Maintenance requests should be timely, clear, and well-documented. If you don’t have a good process in place, there’s a risk of deferred and unreported maintenance, which will only cause deterioration and diminish the condition of your Colorado Springs rental property.
Tenants play a role in helping you maintain your property, and that’s why you need a system that empowers them to report any needed repairs conveniently. Make sure your tenants understand that you do want to hear about these problems right away. Sometimes, they’ll worry that you’re going to blame them for an appliance that has stopped working or a door that doesn’t lock. They might worry that you’ll raise their rent if you make a repair.
You don’t want this hesitation to get in the way of a good maintenance process, so we’re sharing some expert practices for completing tenant maintenance requests.
Include Maintenance Repair Requests in your Colorado Springs Lease Agreement
You should be ready to talk about your lease with tenants before they move in. There should be a section in that lease about how to report maintenance needs. Tenants should understand the difference between an emergency repair and a routine repair. You want them to know exactly what to do when something happens.
Emergencies will involve fires, floods, and anything that puts a person’s life or your property in danger. Garbage disposals that are clogged will not be classified as emergencies. You want your tenants to know the difference since emergencies will require an immediate phone call while routine requests will not have that sense of urgency.
Emergency Repairs: Ask for a Phone Call
All emergencies should be reported immediately. You’ll want your tenants to call you as soon as it is safe to do so. Make sure they have your contact information and respond right away. Listen to what they’re telling you, dispatch an emergency vendor or contractor, and call them back so they know what to expect. If it’s possible, go over to the property yourself so you can mitigate any additional problems or expenses.
Document Routine Repairs in Writing
For routine repairs, it’s better to have those requests made in writing. This gives you a documented record of when the request was made, what was described, and how it was handled. This will help you eliminate any disputes about work that was never done or requests that were ignored.
Put Together a Preferred List of Vendors
Work with vendors and contractors you can trust to respond to both emergencies and routine repairs reliably. You’re looking for licensed and insured professionals who guarantee their work and provide competitive pricing.
Having relationships with these vendors in place before you need them is a good idea. If your tenant reports a sewer backup in the middle of the night, you want to know exactly who to call. It’s not a great time to be searching online for help.
Costs are going up for both labor and materials. That hurts, especially when you’re trying to keep expenses in check. It might lead you to think you can do your own work or hire your cousin who is looking for a part time job. This may seem like it’s saving you money, but it could end up costing you, especially if you’re not an expert at the issue that needs attention. Allowing tenants or friends or family members to do the work can also lead to issues. Hire professionals. It’s important to your process and your peace of mind.
Managing maintenance is one of the things we do best for the Colorado Springs rental homes we manage. Please contact us at Muldoon Associates for help. We provide Pueblo property management in Colorado Springs and surrounding areas in Pueblo County and El Paso County.
