Ricochet Construction is a Dallas-area leader in repair work on all multi-family rental properties, specializing in liability repairs on apartments and condominiums. We help owners avoid insurance claims due to under-maintained properties. We work for individuals who may own as few as a single multi-family unit, up to very large clients with apartment and condominium communities that host 1,000+ rental units. Ricochet Construction has years of experience in multi-family rental repairs for apartment and condominium communities in Dallas, TX and we hope this article gives you a taste of our knowledge in the area.

As anyone who owns properties knows, liability and tenant satisfaction issues require a rental property to constantly undergo consistent and reliable repairs, remodels, and upkeep. This is especially true for multi-family rental units in the Dallas area, where structures are extremely stressed by summer sun and heat. 

Rental property owners are responsible and liable for repairs and upkeep to ensure the safety of residents and maintain or increase the property’s value year after year. Both lenders and government agencies require regular inspections and walk-throughs of rental properties to check for liability issues that could result in insurance claims. Owners need to keep on top of maintenance in order to avoid potential fines and the general headaches that occur when you are not up to code on what are often simple repairs, when they’re done on a regular schedule.

Let’s walk though just a few of the most common types of repair work that we offer across the Dallas area, and why each is absolutely essential in order to avoid liability issues that can arise if you do not consistently maintain your property.  

Texas summers are hard on exposed wood. A simple visual inspection is often adequate to find advanced rot, but regular, focused inspection across all your wooden structures are key to find the beginnings of rot so that they can be addressed before the structure itself becomes unsound. Discovering rot early sometimes makes it possible to lower the cost of the repair by replacing only the affected areas rather than the entire structure itself.

The value of adequate lighting for your multi-family rental properties cannot be overstated. The fact that you will have multiple tenants and visitors walking the property means that there is a heightened chance for accidents and ensuing legal action. Your liability increases if you cannot show that you have consistently and proactively done the work to keep your property exteriors safe, up to and even beyond code. Exterior lighting is often an easy, cost-effective way to both stay up to code and to make your clientele feel safer when they are in your highly-traveled areas.

Dislodged landscaping, small damages to walkways, and sprinkler-head damage are just a few of the common tripping hazards that occur during normal wear-and-tear to multi-family units. Regular maintenance checks and a dedication to timely repairs for even small issues will address many of the tripping issues that plague rental properties that host hundreds and even thousands of residents.

Since they are such high-use structures, railings are one of the most common structures in multi-family units to suffer damage, weakenings, and code failure. At Ricochet Construction we find that consistent railing inspection allows us to make small repairs to destabilized railings that help owners avoid larger expenses and liability issues that occur when railings completely fail.

Repairing concrete can be an expensive and unpredictable job, due to the fact that the actual damages are often due to water seepage that results in rust to the steel rebar inside the concrete itself. The most common concrete damages in multi-family rental units are often to balconies, parking garages, elevated decks and the like, areas that are highly used, but less likely to be visually inspected on a regular basis, meaning the damages tend to progress longer before they are located.

Estimating the cost of concrete repair can also be tricky, since the damage is internal, and the concrete itself must often be removed before the extent of damage can be fully assessed. Also, the repair can be time and labor intensive, as well as disruptive to the normal use of the property.

All of these factors mean that concrete balcony repairs and restoration should always be an essential part of your normal maintenance schedule.

To wrap this up, there are endless issues that can and will arise in any structure as it ages, especially so in the Dallas area, due to sun exposure and extreme heat. At Ricochet, we are fully experienced and completely prepared to deal with all your multi-family repair issues, in ways that help you control costs and avoid unnecessary liability. Contact us any time to find out more!