How do Property Managers Handle Repair and Maintenance

Property management and maintenance go hand in hand. It’s crucial to making your property investment journey as painless as possible.

It may not be your preferred bedtime reading material, but if you’re reading this, you’re probably one of the thousands of Australian property owners who struggle to feel in charge of their investment property’s maintenance and repairs.

Maintenance difficulties can quickly accumulate and spiral out of control. Plus, whether you’re a handyman or tradesperson, determining whether you’re paying a reasonable fee to replace that leaky tap or broken cupboard door can become a game of guesswork. If you win, there’s no award, but losing can cost you thousands of dollars over the course of your property’s existence.

As a result, property management and maintenance are in the driver’s seat when it comes to your experience.

Using our processes at Moye as an example, we’ll discuss what it’s like to use a property manager, including how property managers handle maintenance and repairs.

Repairs are handled by property managers, right?

They should without a doubt do so. A property manager’s duties and responsibilities include the management of repairing and maintaining the property. Check the property management contract to make sure they do, as it should state that this is included in the service you’re paying for.

If the property management fails to take care of maintenance and repairs for whatever reason, we strongly advise you to terminate the agreement and seek new representation.

Including property maintenance in your managing authority is an essential, even if it means paying a little more. Otherwise, you won’t receive your money’s worth, as this is one of the most time-consuming tasks.

Self-managing property maintenance presents a number of challenges.

Why do so many Australian property investors hire a property manager to handle maintenance and repairs?

Property managers are used by 80% of property owners in Australia.

Property maintenance is almost certain to be one of the concerns you spend a significant amount of time on if you’re self-managing your rental property.

Property management and maintenance was cited as one of the top three challenges by 35% of the property owners we surveyed.

Repairs and maintenance are a major pain in the neck for DIY owners for a variety of reasons:

• You can’t know who will do the greatest job until you’ve built a network and gained some experience because there are so many tradespeople to pick from.
• It’s difficult to estimate the cost of a repair or maintenance service. Self-managed property owners frequently accept the first quote they receive, unsure if they are receiving a good price or being taken advantage of.
• It is a lengthy process. Every maintenance issue necessitates a trip to and from the property to verify, which quickly adds up. Managing a home while juggling a full-time job, family, and personal obligations is a difficult task. The options are to either quit your work and focus only on your properties, or hire a professional property manager. The latter is prefered by 80 percent of Australian property investors.
• It occupies a lot of mental real estate. Long-term financial freedom is the goal of an investment property. But, let’s be honest, if you’re worrying about “what will break next” every day, you’re probably wondering if it’s even worth it.

Having too many options, a lack of network and information, time constraints, and mental exhaustion make being a DIY property manager and doing property upkeep a difficult task.

Let’s discuss how utilising a professional agency for property management and maintenance can help you deal with maintenance issues in your rental successfully now that you know why self-managing your property maintenance is so difficult.

The advantages of hiring a property manager for repairs and maintenance

The main difference between you and a property manager is that property managers are full-time real estate professionals who are trained and have access to networks and databases that ordinary owners do not have.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the advantages of hiring a property manager to maintain your property:

• They have a network of dependable tradies and property maintenance firms that they know will do an excellent job. Consider this: every year, property management businesses are responsible for the upkeep of thousands of rental properties. They’ve figured out who to contact after years of trial and error.
• They usually know how much a property maintenance issue will cost. This is due to the fact that I have a lot of field experience.
• They obviously take care of maintenance issues for you, which allows you to focus on other things.
• They’re educated and experienced enough to determine the responsibilities/liabilities of renters and property owners.

Maintenance is a non-issue for a good property manager.

In addition, property managers do routine inspections to anticipate any forthcoming repairs, installations, or whether any old appliances need to be replaced. This allows you to budget for your maintenance costs ahead of time, eliminating any unpleasant surprises.

Overall, hiring a property management and maintenance agent is a terrific method to ensure that your property is well-maintained while also allowing you to focus your time and attention on other things.

How do property managers deal with maintenance and repair requests?

The majority of property managers will handle maintenance requests in the following way:

• When a renter notices something is wrong or needs to be repaired in the property, they text or email your property manager.
• Your property manager gathers all pertinent information and begins searching for the appropriate tradesperson. This is where a maintenance request form from property management comes in handy.
• To confirm the property maintenance service, your property manager contacts you via the property management maintenance request form, which is normally sent via text or email.
• You give the go-ahead, and a tradie is dispatched to resolve the problem.

Keep in mind that not all property management companies include this in their costs. To find out how much it will cost you, look at the price structure in your property management contract.

Tip: Property managers who charge you more for handling property maintenance on top of the tradie price are not providing you with good value, not even close.

How can you tell if the property maintenance estimate is reasonable?

When you acquire a property maintenance quote, whether you’re a self-managing property investor or you hire a property manager, there will always be an element of unpredictability.

It’s tough to tell if you’ve discovered a tradie who is trustworthy, fair, and transparent, or if your property manager has been attentive in obtaining your property maintenance quote.

The best approach to determine whether the maintenance price is reasonable is to have a decent sense of what various property maintenance issues and repairs should cost as a baseline and compare it to the quote you received.

Pricelist for property maintenance

So, what does it cost to hire a property care company? Here’s a rundown of the most common repairs and maintenance services, along with an estimate of how much they’ll cost:

• Repairing an air conditioner should cost between $125 and $175 per hour.
• Repairing a door should cost between $50 and $60 per hour.
• Toilet maintenance should cost $75 to $99 per hour, with other repairs and installations costing $150 to $550.
• Fixing a leaky faucet should cost anywhere from $60 to $156.
• Clogged sinks, bathtubs, and drains should cost between $80-$285 for a small block, $300-$500 for a medium block, and up to $20,000 for a complete plumbing system replacement.
• Repairing a refrigerator should cost between $125 and $500.
• Several light bulbs have broken. Most renter should be able to replace a broken light bulb themselves, but larger electrical issues should cost $89 to $140 per hour to repair.

Keep in mind that these costs will vary based on the problem, where you reside, the type of property you have, and other factors. Use it as a guide to see if you’re obtaining a reasonable quote for property maintenance.

How Moye Property Management handles Maintenance and repairs

When we send you maintenance and repair bids, we apply a data-driven approach to property maintenance in addition to a trusted network of tradespeople.

In a nutshell, this implies that we previous data and experience to estimate the cost of each given maintenance service. For example, 80 percent of “jammed lock” maintenance requests we dealt with in the past cost $180 or less. We would never provide you a $300 quote for the same repair in that instance!

All of our maintenance requests are handled through the renter and owner app/portal and email, making the process easier for everyone involved. You can read about Moye and our vision to understand more about how we do things.

These factors combine to ensure that 98 percent of maintenance requests are assigned to tradespeople within 24 hours, that you receive a reasonable maintenance repair quote, and that you have peace of mind when it comes to your investment property.