All Forum Posts by: Schola Eburuoh

@John Morgan Haha I hear you—sounds like you’ve got a system that balances firm expectations with smart incentives. The way you transition folks from “apartment mindset” to single-unit reality is really helpful for me to think through too! Appreciate the insight!

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@Ezekiel Trevino Good point—will definitely looking into contract details and fee structures. Do you find they actually help cut down on the minor calls, or just complicate the conversation?

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@Jose Clavijo thank you so much for your response Jose!

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@Marcus Auerbach This is gold, Marcus—especially the onboarding and annual inspection ideas. Love how you treat tenant education as an ongoing process, not just a one-pager at move-in. That shift from “customer” to “team member” really resonated. Really appreciate your thorough comment!

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@Theresa Harris thanks for sharing Theresa! Very helpful to have these examples as I work on my project.

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Quote from @Wesley W.:

Quote from @Schola Eburuoh:

@Wesley W.

Thanks for such a thorough and thoughtful reply, Wesley—so much to learn here.

That pilot light doc with photos sounds like a perfect example of proactive support that builds trust and saves time. I’m curious: did you ever consider digitizing any of these instructions (like a shared folder or online portal), or has print worked best for your tenants?

Also love your tiered service rating—how do you keep track of that day-to-day? Is it manual or do you have a system? Thanks so much!!

The heater instructions are a PDF that I send if there is trouble. All of my docs are on Google Drive so I can send them from my phone if I am away from my desktop.

The tenant communication records are an excel spreadsheet. Here are two sections of the same doc:

That’s super helpful, Wesley—thanks for the real examples.

I love how lightweight your system is—Google Drive for docs, Excel for tracking—easy to scale without overcomplicating things. I’m sketching out ways to streamline this kind of setup for others, and your process is a great reference point.

Appreciate you being so open!

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Quote from @Scott Nachitilo:

Hey Schola, I feel your pain! In my portfolio, easily 40-50% of service requests fall into that 'minor/DIY-able' category. Here's what's worked for us:

Proactive Education is Key: We created a simple, visual "DIY Guide" (with photos/videos!) handed out at move-in and posted online. It covers resetting breakers, tightening hinges, unclogging basic drains, replacing smoke alarm batteries, and resetting garbage disposals. We even gave small 'starter kits' (plunger, batteries, basic screwdriver) – surprisingly effective!
Triage Gatekeeper: Our online portal requires tenants to check boxes confirming they tried basic steps (e.g., "Did you try resetting the breaker?" or "Did you replace the smoke alarm battery?") before submitting. A quick, friendly call for repeat minor issues often clarifies if it's truly needed or just a knowledge gap.
Avoid Fees, Use Data: We steer clear of deterrent fees – they breed resentment. Instead, we absolutely track requests. Seeing patterns ("Unit 3B calls about drains monthly") lets us either train that tenant specifically or investigate if there's a bigger underlying issue.
Set Expectations Early: During move-in, we explicitly discuss what constitutes an emergency vs. a maintenance request vs. simple tenant upkeep. Clarity upfront reduces over-reporting.

The goal isn't to discourage reporting, but to empower tenants and free up time/resources for real issues. Tracking helps you see if your education efforts are working!

Good luck with the project!

@Scott Nachitilo

Thanks so much, Scott—this is exactly the kind of insight I was hoping for!

I love that your solution combines education, subtle triage, and pattern-tracking without making tenants feel penalized. That DIY starter kit is brilliant—I'm guessing even the gesture makes tenants think twice before calling?

Curious: How long did it take to see a real drop in unnecessary requests after implementing the gatekeeper system?

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Quote from @John Morgan:

At lease renewal time, they get an extra $100/month increase on top of my normal increase. I hope they leave, but most stay. lol

Haha —brutal honesty and effective! Do you find that high-maintenance tenants ever get better with the right nudges, or is it usually baked in?

Curious how you decide which issues to treat as warning signs versus just part of the job.

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Quote from @Theresa Harris:

My PM generally walks the tenant through a few things on the phone first and asks leading questions (what were you doing when it happened, what have you tried to fix it, did you change the batteries, etc).

The other option is to charge the tenants for things like that where it is something they clearly could/should do (ie change a light bulb).

@Theresa Harris

Thanks, Theresa! I like that your PM leads with thoughtful questions—feels like a balance between screening and coaching.

Have you noticed that those “walk-throughs” reduce repeat calls over time? Or do certain tenants just always default to calling first?

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All Forum Posts by: Schola Eburuoh

Schola Eburuoh has started 1 posts and replied 14 times.

Post: How do you deal with tenants who over-report maintenance?

Post: How do you deal with tenants who over-report maintenance?

Post: How do you deal with tenants who over-report maintenance?

Post: How do you deal with tenants who over-report maintenance?

Post: How do you deal with tenants who over-report maintenance?

Post: How do you deal with tenants who over-report maintenance?

Post: How do you deal with tenants who over-report maintenance?

Post: How do you deal with tenants who over-report maintenance?

Post: How do you deal with tenants who over-report maintenance?

Post: How do you deal with tenants who over-report maintenance?