Responding quickly to maintenance requests is something that every landlord must do in order to provide great customer service to tenants and protect the condition of their investment. If you’re working with a professional San Francisco property management company, you should be able to trust that they are managing every repair request efficiently and completely. If you’re managing your own apartment, make sure you’re responsive, document everything, and hold your vendors accountable.
Depending on the building in which you own property, you may have to go through your HOA or community association when certain repairs are needed. Be sure to review all the rules and regulations as well as your lease agreement before you put a maintenance plan into place.
Document the Needed Repairs
Maintenance on multifamily properties is an expense, but it’s a necessary expense that contributes to the protection of your property and the preservation of its value. Make sure you’re encouraging your tenants to make the repair requests as they happen. Even if you can’t get to them right away, you want to have a record of them.
Put a process in place. If it’s an emergency and there’s a fire or a flood, your tenants should call you or your San Francisco property management company immediately. If it’s a routine repair that’s needed, you’re better off having your tenants put something in writing. This will allow you to track the date that the request came in and the action that was taken.
Communicate with Residents and Vendors
You’ll want to make sure that communication is open and transparent. Tenants will want the repairs to be done quickly, but they also won’t want to be inconvenienced too much. Make sure you’re working with licensed and insured vendors who can be trusted to do good work and deliver customer service to your residents. Talk about what will happen next and let your tenants know when they can expect the repair to be made. Then, follow up with them after it’s complete.
Make sure your vendors know what you expect. Hopefully, you have established relationships in place with plumbers, electricians, roofers, HVAC technicians, and other professionals who know you and your properties. Discuss costs and timelines before you agree to any work.
Maintenance Responsibilities with HOAs
It’s important that you understand what you’re responsible for and what the association is responsible for within an apartment community or an HOA. Common area repairs are almost always the responsibility of the association, whereas any maintenance on your individual property will be up to you. If your tenant happens to cause damage to something in the common area, you may be held financially responsible for that repair.
Every association is different, and it’s important that you seek help from a San Francisco property management company if you’re not sure where exactly your responsibilities start and end. A good property manager can also help you keep your maintenance cost-effective.
When you’re maintaining your multifamily rental property, you want to make sure you’re responsive to your tenants’ needs and careful to avoid deferred or unreported maintenance. Consider a preventative maintenance strategy, and make sure you’re keeping your rental property in excellent condition.
Contact us at BanCal if you have any questions about maintenance or if you need help with San Francisco property management services.
Author - Kelli Smith
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