About a year ago we implemented some new maintenance policies resulting in a decrease in maintenance calls by about 30%. We were constantly getting maintenance requests for items such as “kitchen light bulb went out”, “AC thermostat stopped working ”, “AC filter needs to be replaced” etc. We started looking for ways to drive down maintenance costs and came up with these solutions:
As a Houston property management company, Stagecoach Management helps landlords and real estate investors across Houston, TX maximize their rental property returns. This guide is especially relevant for property owners in the Houston area.
1. Add a nominal maintenance fee to your lease.
We tend to get maintenance calls from the same frequent offenders. The first month a tenant moves in, we allow as many work tickets as necessary. When you’re getting settled into a new place, things happen. Sometimes we make mistakes on our end and miss a minor detail or two prior to move in. After the first month if a tenant puts in a request because their power is out for example, we start by asking them to flip their breakers. Sometimes, tenants are not willing to perform these tasks so we let them know we can do it, but it’s going to cost $X amount. When you let them know they will be charged $20 for us to come flip their breaker the maintenance calls go down tremendously.
2. Add info in your lease about any maintenance the tenants must pay for.
We noticed we were getting pest control requests every month from the same few people over and over. When we would send our pest guy, he was finding a spider here and there, or maybe a roach during the summer months. We decided to add a section in the lease about pest control. We spray quarterly at all of our complexes, including inside the units. There should rarely be a problem with roaches. 99% of the time we receive constant calls about roaches, it’s because the tenant does not keep their unit clean. Regardless, the first time someone puts in an additional maintenance request for pest control, the owner will pay for it. Any time after that, we let the tenant know we cover one pest control request a year, because really that’s all that should be needed. Any additional pest control requests will be billed to them. Make sure to be clear from the start what maintenance tenants will be in charge of.
3. Create short videos for your tenants to watch.
Sometimes we get tenants who don’t know how to flip a breaker or turn off the water shut off valve if needed. You can create a simple two-minute video to show them how to do these things. It’s a great way to interact with your tenants. You can also find these videos on YouTube and send it to them. They’re usually grateful when we send these videos because it’s a skill they may need to use again in the future!
4. Common maintenance problems info sheet
We created a two-page document with solutions to common maintenance requests we receive often. This includes any AC fixes a tenant can take care of, flipping breakers, etc. For example, if we receive a maintenance request saying “AC not blowing cool air” we first ask the tenant when was the last time they changed their AC filter. If it’s been more than 3 months, we ask they try that first. If that doesn’t work, we ask they replace the batteries in their AC thermostat. These measures save our maintenance techs many, many trips and essentially save our owners a great deal of money on maintenance.
Implementing these practices has helped us drive down maintenance costs by about 25% and save owners thousands of dollars.
Whether you’re managing a single-family rental or a small apartment complex, Stagecoach Management provides full-service rental property management in Houston, TX. From tenant screening and rent collection to maintenance coordination and lease management — we handle it all. Contact us today for a free Houston rental property analysis.