Even when it comes to vandalism, the best prevention is no guarantee that you are not going to ever experience. With roughly 15% of homes targeted by vandals each year, it is likely that one or more of your rental homes may eventually be hit. As scary as vandalism is, there are ways that you can take to protect your Williamsburg investment properties from vandalism.
When your property falls victim to vandalism, it can easily give you the feelings of violation and frustration as you converse with the police and your insurance company. It gets even worse when you are doing your best to do repairs, but you also have to appease your renter who is just as frustrated as you are. The key is to be informed on the necessary steps that you can take so that you can get back to feeling confident and ease the recovery process.
In the aftermath of vandalism, it is important to contact the local authorities and file a police report. Your tenants may take it upon themselves to call the police or may inform you and suppose that you’d take over and make the report. Either way, as the Williamsburg property owner you should communicate with the investigating police officers and make sure that all property damage is documented in an official report.
Documentation is important, you will want to make sure all the vandalism is duly noted, and photographs of it has to be taken as well. If you are not able to go to the property yourself right away, you might have your tenant or your property management company handle the documentation.
Unless the vandalism is done by your renters or one of their guests, it will be your responsibility to make the needed repairs. Working closely with your insurance company is an important step in the process; they need to get involved as soon as the damage occurs. Even before vandalism occurs, it is a good idea to make sure that your landlord insurance policy covers this type of damage. If not, you may have to pay for the repairs yourself.
And finally, vandalism can startle a tenant, leaving behind not only the physical damage but also feelings of fear or anxiety. Their sense of security has been violated, and they may need both encouragement from you that things will be taken care of as well as noticeable indication that you or your property management company are working hard to restore both the rental property and their ability to live safely in it.
At Real Property Management VA Peninsula, one of our top priorities is keeping both your tenant and your rental property safe from vandalism and other preventable damage. But if vandals do make a mess, we will handle the entire documentation and recovery process for you and make sure that your property is restored as soon as possible. Would you like to learn more? Please contact us online or call us at 757-251-9188 for details.
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.
