Use Care When Choosing Tradespeople For Your Rental Properties
When bringing trades people into your rental properties for property repairs or property renovations, do check that they are qualified to do the work, that they have up-to-date licences and also check their insurance cover.
If the person you employ to do a job has staff or sub-contractors working on the property, make sure that they too have current licences.
It would pay to keep a copy of any licences and insurances on your own personal file in case you need them at any stage.
You can of course, use unlicensed tradespeople if you wish but do realise that there are risks involved.
If the job is rather large check it on an ongoing basis and again at the end of the work. Make sure you are 100% satisfied before final payment.
Get council approval
Before you start any work make sure that it is not a job that requires council approval. If you put structures up that should be council approved and the council checks you out, you will more than likely be asked to remove them and also pay a fine. This would make it a rather expensive job all round, especially if it was an add-on that necessitated a change to the basic home structure.
Another time that you could find this to be an expensive exercise is if you want to sell the property. Thousands of dollars could come off the price if you have structures that are not council approved.
Not everyone who works on the property needs a licence and such workers as cleaners and gardeners do not, but they should have insurance. After all it could get ugly if you have a tenant put a claim against you and you cannot claim against your tradesperson.
Filed Under: Property Investment Tips • Quantity Surveyor • Renovations
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