Protect Your Investment, Install A Heat Pump!

Heat Pumps Add Value to Your Rental Property

If you’re a landlord in Christchurch you know that the big rental-bubble that formed after the earthquakes has burst. Supply is catching up with demand, allowing tenants to be pickier about where they choose to live.

How do you gain an edge in the competitive Christchurch rental property market?

Heat Pumps NOW often works with Chris Uren from Priority Property Management. He looks after a number of flats, apartments and houses around Christchurch, ensuring the investment properties are maintained and the tenants and landlords stay happy.

Chris Uren of Priority Property Management with Heat Pumps NOW Boss, Blair Ashdowne

“I recommend that investment property owners always get heat pumps installed,” says Chris Uren. “They’re an investment in your property. By circulating the air, heat pumps keep the property cleaner, drier, and healthier which at the end of the day leads to happier tenants.”

While making property inspections, Chris says the benefits of heat pumps are very clear every time he looks at the windowsills and net curtains of a place that doesn’t have one.

“I’ve compared enough properties to know that heat pumps reduce the build-up of mould and mildew,” says Chris. “Essentially they help protect your investment, which is why I recommend landlords have them installed.”

“I manage a few properties around Christchurch that have no form of heating, or perhaps just an oil fin heater plugged in at the wall. People walk away from them again and again because they’re worried about how they’ll stay warm in winter,” says Chris Uren.

“These potential tenants often tell me they would consider moving in if the landlord had a heat pump installed. They want a cost-effective form of heating to keep them healthy, dry, and warm over winter.”

Oil fin heaters won't keep you this warm and dry in the middle of a Christchurch winter.

Put simply, out of all the investments Priority Property Management looks after, the ones with heat pumps are leased faster and have higher rates of occupancy than ones without.

In Chris’ experience, some tenants are willing to pay a little extra rent each week to cover the cost of installing a heat pump. Depending on the heat pump's brand and kilowatt heating output, they range in price from around $2000 to as much as $3000 or $4000, but landlords easily recoup their investment.

“I was managing a complex of 16 two-bedroom town houses. One couple found out at the start of winter that for an extra $10 per week in rent, their neighbours were having a brand new heat pump installed. Soon after, three other tenants within the complex agreed to the same deal!”

“Yes the landlord had to pay the upfront cost to purchase and install the heat pumps, but they saw them as investments in their property that the tenants were happy to help pay for.”

An extra $10 per week in rent works out to $520 per year. In four years, most heat pumps will have paid for themselves and so long as they're well maintained will continue to add value to that property.

During a tenancy, Chris and the Priority Property Management team will check the heat pumps are working and kept reasonably clean.

Our team can take care of all your heat pump cleaning and servicing needs.

“Ultimately, that’s the tenants’ responsibility. I ask them to clean the air filters whenever they do the vacuuming. If people have questions I show them the Heat Pumps NOW guide to give them an idea,” says Chris.

"But because it’s an investment in their property, I recommend that the owners have the heat pumps in their flats professionally serviced and cleaned every year or so.”

According to Chris Uren from Priority Property Management, if you want your property to gain an edge in the Christchurch rental market, retain tenants, keep it clean, warm, and dry, the best thing you can do is install a heat pump.
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According to Heat Pumps NOW… we’re the team to install it for you! To increase the value of your Christchurch rental property and protect your investment, contact Heat Pumps NOW on 03 377 7393 for a free, no obligations quote.