Communication with Property Managers?

Question

Hi all, I recently made a post trying to understand certain sections of my agreement with the PM company and the responses I received were incredibly helpful. What I didn't include in that post was context as to why I started questioning certain sections.

But my question now is just, if there is an appliance, like a microwave that is still working but has some, non-essential buttons glitching like the 30-second microwave button, is it too much to ask that moving forward the company communicates with me first asking if I'd like to send someone to estimate the costs for an appliance fix? Because I was charged $95 to get an estimate on the microwave and I felt a bit frustrated because you can buy microwaves for less than that nowadays. Is that level of communication too much to expect? Is there some middle ground so that in the future they don't dispatch someone for any non-essential fixes without communicating first?

I understand this can vary on region but it would be helpful to understand what's normal when communicating about what needs fixing in a home.

Drew Sygit · Answer

What does the management contract state about this?

Agree with the others that this is fairly standard practice - most contracts have an Owner Approval Threshold that the PMC does NOT need your approval to execute their duties.

While you may think, "it only takes 5 minutes to contact me", multiply that times the 200+ doors most PMCs manage and it becomes VERY inefficient.
- Also, that "5 minutes" rarely happens with owners! It easily turns into 15-30 minutes of questions, brainstorming and then often micro-managing. So, even MORE inefficient for the PMC.

Lastly, what would have been your complaint if they had just replaced or removed the microwave? Pretty sure you would still not be happy:(

This control issue is something you'll have to overcome or switch to DIY management.

Peter Mckernan · Answer

This is fairly common to have a PMC send someone out for the appliance repair, but with something like this due to the cost for an appliance company to go out to a house it is about half the cost of the microwave so might as well replace it. The home warranty companies at times are good for this type of stuff if you have one. If you do not and you get charged for this type of service, I would ask your PMC to cover the cost or give you a portion of it back since this wouldn't have saved you money with something so cheap to replace.

Jimmy Lieu · Answer

Hey Joanie, what you’re running into is pretty common with property management setups, and it usually comes down less to what’s “reasonable” and more to how the maintenance authorization section is written in your agreement. In most PM companies, unless the owner sets a clear dollar threshold for approvals, they’re allowed to dispatch vendors for anything they classify as maintenance just to avoid tenant frustration or liability issues, even if it feels minor like a few buttons on a microwave. The $95 diagnostic fee itself is also pretty standard in the industry, but I totally get why it feels frustrating when the appliance itself isn’t worth much more than that. The middle ground a lot of investors use is setting a strict approval limit, like anything over a certain dollar amount requires owner sign-off, and everything below that can be handled automatically, plus explicitly carving out “non-essential appliance repairs” or replacement preference rules. It’s not too much to ask for better communication, but it only really becomes enforceable if it’s clearly built into your PM agreement rather than assumed. A lot of smooth relationships come from tightening that scope so they know when to pause and when to just move forward without looping you in.

Adam Bartomeo · Answer

Your PM likely has a process in place to save the owner money on appliances by first sending out a repair company. In this particular instance my PMC does the same thing EXCEPT with microwaves. We never send out an appliance company due the low expense of changing them. They should add this guideline to their process.

Bill B. · Answer

If this was a countertop microwave it should have just been replaced. If it was above the stove the microwaves usually runs $200-$400 but the labor to replace it can run just as much.

If it’s a countertop model, remove it when tenant leaves so it doesn’t happen again. I feel the same about water softeners and water filer systems like reverse osmosis, remove during vacancy.

If it was over the stove they should waive the diagnostic fee if you use them to do the replacement. Especially during the same trip.  I could see getting “hosed” if your repair limit is high enough they can charge labor plus part and stay under it. But most parts are $150+ so when you add labor it exceeds my $250 limit. SoI’ll get an email and a text saying your X year old appliance at property Y needs a new part Z. That will cost $xxxx or you can replace it with a new one for $xxxx.  That’s because sometimes it truly is a judgement call. Do you spend $400 to fix 20 year old appliance or $1,000 for a new one.

I literally dealt with this last week. $650 to try a leak seal and more Freon for a 20 year old system, $3,200 for a evaporator coil, labor and Freon, or $6,000 for a new unit.  I went $650. Never heard of it but worth a try. I certainly don’t want to buy a $3,200 part for a 20 year old system, or spend $6,000.

Communication with Property Managers?

Most Popular Reply