Has anyone tried TurboTenant's maintenance program Lula?

Question

TurboTenant offers a maintenance program for $149 annually; they will respond to tenant issues, troubleshoot, assign to a pro, and charge your card on file (unless it's over your set amount, then they will call to confirm). I don't use TurbotTenant for other features, but am considering using this feature only. Has anyone had experience with this service?

Ashley Kehr · Answer

I actually just switched my properties to TurboTenant and am looking forward to this feature. I have used a similar program in Appfolio. It worked as a call center that would do the same as Turbo Tenant's but it was a lot more expensive. It is incredible to not have to take the phone call and have tenants receive a response. It seemed that just having some kind of communication back to the resident right away was better than them leaving a voicemail. With Appfolio you could select your preferred vendors. I haven't looked into this yet for Lula but probably won't use it unless I am able to use my preferred vendors along with theirs. It is just nice peace of mind that you don't always have to be available if their is an urgent maintenance issue. I like to sleep with my phone on do not disturb 😊

Drew Sygit · Answer

Understand that they are doing this to make a profit, so it will be more expensive than coordinating maintenance yourself.

It may be a decent program for a DIY owner that wants to just outsource maintenance, but you will have the same maintenance issues with this company that you would with a PMC:

1) Higher costs2) Admins answering the phones & assigning work, that just know the basics about maintenance. So, communication and assignment issues, as well as not being able to explain the maintenance issues and the required work.3) Proper documentation and quality of work issues. How much will depend on how well their processes are designed.

Fabiola Noel · Answer

Thanks! ;-) Hopefully, I can find another company! Good luck with your search!

Alissa Schmitz · Answer

Wow - very different experiences! Thanks for sharing, appreciate the insight. For now, it seems it's still maybe too new to rely on, for me to sign up. Hope you have better luck with the next one!

Fabiola Noel · Answer

I started with Lula maintenance via Turbotenant in January 2025. So far I've had 2 maintenance items that I forwarded to them. So my reviews are mixed.

The first one was for the top part of pool cage net which came off. Property is in Florida. Lula handled it spectacularly. Was very impressed. Boy, was I wrong to think the next one would go smoothly.

The next item 2 weeks later was for an LG fridge that I only purchased 2 years ago which stopped working. Tenant created maintenance item on a Wednesday. Lula offered me 2 options. fix mother board or buy a new fridge. since fridge was only 2 years old, I chose option 1. I approved a $445 motherboard repair on Thursday. On Saturday night, got angry message from tenant that pro came and fridge still was not fixed. At that point Lula sent the pro back again to diagnose the problem. So, he finally figured out that there was also a problem with compressor which would have cost another $400-800 to fixed. At that point, I texted Lula and asked them to please present me the details of option 2 again. They never responded.

I called Lula Monday Monday in 3 separate calls and stayed at least 10 minutes on the phone waiting. I was always next in line, but when it came time to pick up my call, the agents kept rerouting me back to the main menu and then dropping my call. So then I decided to buy a new fridge from lowes to fix problem since Lula had cut off contact. delivery is supposed to be for today. When I texted them that I had bought a new fridge, all of a sudden, of course, Lula became available. Lula marked that the pro would be coming this morning before the delivery when there is literally no reason for the pro to come because I am not willing to approve a repair for the compressor.

It is all about saving appearances. Everything on portal is marked as if Lula resolved the problem. When they had for more than 1 day cut off contact and completely checked out from resolving problem or providing an update.

So like I said. mixed reviews. one great. One a complete nightmare!!!

Lexi Lehman · Answer

Hi Courtney! No, you don’t need to be a TurboTenant user to sign up for Lula. However, we’re partnered with them, so if you use TurboTenant for property management, you can easily integrate their services with ours.

Courtney Duong · Answer

Hi Lexi,

Quick question: do I have to subscribe to TurboTenant in order to sign up for Lula?

Thanks.

Lexi Lehman · Answer

Hi Derrick,

Hi, Lexi from TurboTenant here! I just wanted to quickly clarify what the $149/year cost for Lula includes. This plan covers 24/7/365 troubleshooting services from Lula's experts (such as guidance on resetting a circuit breaker), tenant coordination for scheduling repairs, and access to a network of vetted professionals.

Once you're subscribed to Lula, you can set aside a pre-approved amount for repairs, which can be used without needing to contact you as well. If additional funds are required or if a professional is unable to resolve the issue, Lula will reach out to you directly.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Alissa Schmitz · Answer

I didn't realize Lula was a standalone company, I had only heard of it via TurboTenant. Now that you mentioned this, I looked into it and, at a glance, they offer "Full-Service Maintenance Coordination", which offers the phone answering, troubleshooting, etc. I didn't see pricing, so I'm curious what that is for this subscription.

Alissa Schmitz · Answer

Thanks for feedback! I wondered about using your own vendors, here's what I found:

"Currently, you cannot directly add your own contractors to Lula's network. However, if you have a preferred professional you'd like to work with, you have some flexibility. During the Lula setup process, select "I will choose which maintenance requests will be sent to Lula" instead of opting for all requests to be sent automatically. With this choice, you can manually assign the request to your preferred contractor using the "Send Work Order" feature whenever a maintenance request comes in. This allows you to work with your chosen professionals while still benefiting from Lula's platform for coordination and communication."

Has anyone tried TurboTenant's maintenance program Lula?

Has anyone tried TurboTenant's maintenance program Lula?

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