How Good Maintenance Processes Help Retain Tenants

1. How Good Maintenance Processes Help RetainTenants We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: When you buy rental real estate, you’re entering into a smallbusiness. As with all businesses, large or small, customer service should always be a major priority. After all, it’s easier and cheaper to retain customers than it is to find newones. As a Landlord, this holds true for you, too. Maybe even more so than many other industries. Effective Property Managementis a critical component of any successful buy and hold strategy. If your Tenants renew, you save a TON of time, energy andmoney. To maximize your investment, you should strive to retain good Tenants and avoid vacancy, which, as we’ve noted before, is a cash flowkiller. Arguably, one of the best ways to keep your Tenants happy is to practice good maintenance processes.

2. In fact, one of the top reasons Tenants will choose to move is if they feel like the Landlord is not properly addressing maintenance issues. Occasionally, Landlord-Tenant relationships can become difficult, but maintenance response - or the lack thereof - is typically the biggest contributor to making or breaking thoserelationships. • You owe it to yourself and your Tenant to do everything you can to make their experience as positive as it can be. When managing rental properties, maintenance is one of the most important things to getright. • How to Use Good Maintenance Processes to RetainGood Tenants • Using a Third Party Indianapolis PropertyManager • If you opt to sign with a third party Property Manager, then you really don’t have to stress about the day-to-day maintenance issues too much - i.e. no 2 a.m. phone calls about a broken furnace. However, when vetting PMs, you should ask a lot of questions about how they will handle this very important aspect of yourinvestment. • Some good questions to askinclude: • What is your maintenanceprocess? • How do you handle emergencycalls? • How many maintenance technicians do you have onstaff? • While you don’t have to be as directly involved inthe • maintenance process, you should always keep an eye on how things are working out. • Ideally, your PM will utilize software that will allow you to view work orders, notes and even invoices related tomaintenance. • While lease renewals are not always directly correlated to how maintenance is handled, it’s one of the first things you should investigate if you aren’t getting many. • Using a Property Management company can be a great option for Owners, but don’t forget that the Tenant is still YOUR customer as well and you need to do your due diligence to ensure they are taken careof. • Self-Managing Your Indianapolis RentalProperty

3. If you decide to be your own Property Manager, you must take it upon yourself to provide excellent customer service. Here are a few things toconsider: First, define in your Lease exactly who is responsible for specific maintenance items, and be sure the Tenant understands this PRIOR to move in. For example, how do you want to handle clogged drains? Pest control? Landlord Tip: Avoid adding too many Lazy Landlord clauses in your Lease. We cringe when we see Leases that basically tell the Tenant all maintenance is their responsibility. Setting up thisenvironment can set you, your Tenant, and your return up forfailure. Without question, particularly in the single family world, Tenants should be responsible for some basic maintenance. You have no obligation to provide a concierge service. However, be smart and accountable for items that should be your responsibility, particularly if there are state or local statutes that require certain maintenance requirements fromLandlords. Next, you'll need to implement a system that will enable you to track andmonitor all maintenance requests. There are various software systems out there that you can utilize such as Propertyware, or, you can develop your own system. Whatever you choose, just make sure you and anyone else involved understands how to use itproperly. Finally, you have to figure out how you are going to attend to Tenant’s needs and requests in an efficient and effective way. Depending on the scope of your portfolio, there’s a few ways you can go about doingthat. If you’re a do-it-yourselfer and only have a few properties to manage, then you could always be your own maintenance technician. But, let’s be honest, how many Landlords really want to deal with that? This is supposed to be passive income,right? And more likely than not, you don’t have the specialized training to repair HVAC systems, a roof, or most electrical problems, so you’ll have to hire someoneanyway.

4. Which brings me to my next point, as a self-managing property Owner, you need to make it a point to forge relationships with various vendors.Particularly: • Plumbers • HVACServicers • Electricians • Roofers • Appliance repair technicians. • You’ll need a few of each specialty that you can call at any given moment should your Tenant have an emergency maintenance issue. • If you aren’t quite ready to hire a full-time maintenance employee, then you can look for a skilledhandyman that can complete your Tenant’s maintenance requests as theycome. • Landlord Tip: You simply post the job you need done and vendors will reply with their bid andavailability. • Once you begin to grow and add more properties to your portfolio, you will definitely want to hire someone you trust who is solely dedicated to handlingmaintenance. • Screening MaintenanceRequests • When screening maintenance requests, there’s a fine line between “the customer is always right” and having a little backbone and/or enforcing the terms of yourLease. • Tenants may consider some issues emergencies that you may not. In some cases, they want you at the house in the same amount of time whether a light bulb went out or the roof is caving in. • For things that can wait until the next day, you will have to politely tell the Tenant to wait. Communicate. Be transparent. You need to let them know that you are aware of the issue and that you truly care, and that you will have it fixed in a reasonable amount oftime. • Again, outline in your Lease exactly what you expect the Tenant to be responsible for and screen requests based on thoseguidelines. • Quick Tips on Handling MaintenanceRequests • Document every request • Respondquickly • Follow up after the service date to see if the Tenant ishappy

5. Thoroughly vet any vendors that will be entering yourproperties • Avoid situations where Tenants request repairs or maintenance directly from a vendor • Ensure the Lease is clear on what maintenance the Tenant is responsiblefor Good Maintenance is Good CustomerService Whether you use a Property Manager or self- manage, good maintenance is good customer service and it’s one of the best forms of customer retention thereis. A fair amount of Tenants have low expectations for Landlords and maintenance response, so if they get great service while living in your property, it substantially increases the chance that they will want to continue renting from you.