How to avoid A/C emergency issues

[Luke H.]

Hi,
I live in Texas and it gets HOT here... I have yearly maintenance done on all A/C units to ensure they are working properly.  When an A/C unit stops working tenants will make this an urgent emergency.  My A/C guy is very good about getting to the property and getting it fixed.

I wanted to come up with ideas to help avoid this problem and ideas for what to do if the A/C guy can't get there on the first day?  I understand tenants concerns and want to figure out a win/win situation here.

I was considering buying 1 A/C window unit or indoor door A/C unit for each property as a backup for emergencies.  

What do you guys do, and any ideas would be great.

Thanks

[Chris Eaker]

@Luke H.

As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Give your tenants a year's supply of the cheapest filters you can find and make them responsible for changing it monthly. Have your AC guy go out in the Spring and clean it out, check the refrigerant levels, blow out the condensate line, make sure everything is in tip top shape. This obviously won't guarantee it won't go out in the middle of August, but it will help alot.