The second most common question I get from rental property owners, second to pricing, is if they can do their own maintenance to save money. Initially when our company was smaller we said “yes” as we don’t markup vendor invoices and don’t rely on that income like some property management companies do. “Yes” means we setup the owner as a vendor in our property management software and train them on how to read the work order, leave a comment, and update the status once finished. By the time the umpteenth owner made this request, we’d already experience why this doesn’t work over and over again and why most other (sizeable) property management companies say “no”.
When you “buy” property management, you are actually paying for access to the well trained, well experienced, decision making brain of the property manager, who has “seen it all before” and can properly assess the urgency and skills needed to resolve the problem quickly and correctly the first time.
Common Issues with Owners Doing Rental Maintenance
The owner is too busy, not responsive, or doesn’t have time to complete work quickly enough
There is a common reason owners have enough money to buy investment properties, and that’s because they work hard at their successful career often times 50 hours per week or more. Did you know the state of Minnesota has a list of repairs that are considered an emergency repair and must be remedied with 24 hours? Are you able to drop what you’re doing at anytime to perform a repair? If repairs or issues aren’t resolved in a timely manner, the tenant can escrow their rent and notify the court and will get an expedited hearing. This means rents won’t be held until the repair is completed and the court mails you the rent check weeks later. Often times the tenant is awarded additional damages such as hotel stays, repayment for groceries that went bad, etc.
The rental property owner doesn’t have the correct skills
Maintenance on rental homes varies greatly. Some examples:
- There is a musty or mold smell somewhere in the house and the tenant is getting headaches.
- The dryer isn’t drying clothes quickly enough.
- The LVP floor has separated.
- Wasps are getting into the house.
- The garbage disposal is clogged and water is pooled in the sink.
- The bathtub diverter no longer works.
- The fireplace pilot light went out.
- There is water leaking under the kitchen sink.
- There is no hot water.
- The furnace isn’t heating the house up to the desired temperature on the thermostat.
Do you have experience troubleshooting and resolving issues such as these? If you’re like me, the first time you do something new it takes 2-3 times as long, and often times done incorrectly the first time, which requires a revisit and more time.
The tenant gets the owner’s phone number and never forgets
When doing maintenance, there are laws that must be followed such as a minimum 24 hour notice of entry into the home. Less than 24 hours requires tenant approval, unless it’s an emergency like fire or flooding. Not following these laws increases risk for the owner and manager.
The owner will need to schedule their visit directly with the tenant and when the tenant finds out your the owner, they will contact you anytime they’re upset as now you’re the authority instead of the property manager. At times the property manager must enforce the lease and be tough on the tenant, and they’ll appeal to the owner and their emotions for help. This puts all parties – the tenant, owner, and property manager in an undesirable situation.
The owner additionally will experience less value in the manager’s services since they’re now dealing with the tenant directly. You, the owner, don’t want to communicate with the tenant directly; let the property manager do their job.
The property manager’s job becomes more difficult and risky
- The property manager’s reputation is on the line as the owner, who is not a vetted handyman now represents the services the property manager is providing. Poor service will result in negative reviews for the property manager and more turnover, which increases costs for the owner and creates more work for the PM.
- The property manager is no longer the authority once the tenant has the owners contact information.
- Property managers have a list of vetted, qualified, insured, and licensed vendors for every job. A property owner doing their own repairs or sends a friend or family member who is none of these things, potentially increasing their liability and the property manager’s in the process.
- The property manager has no authority over the owner and can’t withhold payment for poor maintenance related issues. The manager needs to be able to motivate the maintenance vendor to provide good service, and that’s gone here.
- Involving the owner slows the maintenance process way down. The property manager relies on efficient processes to be able to offer their competitive prices for the high volume of work they do. Often times the owners won’t acknowledge receipt of the work order, or if it’s been scheduled, or if it’s complete (our regular handymen do this and they must to keep their job). Spending time following up with vendors is too time consuming when there are dozens of work orders in progress.
- Having 100 different owner handymen is not scalable for the property manager. The manager can’t possibly remember which of their hundreds of rental units under management has which of their 100 different owner handymen, and their skillset, and when they’re available or away on vacation (owner won’t tell them).
The owner can do turnover maintenance
We desire to keep our owners happy, so we’ve found a good time for owners to scratch their itch for doing maintenance and that’s during a turnover when the home is vacant. The property manager will be in contact with the owner if there is an upcoming turnover, and the discussion of the owner performing some of the work can take place at that time.
Some of the maintenance performed during a turnover may require less skill, such as painting or cleaning carpets, and isn’t as urgent. Although, keep in mind if you the owner will take two weeks longer to complete the work than the PM’s maintenance team, that’s half a month of lost rent ($1,300?) due to the extended vacancy.
The owner’s time may be better spent elsewhere
Congratulations, now that you’re a rental property owner, you’re a business owner. As the business owner, it’s best for you to spend your available time working “on” the business and not “in” the business. Focus your time on the returns the property is providing you, planning, improvements and ideas on how to increase rent or cashflow, or search for your next property to buy. Every moment you spend managing your property comes with opportunity cost. Like answering the phone in the middle of a family dinner or holiday to approve some action on your property. What’s your time worth, especially in moments like that? When you pay somebody to work on your property, you can deduct the expense on your taxes. When you personally do the work, you’re working for free and no deduction for your time is awarded. If you’re a working professional, your time may be better spent growing in your career to move up and earn more money instead of trying to save a few bucks doing work and building skills you’ll rarely use that you don’t enjoy and that’s not in your skillset.
