Are Gutters Worth The Hassle?
I'm in the process of acquiring my first rental properties, and after the inspections Friday, I was convinced we needed to put gutters on all of the houses to get the standing water away from the foundation. The crawl spaces under these places were incredibly wet, and from prior ownership experience, I know the trouble you can get into with insects, termites, and mold when the crawl space is dripping wet.
Gutters are relatively cheap (compared to replacing rotten joists or defending mold suits), so why not take the precautionary step, I reasoned?
The answer came from a very seasoned investor yesterday, and has given me pause to consider. He said that a better approach would be to grade the ground to create positive drainage away from the foundation, and NOT put gutters up because 1) gutters require maintenance (cleaning leaves) which the tenant will never do, so now you've added time or cost to your investment in the form of gutter cleaning, and 2) backed-up gutters will put water in the soffits and rot that wood, creating additional repairs.
So my question to the seasoned investor/property managers is how do you solve the problem of keeping the foundation and crawl space from turning into a swamp?
Your investor friend is exactly right.
Grade the ground to get the water away from the house and do whatever it takes without putting on gutters. Gutters are problems waiting to happen as your friend advised. You can also put bushes directly underneath the edge of the roof where the water falls to lessen the effect. Also, it might not look pretty, but go as far as pouring a concrete ditch to move the water past the house if needed. Water kills houses. Get it away from there now or pay the price later. Basements should always be bone dry.
JohnCl
Hey,
Gutters are a pain in the butt...but I have to admit I never thought about removing them.
Instead, have your lease require the tenant to clean them. On your quarterly inspections, make sure they are clean.
Have you thought about some sort of "Gutter Guard"?
I don't know if sloping the ground away from the side of the house would stop water from seeping in to the house. The roof is a very large surface area, so all the water pours on to a small patch of ground. Some water will be absorbed by the ground, no matter how steep the ground is.
Yes you should have gutters. Just went through a problem with one of my houses. The house shifted and the gutters started going away from the downspout and dumping water out the other end into the foundation. Home owner calls me and said we have water in the basement. I went to look and the water from the gutters had eroded the buffer from the side of the house and created a cavity for the water to come into the house. Fixed gutter and filled hole and now no more water in the house. They seem so irrelevant but the are almost always needed to protect your investment. You can have a company come out and clean them. There not to bad. Just figure that into your lease that you will cover that and tac it onto the payments . Spread it out over 12 months. I usually adds 15/month and tell the renters that they don't have to worry about it. I do the same thing with lawn care. They see it as a benefit but little do they know they actually pay for it monthly.
Thank you for the suggestions. I've called and priced gutter installation. I need to call and price gutter cleaning services. If it's low enough, I might incorporate it into the lease as ncboater suggests.
Hey,
Take a look at "rainhandlers". I replaced all the gutters on my personal residence with them last fall, cuz I like ZERO maintenance. ( Graded away from sides of foundation out to a distance of approx. 5 ft. first) Then installed pine bark nuggets. They work like a charm. Check them out.
I have considered doing this with a small condo back east. The price point is good and the rents will cover the morgage as you stated. The numbers I received from the resort management was 50% of rent which includes cleaning etc! Hopefully there may be another option on the mountain.
That is what I was quoted as well for mgt fee. I think it's too high, but the probably have no competition (especially where mine is).
Other people have refered to them as 'money pits' and 'a drain on the wallet' in other forums. So I am a little concerned and that is why I posted over here. The one's I'm looking at can be had as low as 35k for a studio with a kitchen to 150ish for right next to the lift. I mean, for 35k...c'mon!Even 150k next to a lift is dirt cheap compared to Park City.
There is a piece of privately owned land seperating the two main runs. The person won't give it up, and that has held back some of the building the want to do. That and the airport in the town below are supposed to be the factors that will raise the value.
My feeling is that it is doable. It comes down to marketing the place and delivering. People come for the experience So the condo should be a big part of that. Inerior decoration lift tickets on the counter when they walk in etc. 50% is steep but the price is low enough that it can be covered, plus you have a place to steal away to if you want.
I hear you. I am a handy guy, so it wouldn't cost much $$$ to fix it up nicer than any of the others. I could make it much nicer and they'd want to return the next year. I'd say the are averaging 30- 50k for a studio/1 bedroom unit. Again that is how much people spend on a car these days (me personally, I wouldn't) so it's tough to talk myself out of buying a fixer upper unit for under 30k.