If the Caribbean were a pie, Barbados would be a perfect 166-square-mile slice of that pie. Beautiful beaches, sunshine almost every day, friendly people, amazing cuisine, and diverse cultures—no doubt you have heard it all, and it’s all true. Words could never truly prepare you for what life on this sun-drenched rock in the Caribbean Sea is truly like if you have never been before. Naturally, then, those who have graced her shores immediately fall in love with the island. With a thriving luxury real estate industry, who could blame you for wanting to invest in your island paradise retreat? There are plenty of investment opportunities in Barbados. Beachfront properties are a hot commodity, and government concessions are an attractive incentive to buy property in Barbados. Before you take the plunge, from a property management perspective, here are three things that most people do not think about as homeowners:

1. Hiring a property management company to take care of your investment

Property managers are specifically trained to identify, prevent, and respond to a plethora of problems that may occur. They make sure that, whether it’s you and your family or rental guests, everyone utilising your property is treated with the highest hospitality standards possible. Having a trusted company ensures that your property and guests are taken care of in times of adverse weather and more. Property managers ensure that guests are made to feel safe and comfortable. They are trained to take preventative measures to ensure that your property is protected from potentially bad weather.

2. Maintenance and repairs

Let’s say you’ve taken the plunge and decided to either purchase or build a luxury villa in Barbados. Most owners of luxury villas often live abroad and may leave their properties locked up without scheduled maintenance. A fully equipped property needs regular inspection to prevent major repair costs later. Preventative methods to protect against:

•   Potentially damaging pests 
•   Water damage from roofs, leaking toilets, faucets, and pipes
•   Costly underground water leaks by using underground radar
•   Fire hazards: routine checks to ensure your property is up to fire code

Lastly, managing qualified workmen to handle repairs (you wouldn’t believe how long the list of workmen can be to maintain a single property)—we all think about the obvious: plumber, electrician, locksmith, carpenter, and contractor. What you rarely think about are specialists such as beekeepers, bat removers, underwater tile replacements, smart home technicians, and the list goes on. There are so many elements that could threaten your property that you will never think about them, and even more that are required to maintain it seamlessly.

3. Insurance and Legal Considerations

If you have decided to either purchase or build a luxury villa in Barbados, what could you expect? We know that each investment is personal to the investor and that they already know what they want from their investment. You may decide that your property is just your vacation home and nothing more. Or you may decide that, due to your busy schedule or some other logical reason, you wish to rent your property out when you are not using it.

It is important to have property and liability insurance in place to cover repairs for damage that may occur to the property, whether caused by a passing storm or an unexpected plumbing issue. Having liability insurance will safeguard against covering damages for injuries to staff or guests while at your property.

It is important to note that any person who intends to purchase or sell real estate must retain the services of an attorney-at-law to represent their interests. Some key documents must be prepared by an attorney-at-law, which include the Agreement for Sale, the Deed of Conveyance, and the Deed of Transfer.

The main reason you will need property management is simple: to protect your investment. Like any other investment, you will need professionals whose sole job is to utilise their years of expertise to maintain your slice of paradise. Property managers are here to ensure that your staff is highly trained, professional, and trustworthy. They make sure that preventative maintenance is always carried out. They make sure your investment is always secure from threats of any kind. What kinds of threats, you ask? Many of them you probably won’t think about. Property managers are trained to protect your property by making sure it is up to fire code. They use preventative methods to protect against a plethora of potentially damaging pests; they monitor your utilities; and they can guide you on failsafes such as proper backup generators or water tanks to ensure uninterrupted operation of your property. Imagine going to the hospital and telling the surgeon how they should handle your operation. It seems ill-advised, right? Well, this logic should also be applied to your property manager. They are experts in this field, and listening to their advice and allowing them to act in your best interest is the absolute best way to protect your investment. However, this can only work by utilising properly trained professionals and avoiding the temptation of hiring those less qualified or less experienced to do the job.

