As the autumn leaves begin to fall and summer flowers fade, it is important to clear them out of your rental property’s garden and yard while the cold days of winter have still yet to arrive. Although it may be tempting to leave the leaves on the ground, there are a lot of reasons why this should be avoided. To keep the health of your rental’s lawn and garden and to encourage strong roots to grow to help them withstand winter temperatures, don’t forget to remove old growth and fallen leaves each fall.
Clearing dead leaves, flowers, and old-growth from your Inglewood rental property’s yard has more to do than just keeping the appearance of tidiness. Cleaning up a home’s exterior isn’t all for show. There are property owners that think it’s a good idea to imitate nature by leaving fallen leaves and old-growth on lawns and in gardens to decompose over the winter. They wrongly assume that because it’s natural, therefore it’s good. If they did that, then the layers of dead leaves and other debris would smother their lawns and other plants, preventing air, light, and essential nutrients from penetrating the ground below. Healthy landscape plants and grass rely on a healthy root system, which in turn relies on abundant access to water, air, and light.
While having healthy plants in your garden is already a very good reason to clear your rental property’s fallen leaves and dead garden plants, there are still additional reasons besides that. One of them is that uncleared leaves and dead flowers can result in common plant diseases that can ruin an otherwise healthy yard. As the debris piles up, it creates a blanket over the grass and other plants. This may trap moisture underneath and can result in damaging mold growths and other issues. Eventually, these diseases will kill existing plants. By leaving uncleared dead leaves on your yard, you’re also putting it at risk for an increase in insects and other pests. Many kinds of roaches, spiders, and small mammals flourish in layers of rotting foliage. As the number of these pests explode outdoors, they would want to expand their area. Their growing infestation would slowly make it to the rental home and eventually reach inside it. There is a lot on the line. This is why you should remove dead flowers, plants, and fallen leaves from a rental home’s yard before winter arrives.
There are property owners that mistakenly believe that autumn landscaping clean-up is the tenant’s responsibility. Owners should not rely on their tenants to do this task. Tenants may not think that removing dead leaves and flowers is as important as it is, or they may not know the proper way to do it. Tenants may also be exposed to danger. If you have tall trees in your property and they shed leaves onto the roof or other elevated surfaces, it would be a very bad idea to ask your tenant to get on a ladder to trim tree branches or clear the fallen leaves away.
You don’t have to remove every leaf that falls as soon as they touch the ground. That wouldn’t be practical. However, if you have large leaf falls on your hands, then that needs to be addressed in a timely manner. You’ll need to act on that right away to prevent damage to your rental property’s landscaping, foundation, and even the roof and gutters. There are many ways to do this job efficiently. For example, some property owners rake fallen leaves onto the lawn and then use a mulching mower to shred them into fine particles, which will sift down into the soil and fertilize the grass. Others may outsource this to a professional company that already has the experience and skill. They drop by to do an annual clean-up and solve the problem for you. If you choose the right company, this could be more cost-effective and efficient.
Whichever way you’d decide would be fine. Just remember that the priority when making that decision is caring for your rental property’s yard without putting your tenant at risk. If you have time to spare, you can do it yourself. But, as a real estate investor, your time is precious. That is why Real Property Management California Coast takes care of important seasonal maintenance tasks for property owners who have a lot of things to do. Our first-rate property management services will properly care for your Inglewood rental property and get it ready for whatever winter brings. Contact us online or call at 310-535-2150 to get started.
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