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At Blue Sky Luxury, we value our property inspections, our detailed and consistent twice annually inspections, which are crucial to protecting our valued tenants and homeowner’s investments, as well as the continuous reinforcement of our ‘Blue Standards’.

As Barbados’ leading property management company – Blue Sky Luxury holds a vested interest throughout our managed properties. But more importantly, we help our tenants and homeowners, breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that we are truly safeguarding their interest.

In our world of Property Management, inspections from time immortal, are our best line of defense against property damage, and oftentimes, personal injury, as we focus on the health, safety, and wellness of our tenants and homeowners. As you can appreciate, whether it is due to tenants’ misuse of a property or maintenance issues that go unchecked, property damage can lead to hefty repair bills – especially when it goes unnoticed for long periods of time.

As our mission, we prefer to be proactive, rather than reactive. Over time, you perhaps heard of many nightmare scenarios of tenants turning beautiful homes into anything from brothels to drug labs to party houses.

While we appreciate that not every tenant can be painted with the same brush, we are committed to ensuring that all our tenants are held to the ‘Blue Standard’, so that our homeowners’ investments remain protected.

In this topic, we will examine the below listed key areas.

What is a Property Inspection?

A Property Inspection is a detailed and systematic visual inspection of the property, its structures, design, and fixtures that will provide a transparent understanding of the property’s ‘vital signs’ and condition as observed on the inspection date.

The Value of a Property Inspection

Like most homeowners, the purchase of standalone homes, villas, or condominiums, or even the most luxurious multi-million dollar homes, purchasers have very little to no prior knowledge of, or expertise in or property management.

Property management companies, such as Blue Sky Luxury, specializes in property management professionals, who have the knowledge, skills, and experience to detect costly problems. For example, most of the value of residential land comes from the house. To explain further, a house with one or more severe structural, electrical, or even plumbing issues can cost tens of thousands of dollars or even more. Consequently, scheduled property inspections are necessary in ensuring your investment remains in pristine condition. Property inspections are an added value mechanism, every homeowner with a vested interest in his or her property should maintain. After our annual inspection, as a homeowner, you will have a much clearer understanding of your property’s condition; highlighting the necessary maintenance and preventative maintenance measures you need to undertake.

There’s Even More Added Value…

The Inspection, Key Areas of our Focus

Depending on the age, size of the property, and its general layout, inspections can generally be lengthy, ranging anywhere between 2 and 6 hours, in terms of navigating the property. The property manager will examine the property and its structures, to include, but is not limited to:

Our Final Word – The Value in conclusion!

Property inspections are essential if our tenants and homeowner rights are to be protected while ensuring that our homeowners get maximum returns on their investment. The property management team at Blue Sky Luxury is committed and will continue to go the extra mile, to ensure that our wide-ranging portfolio of properties is magnificently maintained, such is vital to the longevity of the property.

Here, we have highlighted the value and equally so, the importance of property inspections and their importance to the tenant and our homeowners. As a tenant or a homeowner, you don’t have to worry, we have your safety and comfort, as our top priority.

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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Technology dictates the way in which we do business! After investing in a web-based property management software, we have been discovering its added benefits. One of these benefits is the app and its work order function.

As property managers, we are often on the go. We need to keep abreast of what is going on at our properties and have adequate follow-through. We need to have some organization and with this app, these things are possible.

Let us tell you more about the app.

This app helps us by being able to determine our arrivals, departures and in-house guests with a click on our phone. It also helps us to keep track of maintenance at our properties, we can upload photos and add notes. We can also complete our many, many, many checklists. At the end of it all, we can generate a report for our owners based on all that we have done. Essentially it helps us in maintaining our Blue Standards.

What are our Blue Standards? We have a blog for that! Now we also have an app for that. In the app, we have our Health and Safety Checklist, our Fire and Safety Checklist, Hurricane Preparedness Checklist, Audit Checklist, Arrival Checklist, Departure Checklist, and the list goes on. Cannot recall when the air conditioning units were last serviced, you do not have to worry if you have it stored in the app. For those tasks that we need to perform on a reoccurring basis, the app can also record these and remind us when they are due.