So, whether it’s simple maintenance (if your property is for owner use only) or marketing and operating your property as a rental, you need to hire a seasoned property manager. Once you do, listen to them. They have the expertise and knowledge to handle all aspects of property management, from finding reliable tenants to handling maintenance and repairs. By entrusting your property to a seasoned property manager, you can have peace of mind, knowing that your investment is in capable hands.

Stay in touch, we love to hear from you!

Direct Barbados: 1.246.622.4466

Freephone UK: 0800 0885574

Toll Free US/CND: 1 866 404 9600

Email: experts@blueskyluxury.com

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Regular property inspections and maintenance play a crucial role in ensuring the longevity, safety, and overall functionality of any property. Whether it is a residential home or rental property, routine inspections and timely maintenance are essential for identifying potential issues, addressing them promptly, and minimising future risks. In this blog post, we will explore the importance of regular property inspections and maintenance, highlighting how these practices can save you time, money, and headaches in the long run.

The Importance of Regular Inspections

Regular inspections help protect property owners’ investments by ensuring that the property is well-maintained and in good condition. Inspections can also help identify potential issues that may affect the property’s value, allowing the property manager to act before it’s too late.

Conducting a Routine Inspection

If you conduct routine inspections before the tenancy begins, you can discover any maintenance issues that may have emerged following the move-in inspection. By identifying and resolving these concerns at an earlier stage, you can avoid more significant problems and cut down on the overall cost of repairs throughout the ownership of the property. Also, to effectively manage the owners spending,

One objective of regular property inspections is to identify any property problems or issues. Once identified, you can address any major upgrades or renovations to the unit or property. Some of these may include repainting, retiling, furniture changes, etc.

Conducting property or maintenance checks after the tenant or guests have departed from the rental property or unit is vital

This is an important step in the inspection of rental properties or units; if there is any damage or missing contents, it is essential to evaluate them to prevent controversies over the return of the security deposit. In addition, these regular inspections aim to prepare the rental property for the next tenant or guest. To undertake any necessary repairs in a timely fashion, where applicable. To replenish any cutlery, crockery, linens, etc. that may have been missing, soiled, or damaged.

Inform owners of maintenance issues

The final step in a property manager’s regular property inspections and maintenance is to ensure that the owners are well-informed on all maintenance issues or upgrades to their property. This will help establish a clear line of communication and trust, as the owners will know that their investment is being managed as efficiently as possible.

Remember, prevention is always better than cure when it comes to property management. So, invest time and effort into regular inspections and maintenance to enjoy a well-maintained property that will serve you well for years to come.

Written by: Damian Griffith

Stay in touch, we love to hear from you!

Direct Barbados: 1.246.622.4466

Freephone UK: 0800 0885574

Toll Free US/CND: 1 866 404 9600

Email: experts@blueskyluxury.com

Go back to our website

Importance of a Grease Trap

Grease traps are a requirement for any holiday rental accommodation. A blocked grease trap could fast become an expensive plumbing undertaking; therefore, scheduled grease trap cleaning could save our clients money. The residual grease from cooking will harden in the pipes, leading to a steady grease buildup, and eventually blocked pipes. You also run the risk of having the sewage system blocked, when your kitchen doesn’t have a grease trap, or more importantly one that is not cleaned as part of preventative maintenance.

Importance of Scheduled Cleaning

The installation of a grease trap is only the first step, however, our property managers will then set up a preventative maintenance schedule to ensure routine cleaning is carried out. Depending on the occupancy levels and the frequency with which the kitchen sink is used, in order to avoid blockages, emptying and cleaning the grease trap forms part of our team’s regular scheduled property maintenance.

Tips from the PM Team

Scheduled cleaning of grease traps will keep them functioning efficiently and save our clients money in the long run by avoiding costly plumbing repairs.

Tip #1: The grease trap is not for grease storage.

