Does Property Management Have Maintenance Issues?4 min read

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The Maitenance Question

One massive part of the property management industry is Maintenance. Unfortunately, most landlords/property managers think maintenance is the worst part of managing a property due to the many pain points involved in fulfilling a maintenance request. This problem leads to the answer to this week’s question, does property management have maintenance issues? The answer is no but can be if the landlord makes it a problem.

The Maintenance Answer

According to Different.com, property managers should take care of quick repairs and extensive property maintenance. If they don’t, it will lead to many problems in the tenant’s living space. Moreover, if that’s the result, then the tenant should 100% move to another property. These issues are due to the considerable number of pain points just from maintenance alone and the landlord not addressing these problems. Some of these pain points include scheduling the maintenance request, pricing for the repair, actually getting the request done, and finally tenants who complain about the issue when there is no need to.

Why These Pain Points Matter

The great thing about these four big pain points is that there are many solutions to each one. The solution to scheduling a maintenance request is having a conversation with the contractor doing your request and scheduling a fast-approaching and reasonable time to get the problem fixed. In the huge technological society we live in today, you can also use scheduling software to schedule a request. The next solution is for pricing for the repair. This can be fixed by finding a contractor who can fulfill your request for a reasonable price. Of course, some fixes will be expensive, but it’s all about getting the request done and making your tenants happy.

This leads to the next solution which is for actually getting the request done. For anything in life, you should stay on task and get things done when you say you will. Putting a task off to the side can lead to your team (in this case, the tenants) becoming extremely angry. So the bottom line is, when a landlord gets a maintenance request, they try to fulfill the request as soon as possible to make their tenants happy. Finally, if a tenant keeps complaining about a request not being done, you should reassure them that the problem will be fixed and give them a timeline of when it will if you have it. Also, just a side note, all of these pain points can be fixed through Estelle.

The Steps for Getting a Maintenance Request Done

According to EZ Office Inventory, there are six steps for getting a maintenance request done that avoid all of the pain points listed above. The first step is identifying the task or problem. The second step is creating a maintenance request. The landlord can do this however they choose, but using Estelle would definitely be the easiest way. The third step is adding a priority level. At RoomMate, we consider the priority levels for maintenance requests medium, high, or critical. The fourth step is scheduling. This is pretty self-explanatory and is when you schedule the maintenance request. Step five is assigning, which is finding a contractor to fix the issue. Finally, step six is completion, closing, and documentation. This is when you close the maintenance request and consider it done.

Conclusion

Maintenance requests have always been a massive issue for both tenants and landlords alike. However, this is only an issue if the landlord procrastinates and doesn’t solve the maintenance problem. Landlords should be giving their tenants the best living experience possible and have to stay on top of maintenance requests. The pain points listed above are all fixable and following them will make both the landlord and tenant’s lives easier. Remember that all of this is easier through RoomMate’s landlord software, Estelle.