Effective Maintenance Coordination for Landlords: Best Practices

A research team from USA TODAY Homefront found the average homeowner spends $5,775 in maintenance per year. 54% of those surveyed spent more than they planned. 28% had to go deeper into debt.

Almost 75% had home maintenance regrets. 1/3 regretted not knowing how to make repairs themselves.

How can rental property owners avoid the same traps? How can they keep their properties well-maintained without having to do it all themselves or go into debt? Read on to learn the best practices for effective maintenance coordination in Jacksonville, FL.

Efficient Maintenance Planning

Timetables, spreadsheets, calendars, it doesn't matter what you call them. You likely use tools to keep track of the tasks in your daily life. Effective maintenance planning requires the same types of tools and care.

Create a proactive schedule to help you keep track of:

• When tasks need to be done
• Which suppliers you need to contact and when
• Where the money in the budget needs to go

Share the plan with your tenants. It lets them know what's going on and allows you to adjust it to their schedules.

Communication

Put basic maintenance coordination information in your lease agreements. This includes:

• How often you'll perform inspections
• How often you'll perform maintenance tasks
• Which professionals you'll hire
• Who pays for maintenance tasks

Establish clear communication channels with your tenants. Make them available to you through the phone, email, and online forms.

A user-friendly tenant portal is one of the best methods. It allows for easy communication from anywhere.

Don't ignore any tenant maintenance requests they submit. It's more than an easy way to make them angry. It's also an easy way to leave yourself with an expensive repair you could have avoided.

Don't forget to communicate with your contractors and service providers as well. You'll experience better maintenance workflow optimization and quality work when everyone's on the same page the entire duration of the project.

Scheduling Inspections

One of the best property upkeep tips is to be proactive. Knowing what proactive maintenance tasks to perform requires careful, regular inspections.

There are several types of rental inspections, including:

• Move-in/Move-out
• Quarterly
• Drive-by

They're all essential property management strategies to protect your investment. Spotting issues or problematic tenants fixes them before they become an expensive, time-consuming repair job.

Using Property Managers

A property manager is an expert in every part of property management. That includes all the daily tasks involved in maintenance coordination, including:

• Handling tenant requests
• Organizing repairs
• Communicating with vendors
• Scheduling repairs and inspections
• Maintaining legal compliance

Hiring them gives you back the time you would have spent keeping your property maintained and your tenants happy. It's also an investment in your property. Their help will save you money in the long run.

Maintenance Coordination and More

Effective maintenance coordination requires a plan, communication, inspections, and help from property managers

NestFinders is an owner's best bet for property management in the Greater Jacksonville area. Our team has decades of experience in a variety of fields. We use that knowledge to rent your property quickly and efficiently. We're always available, so contact us today.