Now, We are not saying that the introduction of the app was easy. We had to find time in our already busy schedules to use the app. Only by using the app, can we reap the rewards that it offers!


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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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

 

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Find a villa here

Equipment Suitability for Rental Properties in Barbados

Turning your investment into a rental property can be a great way to earn income. It is all about providing a functional and comfortable experience for your guests when they choose to stay at your property. One of the key things needed for success in your new venture is having suitable equipment. From smart tech solutions to appliances, furnishings and IOTs, equipment for a particular property must make sense for its use and situation. Simply put, having suitable equipment will enhance your guests’ stay, meet and exceed their needs and wants and ultimately deliver on customer satisfaction. The result? Advocacy + loyalty= ROI. It’s a complex formula but the Property Management team at Blue Sky Luxury is here to assist you in choosing suitable equipment to maximize earnings.

Identifying your property niche

When deciding to enter your property into the rental market, it is important to identify what type of rental property you would like to have, a long-term or a short-term holiday rental. Your choice helps to determine the type of equipment needed. Additional factors impacting equipment choice are:

1. The type of rental property 

2. The location of the rental property. 

To be considered, is the property an apartment /condominium, townhouse? Is it in a maintained gated community? or is it a standalone villa with gardens and a swimming pool? Here is how you choose the right equipment for your rental property.

Furnishing a long-term rental property versus a short-term holiday rental property.

A long-term rental property can be rented fully furnished, semi-furnished or unfurnished. A holiday rental property is a fully furnished and outfitted property that is rented on a nightly rate basis to a range of clients. A long-term rental property can be rented furnished or unfurnished, to an individual or entity for a minimum of 6 months with a signed agreement. Fully furnished entails all necessary furniture, major & minor appliances, a fully outfitted kitchen, enough linen and towels for how many people the property can accommodate. 

If any services are included in the rental agreement, it is necessary to provide the equipment for those services, e.g.– laundry, cooking, gardening, pool maintenance, irrigation systems.

Equipment choice based on location

If your property is located on or near the coastline, you may want to consider investing in stainless steel equipment for large and small kitchen appliances to combat the effects of the salty air. If your property is near a Gully, window screens would be recommended for flying insects or birds.

Is your property isolated? If so, you might benefit from a security system. If it is in an area affected by regular water outages, a water storage tank would be helpful. 

For condominium properties, choosing a stacked washing machine and dryer would aid with limited spaces. 

Must have equipment for property rentals

Do you have a generator? Depending on the type of equipment you have and how essential they are to keeping the property functioning, it is important to make note of what is run by electricity and what you might be without in the event of a power outage. Consideration should be given to having a generator to run power to these pieces of equipment. For example, electric gates, elevators, water pumps for drinking water or even sewage pumps. 

Preventative maintenance is crucial

Be proactive, not reactive.

Ensure that all equipment in your rental properties is maintained and serviced regularly. Maintenance should be scheduled in three or six months periods or annually. Governed by The Blue Standards, our definitive 300 pt. checklist for property care, The Property Management team at Blue Sky Luxury has a thorough and innovative Preventative Maintenance Plan. Our Property Care Mobile App ensures that all results are reported in real-time and done right.

Learn more about our Barbados Property Management team 

Locally we are known as the Property Management Experts. Our team of 17 Property Managers maintains 200 plus villas, apartments, townhouses and condominiums across Barbados.  

Our Property Management Services include:

1. Routine & Preventative Maintenance

2. Human Resources Provision and Management

3. Administration, Account Management and Reporting 

4. Insurance

5. Smart Staffing

View our Brochure to learn more about our range of Property Management services and why choose Blue Sky Luxury to manage your investment.

Learn more | Get your Complimentary Quotation

Contact Property Management: management@blueskyluxury.com

 

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

Find a villa here

 

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