Tag Archives: Winter

Baby, It’s Cold Outside

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Hey there all you tenants, landlords, property owners and property managers. The holiday seasons are upon us, and with them have come the cold weather. Depending on where you live in the country, this will mean more or less to you, but most of us will be impacted by the weather in the winter, at least a little bit. Lucky for you, the hometown rant has the guide to keeping you warm and cozy inside your house, apartment, condo or duplex all season long.

If the weather does get cold enough to make it uncomfortable inside your rental property, you’ve probably already got some coping strategies, ranging from wearing a lot of layers to burning your possessions in a little pile on the floor. Hopefully you haven’t got to that point yet, although it is the last step before sucking it up and actually turning on your heat.

Once you’ve given in though, you’re going to want to take some steps to conserve the heat, so you get the most bang for your buck. A big part of this process depends on the age of your rental property, specifically as it impacts the seals around the doors and windows. Older places tend to have more gaps and cracks, making any attempts to heat the interior more and more futile. If you do plan on running the heat in an old house, we suggest you get some easily removable rubber seals, something like these, which, if applied correctly, can make a big difference in the heat retention of older houses, apartments, condos or duplexes.

If your rental property doesn’t have central heating, you could consider using space heaters in the rooms you’ll be occupying most frequently, but keep in mind that multiple space heaters will quickly run up your electric bill, and can even blow a fuse if used at the same time as a few other electronic devices. If you have central heating, it’s probably going to be more efficient to run that and take measures to keep that heat in.

As a landlord, property owner or property manager, you probably have a general idea of how your properties fare in terms of winterization, so let your tenants know how to best seal in that warmth. They’ll probably appreciate the advice, and if not, hey, it’s their loss. Above all, stay warm and have fun!

 

Snow Fa-sho

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Hey there all you tenants, landlords, property owners and managers. December is almost over and we’re quickly advancing into the thick of winter. This mean, among other things, snow might be on the horizon. According to the forecast right now, most of the country is yet uncovered, but for a good deal of you, that won’t be the case all winter. Luckily, Hometown Rant has the guide for you when it comes to houses, apartments, condos, duplexes, and snow.

Like we just said, there are marked regional differences in terms of both the probability of snowfall and the preparedness of the citizens in the region to handle the snow. Geographically, people North of the 40th parallel or so tend to be more acquainted with the stuff than their friends on the South side of the line, though there are certainly exceptions. One general rule that does hold true, however, is that the more snow a place gets, the more equipped they are to deal with it. This equipped-ness can manifest itself in many ways.

One of the main ways snow affects cities is in the flow of traffic and ease of getting around town. Renters looking to live and drive in places where it snows often should make sure that their vehicles are equipped to handle the weather, especially if looking at rental properties in hilly neighborhoods. If it does snow and you don’t think your car can take it, that’s fine, just don’t try to drive anyways. You don’t want to be like these people. Stay inside and get your camera. You could make youtube history.

Another way preparedness for snow manifests itself is in the construction of the buildings themselves. Places with lots of precipitation tend to have homes and buildings with pitched roofs, so accumulation doesn’t damage the structure. This guy argues that you can indeed have a flat roof in a snowy place, but there are a lot of things to take into consideration when doing so. Property owners looking to build or remodel should make sure they’re confident in their architects and contractors to design and implement a solution that’ll withstand the weather. Otherwise you or your tenants could have a metrodome-type situation on your hands, though it’ll probably be less spectacular and more immediately frigid.

If you’re a winter sports enthusiast you’re probably doing strange dances and praying to your pagan snow-gods for it, and if not then you’re probably doing the opposite, but Winter means snow and snow means at least a hundred different things in inuit. Or something.

Do you have rental questions of your own? Comments? Concerns? Love letters? Hate mail? Get at us:  Hometownrant@hometownrent.com

Winterization is Coming!

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Hey there all you Tenants, Landlords, Property Owners and Property Managers. We’re already well into October, and it’s starting to show. The weather outside is changing, and the inconvenient truth is that there are measures you’re going to have to take if you want your House, Apartment, Condo or Duplex to stay warm and cozy even as the global climate goes totally haywire, creating a worldwide superstorm that plunges us into the next ice age. Okay, maybe not if Dennis Quaid has anything to say about it, but still, it’s getting colder.

Obviously your response to the changing climate is going to vary depending on where you live. For some of us it means snow, for some of us it means rain, and for people in Southern California it means maybe wearing a shirt with sleeves. Winterizing your rental property means something different across the country, but it’s always important. Winterization? you might find yourself saying, but it’s only fall! Well that’s true, but the point of winterization is being prepared so you don’t have to worry later, when it’s actually winter.

So what should you do? Well, as a Property Owner, Property Manager or Landlord, you should be vaguely aware of the climate in which your property exists, and therefore have an idea of the type of weather your tenants can expect in the coming months. Let your tenants know if there are things they should do, and if there is any assistance you can provide them. They might need to switch out the screens for storm windows, and they might want to make sure the heat works in the house before they really need it later. This stuff should be in the lease, but it might be helpful to contact your tenants as a reminder if there are things they need to do.

On the other hand, Tenants living in a house, apartment, condo or duplex and preparing for the changing seasons should heed any instructions passed on from a property manager or landlord. If they’re telling you to do something, it’s probably for a reason. Things like making sure the flue in the fireplace works before starting a fire will save you smoking your whole rental property out. Things like having someone come to fill up your oil tank if you have an oil-run heating system will keep you warm later.

There are optional steps you can take to further insulate your property as well, since heat retention is key for keeping heating costs down. Window covers and insulating door seals are cheap, easily removed ways to improve heat retention, especially on older houses that have less insulation built in.

Whatever it is you need to do though, the most important advice we can give is to get started on it now, while it’s still nice enough to do things outside without being miserable. That way you can be relaxing at a balmy 75 degrees in the coming months instead of huddled around a space heater with your teeth chattering. Remember. Winter is coming.

Do you have rental questions of your own? Comments? Concerns? Love letters? Hate mail? Let us know: Hometownrant@hometownrent.com