Handle Property Maintenance Calls Stress-Free

Written by Apartment Management Magazine on . Posted in Blog

A sure way to keep your best tenants happy is to respond to their maintenance requests in a timely manner. This involves responding to them right away and selecting your maintenance vendors carefully so that they get the best service possible. Regardless of whether it’s a vital necessity or just a small leak, you should always provide a clear plan for a resolution as quickly as possible. There are a few simple things you can do that will prevent your tenants from becoming disgruntled.

Here are three tips for handling maintenance requests smoothly:

  1. Acknowledge Receipt: Be sure to let residents know that their request has been received, even if you don’t have a solution yet. Just knowing that you will start looking for a solution will help your residents feel at ease. If you are managing several properties, you may want to use a property management software with a built in maintenance monitor, such as ManageZoom. Tenants can create an account on ManageZoom to send you a detailed request with pictures and description. ManageZoom will alert you when you get a request and you can set reminders so that you don’t forget about the request.
  1. Choose Your Vendors Carefully: You want to make sure that the repair team that you hire to maintain your properties are professional and timely. The team you use is a reflection of you as a property manager. We suggest running a background check or using a company that checks their employees, to keep your property and tenants safe. Once you’ve vetted a vendor, be sure to keep their information handy for future fixes. ManageZoom’s property management software makes this much easier by giving you the option to save vendor information in your account. When a tenant sends in a request you can create a ticket and assign a vendor to it. You’ll know what vendor is servicing which property and you can track how much those services will cost.
  1. Provide a Timeline: Nothing is more frustrating for a tenant than ambiguity. Granted, you may not have all the answers and you are probably depending on the repairman to give you an accurate time estimate, but if that’s the case let your tenants know. When you do get a timeline communicate it right away and follow-up with the repairman to make sure the repair will be done on time.

A major cause of tenant dissatisfaction is related to maintenance difficulties. Maintenance will always be necessary, but how you handle it will help you keep good tenants around longer. Organizing multiple maintenance requests at once can be a challenge, but subscribing to ManageZoom’s property management software can keep you on track. Sign up here to try out the ultimate maintenance monitor for free for 30 days.

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