Simple and smart ways to maintain your Mount Isa property
Maintaining your home or investment property doesn’t have to be so much of a chore if you’re smart about how you go about it. It can save you both time and money if you do regular minor maintenance work rather than letting your property go unmaintained.
Maintenance on Mount Isa owner-occupied properties
Maintaining your owner-occupied property should be a no-brainer. After all, who doesn’t want to live in a well-maintained home? It’s more comfortable when you do, and it also helps to maintain and increase its value.
Regular home maintenance tips for owner-occupied homes
There are some maintenance tasks you should do monthly, some you should do quarterly, and some that you should do each weather season.
Below are examples of regular maintenance tasks and how often you should do them so that they will be as quick and easy as possible:
- cleaning your air conditioner filters (monthly).
- cleaning your appliances (monthly).
- cleaning your laundry and bathroom exhaust vents (quarterly).
- removing the lint from your clothes dryer (quarterly).
- cleaning your gutters (autumn – when the leaves are falling!).
- trim overgrown plants or shrubs (winter – take advantage of the cooler weather!).
- thoroughly clean your home (spring – they don’t call it a spring clean for nothing!).
- air conditioner servicing (spring – just in time for summer!).
- pest control treatment (summer).
Maintenance on Mount Isa rental properties
If you own a Mount Isa rental property, any maintenance work you do will not only help to maintain or increase its value. It will also keep your tenants happy, and best of all, any repairs and maintenance expenses on an investment property are tax-deductible.
This is a major difference between investment properties and owner-occupied properties. Repairs and maintenance expenses on an owner-occupied property are not tax-deductible.
But when it comes to investment property tax deductions, it’s important to understand the difference between repairs and maintenance expenses and capital improvements. There are different tax deduction rules for each.
Repairs and maintenance includes any expenses to help a property maintain its original condition. These expenses can be fully deducted in the year they happen.
Capital improvements on the other hand are expenses that help to improve a property beyond its original condition. For example, home renovations. These ‘capital works’ expenses must usually be deducted over 40 years at 2.5% of the cost per year.
Examples of investment property repairs expenses include:
- repairing electrical appliances, and
- replacing broken windows, broken roof tiles, damaged gutters or a damaged part of a fence.
Examples of investment property maintenance expenses include:
- repainting internal or external walls,
- oiling a deck, and
- plumbing work.
How a property manager can help
If you own a Mt Isa rental property, a local property manager like our experienced team at Jays Real Estate can arrange for any necessary repairs and maintenance work to be done for you.
We will consult with you about any tenant requests to get your approval before we arrange for any work to be done by trusted Mount Isa property maintenance professionals.
Our property managers will also conduct regular inspections to make sure that your tenants are maintaining your property.
When you have us managing your property for you, you can kick back and relax.
About Us
Jays Real Estate has been Mount Isa’s premier residential and commercial real estate agency since 1981.
If you’re thinking about buying, selling, renting or leasing any Mount Isa property, or you need your investment property managed, contact our team today for an obligation-free chat!
We’d be happy to provide you with advice and to answer any questions you have.