While a grease trap is designed to trap grease, we advise staff not to pour grease directly into the drain, but instead store in the appropriate containers to avoid the grease trap from reaching its maximum capacity too quickly. This will reduce the likelihood of having to deal with clogged drains.

Tip #2: Remove excess grease and solid food.

Staff and guests alike are reminded to reduce solid material from going into the drain that will end up in the grease trap. While the grease trap is intended to hold the oils, fats, and grease, the use of a strainer is your best bet to eliminate the excess solids entering the trap.

Keep solid food items along with excess fats, oils, and grease that could be removed from the dishes before being placed in the sink. Keeping food out of the grease trap will maximize the time between cleanings.

Tip #3: Schedule Preventative Maintenance.

Some companies and contractors are not consistent in their workmanship with the construction of grease traps, and often time design flaws create a lot of issues, which result in having to clean the grease traps too frequently.

It is still important to maintain minimum standards for cleaning times, even if there’s not much oil, fat, or grease inside the tank, it will still turn rancid and emit a pungent odor. Our property managers actually keep a log through the use of a mobile work order app, which comes in handy for reporting to owners and tracking any technical issues.

Travel is back in the foreground! Our Property Management team is ready to welcome visitors to our villas. The team is proactive and as experts in the property management arena, we know that more holiday rentals, mean more cooking, and hence, Grease Trap Maintenance needs to be scheduled. So, let’s talk about it!

Importance of a Grease Trap

Grease traps are a requirement for any holiday rental accommodation. A blocked grease trap could fast become an expensive plumbing undertaking; therefore, scheduled grease trap cleaning could save our client’s money. The residual grease from cooking will harden in the pipes, leading to a steady grease buildup, and eventually blocked pipes. You also run the risk of having the sewage system blocked especially when your kitchen is without a grease trap, or more importantly having one that is not maintained often.

How the Grease Trap Works

Importance of Scheduled Cleaning

The installation of a grease trap is only the first step. A preventative maintenance schedule is then set up to ensure routine cleaning is conducted. Depending on the occupancy levels and the frequency of kitchen sink use, emptying and cleaning the grease trap forms part of our regular scheduled property maintenance in order to avoid blockages.

Tips from the PM Team

Scheduled cleaning of grease traps will keep them functioning efficiently. This saves our clients money in the long run by avoiding costly plumbing repairs.

Tip #1: Ensure correct installation

Some grease traps are ready-made out of a fiberglass design while some are actually built on the location of a concrete design. Some companies and contractors are not consistent in their workmanship with the construction of grease traps, and often time design flaws create a lot of issues, which result in having to clean the grease traps too frequently. The cleaning and other services required to clean blocked grease traps could end up creating substantial expenses.

Tip #2: Reduce solid food

Staff and guests alike are reminded to reduce solid material from going into the drain that will end up in the grease trap. While the grease trap is intended to hold the oils, fats and grease, the use of a strainer is your best bet to eliminate the excess solids entering the trap. Remove these solid food items from the dishes before being placing them in the sink. By keeping food out of the grease trap, will maximize the time between cleaning.

Tip #3: The grease trap is not for grease storage

We advise staff not to pour grease directly into the drain but instead store it in the appropriate containers. This helps to avoid the grease trap from reaching its maximum capacity too quickly. This will reduce the likelihood of having to deal with clogged drains.

Tip #4: Schedule Preventative Maintenance

Routine cleaning is essential and it is important to keep a maintenance schedule. Homeowners can get grease traps cleaned on a more infrequent basis by using less grease. It is still important to maintain minimum standards for cleaning times. Even if there’s not much oil, fat, or grease inside the tank, it will still turn rancid and emit a pungent odor. The property managers actually keep a log through a mobile work order app, which comes in handy for reporting to owners and tracking any technical issues.

Stay in touch, we love to hear from you!

Direct Barbados: 1.246.622.4466

Freephone UK: 0800 0885574

Toll Free US/CND: 1 866 404 9600

Email: experts@blueskyluxury.com

Go back to our website

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