Are The Downspouts On Your Gutters Long Enough?

Did you know that the roof of an average sized home will divert around 600 gallons of water for every inch of rain that falls? So, some storms could mean your roof will handle well over a thousand gallons of rain. That’s a lot of water flowing through your gutters! We just talked about making sure the gutters of your rental properties are in good working order in a previous blog post. Now, we need to discuss downspouts.

Sometimes you will see tiny curved downspouts  that only displace the water by a foot or two from the house. In the absence of french drains or some other kind of drain system, these small downspout extensions won’t cut it. You could still end up with water in the basement of your rental home or pressing in on the foundation. You want this water far from your home!

It’s best to make sure that your downspouts divert water at least 8-10 feet from your rental home’s foundation. Otherwise, you could be inviting thousands of gallons of water to head directly for your basement or crawlspace. If you have an underground drain line for your downspout water, you should be all set, but if you don’t, get an aluminum elbow and an extension.

There are many extension types to choose from. If you don’t want a long aluminum or vinyl extension protruding into your yard, there are alternatives. Several products can extend your downspouts only when it’s raining! For example, check out the Drain Away system on Google. It stays rolled up, but a rain, will unroll it and divert the water away from your rental home. You simply roll it back up after it rains. Of course, it’s unlikely a tenant would take care of this chore for you, so this option might only be feasible if you have a maintenance person that checks in on the property. You can also use an UnderGround Downspout Extension Kit. Check that one out too. It sends water underground through a pipe out to a bubbler put installed in the yard. This will require digging, but most DIY landlords can handle it. Just make sure that you always check with the utility companies for underground wires or pipes before starting any digging project.

Are You Looking for a Hard Money Loan to Flip a House Or Buy A Rental Property?

Paces Funding is a hard money lender offering hard money loans to purchase and renovate non-owner occupied residential and commercial properties throughout the Atlanta, Nashville, Florida, or the North and South Carolina metropolitan areas. Our application process for hard money loans is easy. Just fill out this very simple online form and you will be contacted shortly. Unlike other lenders, the window between applying and funding is very small. We have funded properties in as a little as one day, but typically funding hard money loans takes about seven to ten days.

Call us at 404-814-1644 or contact us online to find out whether you might qualify for this type of funding. In the meantime, check to ensure that you meet our loan criteria. Our loan amounts can be up to 65 percent of the after-repaired value of the collateral—and if you use the loan for renovation or construction, the loan amount can be based on the collateral’s improved value.