If you possess and manage a Central rental property, sooner or later, your tenant will call you up with a serious and urgent plea for maintenance or repairs. It’s critical to distinguish the best ways to respond to different tenant requests. If you are handy, there are some things you could easily deal with yourself. On the other hand, there are times when fixing something yourself could make matters worse. To understand well when to call in a maintenance tech, here are a few practical questions you can use to assess the situation in question.
How urgent is the problem?
If your tenant has contacted you on the subject of a repair or maintenance issue, you should first clearly figure out how urgent the problem is. Notwithstanding that your tenant may be flustered and getting irate over a lousy working dishwasher or dripping faucet, these are maintenance items that do not really require an emergency visit. But really, if your tenant reports an issue that would make the property uninhabitable, you should take immediate action to find a solution to the matter. A few common examples are significant water leaks and damage or a non-functioning furnace or air conditioner. In these types of instances, it is characteristically advisable to call professionals for help
Do you know how to do it yourself?
If you have experience with dealing with maintenance and repair tasks, you may be the right person to answer to a tenant’s request. This is even truer if the task is a simple uncomplicated one or something you already know how to do. Then again, fixing something in an emergency without the proper tools or know-how could spell catastrophe. That is why, if you are either not utterly confident about how to resolve the issue or don’t have time to do it straight off, it’s surely best to send a service technician to take care of it for you.
Is doing it yourself REALLY the best use of your time?
Another question to consider is whether going over to your rental property and completing repair and maintenance tasks is the best use of your time. Every hour you spend on property repairs and maintenance is an hour you are not spending on other crucial things, whether managing your investments or spending quality time with loved ones. If you weigh how much your time costs, it may be more economical to hire a service tech instead.
Do the repairs require a licensed professional?
Numerous maintenance and repair items are just piece-of-cake, do-it-yourself tasks, for example replacing filters or cleaning the refrigerator coils. Others, nevertheless, may call for the services of a licensed professional. Such ventures are either too dangerous or difficult for untrained Central property managers to do themselves. Electrical problems, major plumbing issues, and nuisances with an HVAC unit should all be taken care of by a professional service technician.
Is regular maintenance being scheduled?
To keep your rental property in good condition, you have to ensure that regular maintenance is acted upon. If your tenant seems unable or unwilling to help you with some routine maintenance tasks, you must either take care to do it yourself or hire someone to do it for you. Whatever you choose to do, proactive maintenance is one of the proven practices to prevent those late-night emergency calls and better keep an eye on your property’s condition. By maintaining and replacing things before they break or wear out, you can reduce your maintenance and repair costs and keep your tenants gleefully satisfied, also.
If property maintenance and repairs are not your special part of owning a rental home, we definitely can help! At Real Property Management Baton Rouge, we work with a proactive approach to property maintenance. On top of that, we have access to a network of quality service providers who can keep your property in tip-top condition for less than you’d effectively pay on your own. Contact us online to learn more!
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