Every rental property owner knows the drill. You’re about to sit down to a warm dinner with your family when your phone rings with a tenant who’s locked out of the house. Or maybe you’ve been sound asleep, and it's 2:00 AM when you got the call about a burst rental property pipe. Those maintenance requests come with the territory, but they don’t have to take a toll on your sanity. Here are a few organizational suggestions to help you manage your PeeWee Valley rental maintenance requests.
Documentation Required
Formal requests, informal requests, emergency requests, or passive requests should ALL be documented. Many landlords insist renters use repair request forms which can be digitally sent for a timely response. But on your end, you’ll also want to record dates and times of conversations, as well. This will help you prioritize requests over multiple properties and provide proof of your efforts to make reasonable repairs upon request.
Immediate Responses
You don’t necessarily have to fix the leaky bathroom faucet within the hour, but your response to the request for maintenance should definitely take place within the hour. Let your PeeWee Valley tenants know their concerns have been heard. Waiting to confirm an electrician’s schedule will only add anxiety and stress to the situation. Respond immediately and keep them posted on projected timelines for repairs to keep them happy.
Track Maintenance Requests for Repetition
If you have a renter who routinely asks for things, you’ll want to keep a log of those things. Sometimes, continued maintenance requests can be a sign you have a not-so-great repair contractor. On the other hand, you might have a high-maintenance tenant who is being unreasonable about submitting requests. But either scenario can go undetected if you don’t track those requests, by tenant and by property, on your end.
A Professional Vendor Process
Every vendor who performs work for your PeeWee Valley rental property should be coached on rules of engagement as they apply to interacting with renters and accessing occupied properties. You don’t want anyone to feel uncomfortable with a contractor or worried about damage to personal items. Your vendor vetting process should be thorough, so you have a strong bench of top talent ready to schedule your request. Communicating with renters will help you set proper expectations, too, for when those repair persons or professionals arrive to do their jobs. And do your best to discourage your renters from contacting vendors directly. You’ll want those calls running through you since it’s your dime.
Transparency in Renter vs. Landlord Responsibilities
If you have tenants calling you about light bulbs or suspicious odors that have been disproven to exist, then you need to have a conversation with them about drawing the landlord/tenant responsibility line. When signing a lease, it’s best to outline precisely which property maintenance responsibilities are yours and theirs. But it doesn’t hurt to offer reminders, especially if you continuously receive requests for services that fall outside of your scope.
Always Follow up After the Repair
After you’ve repaired a problem or handled a PeeWee Valley maintenance request, don’t forget to follow up with your renters. Give it a week or so and connect with your tenants to make sure the noisy furnace is still running quietly. It demonstrates that you care about handling these issues when they arise and provides an opportunity to document a satisfied renter.
If you’re still struggling with late-night calls or feel like you’re chasing ambiguous maintenance requests for your PeeWee Valley rental property, contact PMI Louisville! Our team of professionals can help get those repair requests organized and prioritized in a way that relieves your stress and the stress levels of your renters, too.
