68 degrees during the day from September 15 to June 15. Temperatures should not exceed 78 degrees. There can be exceptions, so be sure to read the regulation for details.

Massachusetts provides heating assistance for renters during the winter season. It is a great idea to share this information with your residents before they need it. This way, they can be proactive to sign up for fuel assistance programs and the other available services. It will also show them that you are a landlord that cares and are on the ball for trying to save them money and keep them warm in your building this winter.

One kind gesture now can carry a lot of weight when they are thinking about renewing their rental agreement with you. Keep open communications with your renters to give them information they need to succeed, not just show up when the rent is due. They notice that too.

Here is the list from the Massachusetts Court System web page about heat:

•  Attorney General’s Guide to Heating Assistance , Jan. 2007
  Pamphlet briefly describes when utilities may not shut off service, what to consider when signing a contract, and sources for assistance
• Citizens Energy Oil Heat Program , Citizens Energy
  Site provides a brief introduction to the program “The Citizens Energy Oil Heat Program allows people in need to purchase low-cost home heating oil. If you need help, please call our toll-free hotline at 1-877-JOE-4-OIL (1-877-563-4645) or contact your local fuel assistance agency.”
• Cold Relief Information, Mass. Dept. of Housing and Community Development
  Includes fuel assistance income eligibility chart, energy saving tips, and information about programs
• Good Neighbor Energy Fund, Salvation Army
  “The Good Neighbor Energy Fund helps qualified residents in Massachusetts pay electric, gas, and oil bills when, due to temporary financial difficulty, they can’t meet their energy expenses and they aren’t eligible for state or federal assistance.” Site includes both how to contribute and how to get assistance.
• Home Heating Consumer Assistance, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
  Site includes help with your utility bill, fuel assistance information and winter heating tips
•  Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), Mass. Dept. of Housing and Community Development
  “Known commonly as Fuel Assistance, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) provides eligible households with help in paying a portion of winter heating bills.” Site includes everything you need to know about fuel assistance, including forms, eligibility guidelines and procedures.
• Utilities Advocacy for Low-Income Households , National Consumer Law Center, 2013  Online version of the 136-page book, covers obtaining service, restoring service, receiving financial aid, forms, and appendices of regulations and procedures

As we mentioned above, under Building Sanitary Code 105 CMR 410.201 by September 15th all of the heating sources for your rentals need to be up and running, and functioning properly. A little prevention now can save you thousands in cold weather disasters later.

Have a licensed service professional go through your property’s furnaces and heating systems now before your tenants start to turn on the heat. Not only is it the law, but again, it shows good will to your residents that your care about them and for the property. This way you can notify the residents that you will be performing this service, then again, follow up with them to let them know when the service has been completed and that any and all issues that may have been revealed in the service, have been resolved. Sure, it may cost about $60 to $100 per furnace to have them cleaned up ready for service. But the cost of that piece of mind is a pittance compared to having these problems at 2:00 AM during a snow storm in the dead of winter.

Sorry to leave you ending on such a cold note, but it is a great idea to get things heated up this September. It can only save you money down the road. Do you have any ideas on this topic you could share to help our online community?Please chime in to share a comment or review.

Warmest regards,

Brian Lucier
Belaire Property Management
Regional Property Manager
(978) 448-0669
info@belaire.co
www.belaire.co

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