Your time is valuable, and so is your ability to save. Yet if you've been managing your own property for a while, you've found out first-hand how much time and money can go into keeping a property in decent shape. You have options for reducing these time and dollar requirements, though. You can't make your property totally work-free, but you can give yourself a lot more precious time for yourself, and stop that property-size hole in your budget and savings plans.

Tougher Landscaping

Are you constantly trying to save plants from heat, cold, and either too much or too little water? You need better landscaping. It doesn't have to be fancy, but you need plants that are better able to tolerate the conditions in your region. Have plenty of rainfall and lots of humidity? You need plants that want that much water and that don't have a dense structure so that they have better through-plant air flow. In a region with drought? You need plants that are more drought-tolerant. If you didn't plan your landscaping that way to begin with, now is the time to start replacing each problem plant.

Remove the Swimming Pool

A pool is a great feature, but if it's costing you a ton of money to operate and maintain, it might not be worth keeping, especially if not that many people use it. If the pool is very popular, then it might be something to hang onto, but have a pool company evaluate why it's so hard to maintain. If it's not that popular, though, a nice courtyard might be a better investment of time and money.

Install Solar Panels and Solar Water Heaters

Granted, this option requires spending more money at first, but it can pay off in the end. If you install solar panels and solar water heaters, you cut down on the need for power from your city's electrical grid. You aren't going off-grid at all, but your building's power generation helps reduce the costs you have to pay to the utility company. And with potential rebates and tax credits, your initial outlay of cash for the installation and purchase could be substantially reduced.

If you're not sure how to evaluate which options to take, a property management company can help you out. When you hire one of these companies to manage your property, much of the time spent onsite fixing things transfers to them and not you. They also have tested strategies for lowering your maintenance costs. Let your new managers know what you hope they can accomplish.

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