Question on Maintenance Requests from Residents

Member since 2024 · 6 posts · 1 vote

How big of an issue are maintenance requests from residents in terms of time, cost and resident frustration? I assume the challenge and cost increases with the number of homes / units but wanted to get a sense of how big of a challenge this is.

It seems the current solution is for the resident to call a contact center or go through a portal - anything I'm missing?

Thanks!

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Nathan GesnerBusiness Member

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Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes

Too many variables to consider.

I have 400 doors under management. The biggest problems we faced were scheduling and communication. It would often take multiple attempts to contact a vendor to see if they could handle a job. Then the vendor would often take multiple attempts to coordinate a schedule with the tenant. Then someone has to communicate to me that the job is done, which often wouldn't take place until days after it was complete. I sometimes wouldn't know a job was complete until the invoice showed up in the mail! Huge time wasters.

I started using PropertyMeld about 18 months ago. It has a lot of automations and a communication system built in, so everything is done quickly. Most maintenance requests are scheduled between the vendor and tenant within minutes, not days. Communication is better because it's all in one system. Repairs are faster, invoicing is easier, and everyone is happier!

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Christian StylesBusiness Member
Specialist · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2024 · 71 posts · 51 votes
2y
Hey David, I would say this largely depends on how many units you have, the age of the building, and the quality of the building/neighborhood.
There are a number of great solutions out there that provide a tenant portal where they can go and upload pictures of the problem and then track its repair, but the cost of those solutions typically isn't feasible if you have only a few units.
Entrata, which is a solution for larger PM's, has a service where tenants can call a 24 hour US based call center, the live agent determines the severity of the service request and then adds it to their portal, or if its an emergency, calls on-call maintenance and coordinates their response. This is one of the more hands-off solutions I've seen owners implement and would love to see it available to smaller operators.
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Account Closed
Rental Property Investor · Canton, OH · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
2y
@David Bunch
If you're just getting started, manage them yourself. You'll learn so much and then know what to look for if you ever decide to hire a pM company.
Personally, I have my tenants text me directly. I also know some folks who have over 100 doors and still self manage...and others who use submission forms through software like Appfolio.
Frequency and cost depends on many factors however it seems I get more requests than usually right around the 1st of the month when rent is due :)
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Adam BartomeoBusiness Member
Real Estate Broker · Cape Coral, FL · Member since 2015 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
2y
If you just have 1 - 5 units than it isn't that hard to manage as long as you have some handymen to help. Of course, you won't get the discounts that PM's get because your size is smaller. With a management portfolio of about 300 we get about 10 maintenance requests a day, this is much more difficult to manage on your own.
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Gustavo Munoz Castro
Specialist · Bothell, WA · Member since 2014 · 269 posts · 80 votes
2y
Really depends on the age and maintenance level of the units. I have a duplex with a basement unit that would constantly have flooding issues every year. Huge pain until I bit the bullet and got it fixed permanently.
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Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
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Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
2y
Too many variables to consider.
I have 400 doors under management. The biggest problems we faced were scheduling and communication. It would often take multiple attempts to contact a vendor to see if they could handle a job. Then the vendor would often take multiple attempts to coordinate a schedule with the tenant. Then someone has to communicate to me that the job is done, which often wouldn't take place until days after it was complete. I sometimes wouldn't know a job was complete until the invoice showed up in the mail! Huge time wasters.
I started using PropertyMeld about 18 months ago. It has a lot of automations and a communication system built in, so everything is done quickly. Most maintenance requests are scheduled between the vendor and tenant within minutes, not days. Communication is better because it's all in one system. Repairs are faster, invoicing is easier, and everyone is happier!
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Rachid AbadliBusiness Member
Investor · Sacramento, CA · Member since 2024 · 129 posts · 36 votes
3mo
The honest answer: maintenance is the #1 reason landlords hire a property manager—and also the #1 thing you can systematize without one.

What actually eats your time isn't the repairs. It's the triage. "My toilet is running" and "There's water coming through the ceiling" both come in as text messages at 10 PM and look equally urgent if you don't have a system.

What works for me:
- Dedicated intake channel, not texts. Tenants submit requests through one place with a photo. This alone cuts the back-and-forth by 80%.
- Pre-vetted vendor list. I have 3–4 go-to vendors (plumber, electrician, handyman, HVAC) already lined up. When something comes in, I'm dispatching—not searching Yelp.
- Response SLA for yourself. I respond to every request within 24 hours, even if it's just, "Got it, scheduling for Thursday." Tenants who feel heard don't escalate. In California, habitability issues have legal timelines—30 days for most repairs, immediately for things like no heat or water.
- Log everything. Date received, date responded, date completed, cost, vendor. This becomes your defense if a tenant ever claims you ignored them, and it helps you budget for next year.
The time cost for me across my units is maybe 2–3 hours per week on average, with spikes when something major happens. That's still far less than the 8–10% a property manager would charge.
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