Maintenance Management Software?

[Account Closed]

Does anyone have any suggestions for maintenance management? I would like my renters to be able to submit maintenance requests online at anytime (including emergencies), rather than try to reach me just be phone (since I am out of state). 

[Bobby Narinov]

Have you tried:

• email (with pictures). If they can browse the WEB they should be able to do e-mail. 
• MMS - it is there on pretty much any phone plans

I am not an out of state landlord but I travel a lot so I have trained them to use the above tools.

In addition I do the following:

• have the renter pay for the first $100 of any repairs
• If the repair is under $100 - they should find a repairman and fix it themselves.
• If the repair is due to negligence (or not willing to repair the problem while it was small) they pay 100% of the cost.
• I do regular checks to make sure there is nothing broken(unfixed).
• I send them a letter every 3 months asking for things that are not working/operating properly.

[Jon Holdman]

• have the renter pay for the first $100 of any repairs
• If the repair is under $100 - they should find a repairman and fix it themselves.

I think this is quite dangerous to your property.  You're relying on tenants to make repairs correctly.  That's a poor bet, in my experience.  I want to hear about and deal with minor problems before they become big ones.  A drippy sink drain can easily become a cabinet replacement or worse.

[Beverly Meola]

Hi @Account Closed , This type of software is known as CMMS (computerized maintenance management systems) in the property management biz. They can get pretty fancy to help facility managers life cycle and asset plan building systems in addition to tracking preventive maintenance programs and "corrective maintenance" (repairs). 

Buildium.com has a maintenance request portal through the resident website.  Depending on the number of units you have, the monthly cost could be worth it because you can set up workflows so that other users receive the request - which could be vendors if you want.

Red Hand's Electronic Tenant Solutions is something I've used with commercial properties (office, industrial).  They don't list prices on their website, so I'm not certain if they could size the service for residential, but we paid $1,000/year for one high rise building.  Could be worth asking if they have residential solutions.

Before I set up with Buildium there was a maintenance request form on my website.  Along with location/contact information there was an image and document upload field, and emergency level drop down menu selection (high, normal, low).  In another forum, I saw that someone was able to rig the email from their request form to automatically populate a GoogleDoc spreadsheet.  If you're spreadsheet savvy that could be the most inexpensive route.

Let us know what you find?

[Account Closed]

Thanks @Beverly Meola ! Will look these up.

[Roderick Carabott]

Byron: I use a simple Ms Access database that I developed. We used it to manage around 60 multiunit properties. Nothing sophisticated, it gets the job done. It's not connected directly to an email or web portal. 

We have the buildings and the units all listed in the database and when a workorder comes in we just fill in the details in a form , such as type of maintenance (plumbing, electrical, etc) and add pictures. I also use it to schedule Workorders to contractors/crew and can print or email the workorder directly. Once the work is completed we update the workorder database and change the status of the workorder.

What I like about this approach is that it allows us to trace back recurring problems in a building / unit. It also allows us to see what was done to solve the problem and how much it costs.

In addition, I use it to run simple reports to give me details that help us make capital improvement decisions.

As I said, it's very simple, no frills, but gets the job done. Also, it's very cost effective way of handling maintenance. no recurring charges for using 3rd party software. Obviously it has limitations but it works. 

So if you are somewhat good with Microsoft office products, this could be a viable approach.

Rod

[Ray Hespen]

@Account Closed - there is actually a new system that not only receives requests but coordinates the repairs as well..

As the person above mentioned... Buildium is a great accounting tool, but once you receive the maintenance request, it's up to you and your team to contact the vendor, coordinate the work, follow-up, and so on.  

Property Meld has a web based solution that allows tenants to submit from any device, and allows you (the manager) to also view from any device.  We receive the requests, coordinate repairs, remind all parties of upcoming work, follow-up with tenant, pay vendors, and more!

If you'd like to know more... please hit me up.  I'd be happy questions to the best of my ability.