Many North Austin rental property owners get to the point where they decide whether to install ceiling fans in their rooms or not. This can be a challenging question to answer because many landlords do see the potential for ceiling fans to be damaged because of how hard some tenants can be on a rental home. But even with that possibility, there are still some advantages to installing ceiling fans in your rental properties. After considering the pros and cons of doing so, you can easily settle the ceiling fan question.
There are many advantages to installing ceiling fans in your rental properties. Possibly the most important benefit is that most renters want them. Some renters will not consider a rental home that doesn’t have ceiling fans in the bedrooms, if not the main living areas. Good air circulation is an important consideration for many people. No one likes a stuffy home. For rentals that have multiple bedrooms and residents, having ceiling fans in each room lets each resident customize their level of comfort.
Aside from keeping residents comfortable, ceiling fans are more energy-efficient than central air. A ceiling fan may just be what your residents need to stay comfortable in the mild summers. In hot climates, a ceiling fan helps improve an air conditioning unit’s efficiency, reducing the need to run the air conditioning year-round. In the winter, ceiling fans help by pushing warm air down, and in summer, they pull hot air up and out. This can help lower utility costs and strain on your HVAC unit, therefore increasing the life of the system.
Alongside these advantages, there are a few downsides to installing ceiling fans in your rental properties. Perhaps the most common problem is that ceiling fans can become noisy over time. Correctly installed, a ceiling fan should make very little noise. But over time, the blades can become unbalanced, which can then lead to unpleasant noises most renters do not like.
Another possible drawback related to ceiling fans is the lighting quality and overall look. Cheap ceiling fans can make a rental home’s interiors look cheap or outdated. It is important that you choose quality ceiling fans that are the right size for space since going too big or too small can turn some renters away, Also, ceiling fans are usually a poor source of good light. Some ceiling fans have frosted lighting covers or exposed bulbs that can make a room either too dark or too bright. Some fans that are higher on the quality scale offer multi-function lighting, where you can choose which bulbs to light at a time, but these usually cost more.
It is important to note that the potential for damage will always be present. People or objects could hit the ceiling fan and destroy glass shades or the blades themselves, causing the fan to stop working. However, most landlords find that these rarely happen. Installing quality ceiling fans usually pay for themselves by making the rental property more attractive to renters.
Ultimately, the decision to install ceiling fans in your rental properties is one that only you can make. With all this information before you, you can easily make that choice. There will be other decisions related to your rental properties that will not be this easy, and you might want some expert advice on other questions as well. If that is the case, consider giving Real Property Management Longhorn a call. Our North Austin property managers can help you not only manage your properties more efficiently but also ensure that you are maximizing the potential of each one of your investments. Call us today at 512-580-3099 to find out how!
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