Landlords — how do you actually handle maintenance requests?

Question

Self-managing landlords with 1 to 10 units — curious how you handle repairs. Walk me through your last maintenance issue. How'd you find the contractor, how long did it take, and what did it cost you in time and stress? Trying to learn what actually works versus what's a nightmare. Thanks.

Hossein Sharifi · Answer

Take an HVAC no-cool call on a Friday. The process that keeps it to under an hour of your time: the tenant sends a photo and short video through the portal, you text a preferred HVAC tech whose after-hours rates are already agreed, and your only job is to approve the scope, pay the invoice and note the unit file. What makes that work: (1) a tenant report template with photos required, (2) 2–3 vetted vendors per trade with known price ranges, (3) written approve/refuse rules (auto-approve under $X), and (4) never bidding emergencies from Google. The cheapest unknown tech is usually the expensive path.

Theresa Harris · Answer

Have a list of people who you can contact (eg handyman, plumber, etc). You never know what will happen, but over time, you get to know your tenants and what they are like. Those that are good at reporting problems and some that complain a lot over something they can handle (eg a burnt out light bulb).

Divin Kanyama · Answer

@Pavel Voroniuk A lot of the stress in self-managing comes down to whether the repair is happening within a system or being handled from scratch each time. The landlords who seem to manage it best usually have a short vendor list by trade, a clear process for tenants to report issues with photos, and basic criteria for what requires an emergency response.

What tends to become a nightmare is waiting until something breaks to find the cheapest available contractor, approving work without a written scope, or relying on one person for every type of repair. A good vendor may not always be the lowest bid, but responsiveness, communication, documentation, and the ability to solve the issue correctly on the first visit often save more time and money.

For smaller portfolios, it also helps to keep a dedicated maintenance reserve and track which vendors show up, communicate well, and stand behind their work. Over time, that history becomes one of the most valuable parts of the operation. The repair itself may be unavoidable, but the time and stress can be reduced significantly when the process is already in place.

Landlords — how do you actually handle maintenance requests?

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