Unless you’re renting out your South Florida property to seniors, then it’s unlikely that your tenants are still using their landline to make calls. According to The National Interest, only 40 percent of U.S. households still have a landline – some of them aren’t even connected to a receiver. With that said, you may be wondering whether or not the phone line in your rental property should stay or go. After all, what’s the point in keeping a phone line when your tenants likely won’t use it, anyway?
In this article, we’ll discuss why you should (or shouldn’t) remove the phone line from your real estate investment property.
What is a phone line?
A phone line is a circuit that’s part of a telephone communication system. It delivers telephone services to the premises. The phone line is installed on the outer wall of the property, typically near the drop line that’s directly connected to the telephone pole.
Should you remove the phone line in your rental property?
Whether or not you should remove the phone line in your investment property is up to you. However, if you need our professional opinion, our property management agents have put together a couple of things to consider. Let’s go over the advantages and disadvantages of removing the phone line from your South Florida property:
When should you remove the phone line?
You should remove the phone line if it’s in the way of a property improvement. Let’s say that you want to improve the overall appearance of your property, but the phone line is so visible. You could always conceal the phone line by placing furniture in front of it, but what if you want to tear down the wall entirely? In that case, you may consider enlisting the services of a professional to remove the phone line safely.
Alternatively, you can coordinate with your property management company to help you find a professional that can provide their services at a competitive price.
When shouldn’t you remove the phone line?
You should only remove your phone life if you want to improve the property. That’s it. If you want to remove it because you think your tenants won’t use it, it would be better not to. More tenants may be on their mobile phones, but some tenants still use the telephone to this day.
Plus, what if your potential tenants want a corded phone? They’ll be disappointed once they find out that your rental property isn’t connected to the telephone line. Some tenants also want the security that comes with having an alternative mode of communication. In case they don’t have mobile service, at least they’ll still be able to contact the outside world with their phone.
By not removing the line, you’ll be able to give your tenants the option to use it. Remember, it’d be better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.
So, as a rule of thumb, if there’s no reason to remove it, leave it be.
Can you remove the phone line on your own?
You can, but that doesn’t mean that you should. If you aren’t confident that you can differentiate a phone line from an electrical line, let the professionals do it for you. If you don’t, you will end up damaging your property’s wiring – or worse, in the emergency room.
Don’t forget that you need to provide your tenants with advance notice that you will enter the property to remove the phone line. If you’re a long-distance landlord, you can delegate this task to an account manager from your property management firm.
What are the reasons why your tenant may want a corded phone?
You may be wondering why your tenant, who has a mobile phone, would still want to use a corded phone. Let’s take a look at the advantages of keeping your rental property’s phone line, from a tenant’s point of view:
- In case of a power outage, a phone line allows your tenants to call their friends, family members, and more even when mobile service is unavailable. If their mobile phones are low on battery, they’ll still be able to call 91. In short, corded phones tend to be more reliable than mobile phones.
- Stays in One Place. How will your tenant be able to contact you in case they lose their phone? With a telephone, your tenants will be able to communicate with the outside world, even when their mobile phones have gone missing. They can also use it to call their phone to locate it or contact your property manager in case they need help.
- If your tenant is planning to set up an office in the rental property, a phone line will make them look more professional.
From your point of view, not cutting the cord provides you with a way to contact your tenants in case of an emergency. Let’s say that, for some reason, a power outage has been going on for days, and your tenants haven’t had the chance to charge their mobile phones. Without a phone line, you wouldn’t be able to contact them to find it out if they’re safe. With a landline, it won’t matter if their batteries are at 1% – you can call them at any time.
A phone line also provides you with another way to contact your tenants to follow up on rent – this can be useful if they’ve started to drop your calls to their mobile phones!
Summing Up
So, should you remove the phone line in your investment property? The answer is no, that is, unless you really need to. As a property owner, you’ll want your tenant pool to be as wide as possible. With that said, you have to provide your potential tenants with multiple options when it comes to how they can communicate with the outside world.
By keeping the phone line, you can make sure that your tenants will always be able to contact you. Again, it’d be better to have a landline and not need it, than to need a landline and not have it.
If you do decide to remove the phone line, be sure to partner with a property management company such as Luxury Property Care. Our experts will make sure that it’s removed safely, and that its removal is really essential.
For more information, call us at (561) 944 – 2992 or complete our contact form today.
