Should Residents Be Allowed to Do Their Own Maintenance?

Should Residents Be Allowed to Do Their Own Maintenance?

Should Residents Be Allowed to Do Their Own Maintenance?

Should Residents Be Allowed to Do Their Own Maintenance?

As an investment property owner, you’ve probably had at least a minor maintenance issue or two at your property.

And once your resident notified you of this minor issue, chances are that you were met with the statement:

“I don’t want to wait for a vendor to come out. Can’t I just repair this myself?”

Well, that depends.

Essentially, the blanket answer is no, but there are exceptions to every rule. 

 

Professional Maintenance of Your Property

When it comes to the maintenance of your property, you want to ensure that you’re utilizing skilled professionals that know what they’re doing. 

If you allow your resident to perform repairs at the property, a couple of less-than-desirable outcomes could occur:

  1. They don’t do the repair correctly, causing you additional maintenance and additional expense
  2. The resident can damage your property if repairs are done improperly 
  3. The resident gets hurt while performing maintenance, which causes a liability to you as an owner

But when using a professional, you have the peace of mind that they can perform skilled work because they’ve been trained in it. 

The cost is a little higher up front, but will ultimately save you money in the long run. 

 

Licensed & Insured Vendors

An important item to note is that you want to ensure that the vendors you work with have appropriate insurance and licensing in their field. 

If the vendor you hire does something wrong, damages property, gets hurt, etc. their insurance will cover it. 

With hiring properly licensed & insured vendors, your liability is greatly reduced in a number of ways.

 

Examples of Maintenance that Residents Should NOT Do:

  • Any major mechanical repairs involving: 
    • Plumbing
    • HVAC
    • Appliance
    • Electrical
  • Roof repairs
  • Flooring/carpet installation
  • Siding or window repairs
  • Gutter clean out
  • Lawn maintenance and snow removal when there are multiple units at a property

This isn’t an exhaustive list of everything that residents shouldn’t do maintenance-wise. 

However, it does serve as a brief summary of some of the most important items that you don’t want to risk a resident handling themselves.

 

Examples of Maintenance that Residents Can/Should Do:

  • Small routine maintenance that would be expected when living in a home
    • Change out a furnace filter
    • Water filter
    • Changing light bulbs
    • Lawn maintenance for a single-family home
      • Cutting grass, trimming trees, shrubs, etc.
    • Snow removal for a single-family home

At times, an item may need to be purchased to aid in small routine maintenance, like a dehumidifier or space heater. 

You can allow the resident to purchase the item, provide you a receipt, and you can reimburse them if there is a need for that specific item (that doesn’t require professional installation).

Any good lease (like ours) covers these topics and puts the responsibility on the resident for these routine service items.

 

Overall…

It’s in your best interest to hire professionals to handle most major maintenance items/repairs at your property. 

Professionals are best when considering liability concerns, properly done maintenance, and long-term care of your property. 

After all, your property is a big asset that you want to protect.

But, with that being said, there are always a few minor things that the resident should be responsible for outlined above. 

The list does not include anything major, but just what would be regularly expected of someone occupying a home.

If you’d like to discuss any of this, please contact us about your specific situation. We’d be happy to walk through your situation and property needs with you!

Rent Collection & The Eviction Process in Pittsburgh

Rent Collection & The Eviction Process in Pittsburgh

By: Nick Griffith, Director of Conventional Housing

At Arbors Management, we believe the best way to avoid the eviction process and troublesome residents is by conducting a strict screening process before a resident even moves in.

Our resident screening process includes a close look at income, criminal histories, and credit histories. We have a rent collection process that works, and if eviction becomes necessary – we have a process for that, too.

Collecting Rent from Pittsburgh Residents

Before the residency even begins, we set the expectations with the resident about how we anticipate rent being paid. We let them know that rent is due on the first. They know when and how to pay it, and they know what the consequences will be if it’s not paid on time.

If payment is not received after the fifth of the month, we assess a late fee. We also send formal letters to the resident notifying them that rent is late. We tell them how much they owe and that we expect an immediate payment. This letter is sent to document the late rent. In addition to the letter, we also call, email, and text residents throughout the month to make sure they understand what they owe and why we are trying to collect it.

