is your attic well-ventilated?

Renting out properties to families is one of the greatest joys that you can have as a real estate investor. You get the fulfillment of providing someone a home, while also growing your portfolio and earning stable income from each property. Since more than 50% of the energy used in households comes from operating air conditioning and heating systems, this should be one of your biggest concerns. To remain a caring and diligent landlord of all your rental properties, consider these three air conditioning tips. 

Make inspections a regular duty to maintain your tenant's properties

A big mistake that landlords make is waiting until something breaks down to pay attention to the air conditioning systems in their rental properties. You need to get out in front of air conditioning issues by making inspections a regular part of your calendar year. Link up with some qualified HVAC professionals and keep each tenant on a rotating list for preventive inspections. This will allow your contractors to conduct regularly scheduled maintenance on air conditioning systems for each of your tenants. Since such inspections might cost between $70 and $100, ask your HVAC repair contractor about retainer fees that can cut down on some of your overhead.

Mix cost-savings with efficiency when outfitting your units with HVAC systems

As a landlord, you're always striking the balance between making money and providing great service. In a perfect world, you would install the most expensive, top of the line, brand new air conditioning systems in each and every one of your units. However, this would require you to charge more in rent and potentially have a slower time bringing in new tenants. You need to learn how to find the best air conditioning units for installation without paying a lot of money. In general, you should be able to get a quality air conditioning system to last between 15 and 20 years. Find the best brands and know which types of air conditioning systems you are purchasing. Some air conditioning types that you may want to shop for include split central, heat pump, and even solar air conditioning.

Don't forget to change the filters in your rental units

You typically will need to change your tenants' air conditioning filters every 30 to 60 days. Get out in front of this, instead of waiting for them to put in a maintenance request. Make sure you are purchasing pleated air filters that are between 1 inch and 3 inches thick, depending on the system requirements of your air conditioners. When you keep your contractors on top of this maintenance, you will naturally have happier tenants.

Use these three tips to stay on top of your rental property air conditioning systems.