Improving your real estate investment property is a mission that many real estate investors embark on. And so should you! With so many properties hitting the market, you want to make sure you’re getting the most out of your investment property when selling. In many cases, weatherproofing is done to a property to increase value and quality of life in the property. So, what is weatherproofing? And should you go weatherproofing your investment property as a form of forced real estate appreciation?
What is weatherproofing with real estate investments?
Weatherproofing is as simple as protecting your real estate property from the weather in your region or area. Weatherproofing includes waterproofing, insulation, and even protecting energy from leaking outside your investment property. It’s an efficient cost-cutting strategy that many real estate investors utilize to make use of forced real estate appreciation.
Looking to cut costs with your real estate investment property? Read this blog post to learn the way: How to Save Money on an Income Property.
What are some ways you can incorporate weatherproofing in your real estate investment property?
Of course, weatherproofing may not be the first thing that many beginner real estate investors think of when buying investment properties. However, being attentive to such a particular issue can help save you money on maintenance and help your tenants save money on bills! Accordingly, you will benefit from real estate appreciation through the entire process. Here are some of the classic ways that many have incorporated weatherproofing into their real estate properties:
Insulation
We all know the importance of insulation on some level but as many know, out of sight, out of mind! That should never be the case with insulation! If you look in any room in your house, behind the drywall, there will be layers of Styrofoam, fiberglass, or any mixture of the insulating mediums available in the market today. However, as the years go by, the effectiveness of such materials diminishes, and your investment property may not be as protected from outside temperatures.
In any case, insulating your house is a major construction job that you may not be able to perform easily. Make sure to have a property appraisal when buying an investment property to make sure you are getting your money’s worth and making use of real estate appreciation with each investment property.
Wondering about the difference between natural and forced real estate appreciation? Read this blog post: Natural vs. Forced Appreciation in Real Estate Investing.
Lighting fixtures
After talking about insulating and keeping the outside temperature from coming into your investment property, let’s take a closer look into the heat generated through an inevitable part of your daily life: the lights! To demonstrate further, go ahead and touch one of the lightbulbs you have in any room in your investment property. You will notice that the light bulbs are incredibly hot. This could pose a threat to your energy bill, especially in the summer. Keep in mind that you’re trying to keep the house cool, so having a light bulb emitting a substantial amount of heat is going to work your HVAC system even harder. The best method to diminish heat from lighting fixtures is to exchange your good-ole lightbulbs for LED counterparts. You will see the difference in your next energy bill and that’s guaranteed!
To start your 14-day free trial with Mashvisor and subscribe to our services with a 20% discount after, click here.
Appliances
With appliances, you don’t want your fridge or dishwasher to gives away too much heat. Thanks to the many companies that want to increase the efficiency of their products, real estate investors can enjoy a wide array of choices when shopping for appliances! So, make sure to ask the salesman about the energy-saving part of any appliance you purchase whether for an investment property or for your own home.
Wondering how to turn your property into an energy efficient property to make use of real estate appreciation? Read this blog post: 7 Ways to Establish Your Investments as Energy Efficient Properties.
Waterproofing
Waterproofing is not an easy one to fix if things go BANANAS! You want to make sure the roof is waterproof whenever you come close to buying an investment property. It’s a costly part of any property, and you don’t want to be replacing roofs to begin with. Additionally, insulating and waterproofing windows and doors is an essential part of classic weatherproofing! Waterproofing is, without a doubt, among the best things you can do for an investment property to benefit from forced real estate appreciation.
Tips for weatherproofing your investment property
We’ve searched and gathered the best tips for weatherproofing your investment properties to ensure your tenants and your property are protected all the way. Here are the best tips we could find to bring your real estate appreciation up to the max:
An energy audit
This is a service that many energy companies provide but not many use it to their advantage. You can give your energy company a call and schedule an energy audit to help you spot those energy leaking spots in your investment property. This can range from air leakage in the property to appliances consuming a vast amount of energy. An energy auditor can help you spot those points and fix them at your own pace. In any case, an energy audit can also be the first step in turning your investment property into a positive cash flow income property.
Insulating the attic
We always hear of the importance of having an insulated attic, but why? When you think about it, an attic is the one part of the house exposed to the sun. Therefore, it’s probably the hottest part of the house as most HVAC systems do not include attics. Making sure that the attic is insulated and not leaking heat to the property is definitely an energy saving trick.
Fill leakage spots
Leakage spots can be anywhere from your front door to small holes in the basement. Locating such leakage spots can be done by an energy auditor or you can take on the job yourself! You can use any of the sealants available on the market to fill these gaps.
Weatherstripping
After going through the whole ordeal with leakage spots and covering them accordingly, you should replace weather stripping alongside doors and windows. This is an often neglected one and can save you a whole bundle on your next energy bill! You can find many videos online to help you replace them. Click here to watch a tutorial on how to change weather stripping.
Do you have questions about Mashvisor? Click here to read our FAQs and learn about our tools.
Final thoughts
Buying the right investment property is the first step to investing in real estate. On the other hand, taking care of your investment property is not bound by time or steps. Real estate investors have to always apply forced real estate appreciation to ensure their investments are well-kept.
If you have any more insights on forced real estate appreciation using weatherproofing, please share them with us in the comments below.