OCEAN CITY — Summer is drawing to a close and thousands of visitors and part-time residents will be leaving Worcester County condominiums and rentals as the off-season approaches.
It’s important for the owners of those properties to take the time to make sure that the buildings are properly shutdown and cleaned out before closing or there might be a nasty, costly surprise waiting come spring.
A large part of the county housing market, especially around Ocean City, is traditionally seasonal. Properties may see several occupants over the four or so months that make up the area’s busy summer. Not all of these occupants will treat their temporary homes with respect and even those who do may leave accidental issues that begin small but grow if left unattended.
Because of the potential hazards, owners of condos and rentals need to have a sharp eye and stringent checklist before their properties are closed for winter.
“A lot of people don’t shut down their properties properly. Pipes will break, flooding will happen. Things can end up costing them quite a lot of money,” said Donna Snyder, owner of Undercover Cleaning Services.
Snyder’s company specializes in prepping rental properties for closing in the fall and re-opening in the spring. During her time in the industry, she has accumulated some horror stories about condos that were mistreated over the summer to the point where they became huge pains to make livable again.
There are some basic things that owners can do in the fall to protect themselves, however. Removing all food from the property is important as even a few missed leftovers can fester if ignored for months. This often leads to the attraction of insects as well as the potential for mold growth, two unwelcoming sights for when a property is re-opened.
“One of the hardest things to do to come in for a spring clean is to remove that mold that builds up during the winter season because it wasn’t properly shut down,” Snyder said.
Owners may also want to clean carpets as they tend to soak up a lot of abuse during the summer, Snyder advises. Rooms should be carefully checked for damage. Common breaks occur to items like mattresses and blinds, the latter being particularly fragile. Kitchens will sometimes be left disorganized, and Snyder recommended a thorough examination there with extra attention paid to appliances.
Snyder has witnessed refrigerators left with the door cracked open wreaking havoc on the kitchen and the rest of the house after a few months left ignored. Temperature control and the integrity of pipes are also important. Plumbing has been known to burst under winter cold.
Snyder recommends that condo and rental owners consider conducting a “deep fall cleaning,” before closing up for the winter.
“Deep fall cleaning is just as important as spring cleaning in the upkeep of your home. This is true especially in resort areas like Ocean city where rental properties take a weekly beating all summer long,” she said. “Do yourself and your property a favor and invest in a deep fall cleaning. Your property will thank you for it.”
Problems stem from the fact that sometimes tenants of summer rentals treat the properties hard all season. This isn’t always the case, but even when occupants have the best intentions many are on vacation and don’t always have proper cleaning and maintenance at the top of their priority list.
Owners should not make any assumptions when closing down their properties as small issues multiple over the winter. Even those who plan on using their properties after the rental season would benefit from a detailed inspection and a good, deep fall clean to clear things up after a hectic summer, said Snyder.