East End Experts Share Off-Season Property Management Tips
If you’re going west for the fall, you’ll need to arrange a property manager to ensure your lovely summer home doesn’t fall into a state of disrepair. These East End experts have some useful tips to help you understand off-season property management.
What are some things property managers handle here on the East End that people might not know about, and why are they essential?
Property management might sound like too much for the average homeowner. However, it means managing even the smallest task. Handling all aspects and service of home is an extremely time-consuming undertaking. Having a management company could be the right fit for you. Of course, homeowners’ involvement is needed. Having a relationship with a house manager can make all the difference. Management should have a team of contractors who will work together, in a timely, cost-efficient fashion. Damaging storms have increased over the past few years. Cold and snowy winters will test your home. Peace of mind for a customer is a comforting feeling. — James Calise, All Island Contracting
During the summer months, having 27 East Property Management on staff allows our clients to maximize their time enjoying life on the East End and away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. However, hiring a property manager or home watch service during the fall and winter months is an absolute necessity. It is during this off-season period where our services are instrumental in protecting these beautiful homes. Homes don’t do well when they are left sitting idle. This is when we see problems with plumbing, drainage, HVAC systems and definitely appliances. This is also when pests will find their way into vacant structures. Finally, it’s also beneficial to have an irregularly occurring presence at your home to deter any kind of theft or vandalism. In our business, the adage is so true that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” — Bryan Walsh, 27 East Property Management
Preventative maintenance, project management, preparation, monitoring and damage control after a storm and/or during a deep freeze. — Jocelyne Ranucci, AVS Hamptons
For proper security, many of our clients request that we sign NDAs so we are never allowed to divulge the access details to their properties and we have to act with the utmost discretion. Suffice it to say, we are often on call 24/7 to go to a client’s property within 30 minutes, day or night, to investigate any alarms or disturbances that may occur.
We believe and know that prevention is better than a cure. So we are constantly checking for potential problems with plumbing, pipes, roofs, HVAC, irrigation, electricity, decking, window and door frames that may affect any of their houses, swimming pools, tennis courts and yards. We have a stable of tried and trusted vendors from whom we can get competitive quotes and we can quickly get to deal with any potential problems in these areas hopefully before damage is caused.
It makes sense for us to offer concierge services at the same time we are helping owners with property maintenance. We like to say that we will do anything for the client that is legal. So these tasks can be as varied as feeding the goldfish, walking the dog, watering the plants, pest control, forwarding the mail, picking up food orders from local stores, giving access to important deliveries and service providers, getting cars washed and serviced and transported across the country and so on.
Many of our clients now rent out their properties from time to time. So we often meet and greet new tenants and then check for damage and lock up when they leave before reporting back to the owner. — Chaloner Chute, Chaloners of the Hamptons
Why should homeowners consider hiring a property manager this time of year?
During this time of the year, when the absences from your summer home grow more frequent and longer in duration, the stress of not being at the property can be alleviated with a trusted property manager. This time of year should be spent readying the properties for winter. We conduct an exhaustive checklist to ensure that our client’s investment is safe, secure and will be ready for the next summer season. Plans should be in place for that next hurricane, Nor’easter or winter blizzard. Property management is both a proactive and reactive business. — Bryan Walsh, 27 East Property Management
While we are available 24/7 to respond to our clients’ needs during the hectic summer months, there is also tremendous value for our clients in knowing that while they are no longer occupying their houses for the most part during the rest of the year that they can have someone they trust to keep close watch on the security and overall wellbeing of their homes while they are away. Our duties at this time of year will often include supervision of pool closings, storage of patio furniture, fall cleanup, closing of irrigation, servicing of HVAC, cleaning services, pest control, starting cars and the carrying out many other such requests. — Chaloner Chute, Chaloners of the Hamptons
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