Filing a Landlord Resident Complaint

In the event a resident doesn’t pay rent, we file a Landlord Resident Complaint at the local magistrate. Typically, we will file this during the first week of the second month of rent being late. This means it will still be less expensive for the resident to catch up with rent than it would be to move out and find a new place to live.

We receive a court date, and we’ll go to court on your behalf to obtain a judgment in the amount owed plus court fees. Once this judgment is issued, the residents have 10 days to pay the rent. If they don’t pay the full amount within those 10 days, we can file an Order of Possession. Once we do that, the court gives the resident an additional 10 days to pay the rent. The eviction can only commence on the 11th day after the possession order is filed.

Professional Pittsburg Property Management

If the resident appeals the judgment, the case could go to a higher court level. At that point, we would need to involve an attorney. We are professional property managers, but we aren’t attorneys, so we cannot represent you at a higher court.

Many owners want to know what we charge for these services and the time we spend on paperwork and court appearances. The answer is – we don’t believe we should charge you for a bad resident or someone not paying rent. Our philosophy is that you should only be charged on the rent we collect. So, there’s no fee for us filing the Landlord Resident Complaint. The courts do have fees that you’ll be responsible for paying, but those will be passed along to the resident for your reimbursement.

We avoid evictions and late rental payments whenever possible. If you have any questions about our professional Pittsburg property management services, please contact us at Arbors Management.

The Value that a Pittsburgh Professional Property Manager Gives Residents

The Value that a Pittsburgh Professional Property Manager Gives Residents

How Arbors Management Provides Irreplaceable Value to Residents

Working with a professional property management company offers landlords and investors a lot of benefits and advantages:

  • You save time
  • You save money
  • Less headaches 
  • Less hassle that often comes along with owning a rental property

Most importantly: you have access to experience, tools, and resources that only professional managers can bring to the table.

But…

Residents also benefit from a professionally managed home. 

With over 40 years of experience, we’ve found that property owners who utilize our management services have happier residents!

Why?

Because we’re responsive, accountable, and able to implement programs and systems that allow for a better and more efficient rental process.

 

Online Rent Payments and Maintenance Requests

Technology has delivered a number of innovative software systems and online platforms that help us manage your property more efficiently and effectively. 

For example, we offer online portals where residents can pay rent and submit maintenance requests. 

This is extremely convenient – our residents don’t have to worry about late rent payments or forgotten repair needs. Everything is documented and electronic. 

Residents can pay rent whenever is convenient for them; in the middle of the night, during a lunch break, in the evening, literally whenever!

Our residents also have the ability to schedule future or recurring payments, and contact us about maintenance issues at any time and from any place.

 

Easy Application Procedures

Not only do we have online portals for current residents, but our applications for prospective residents are all online as well.

Residents are able to fill out an application online, then quickly and easily upload any of the supporting documentation required.

This allows our team to screen and verify information quickly and electronically, ultimately providing applicants with our decision faster.

We also list our available properties online!

Our online listings are user-friendly and accurate.

They also include photos, allowing residents to get an idea of what the property is like before applying! 

It’s easy to contact a designated Leasing Specialist, and showings can be scheduled electronically as well. 

With Arbors Management, the entire process from browsing to renting is paperless and efficient.

 

Hassle-Free Lease Signing

Once a resident is approved for a property, the leasing process is simple. 

Residents will be able to review the entire lease and any addenda online. They can email or call us with any questions and then sign it with an electronic signature. 

We will execute the lease on our end, and a copy goes into the online resident portal, which can be accessed at any time. 

The security deposit can also be paid online, and residents don’t have to talk to us unless they have a question or need support. 

We’re happy to offer our residents such a convenient and simplified process while still being available to provide assistance every step of the way.

 

Remaining Responsive and Accessible

On that note, one of the many reasons Arbors residents love working with us is because we are available and easy to reach. 

Phone calls do not go unreturned and emails are not ignored. 

We know the law, we’re accountable to the lease agreement, and we treat all of our residents fairly and consistently.

 

All in All…

We provide value to you and your residents by being present and using our experience to manage your property better.

Our goal is to use all of our tools and resources to make this a pleasant, successful leasing period for all parties.

If you have any questions about what we do and how our professional property managers provide value, please contact us at Arbors Management.

We’d love to tell you more!