The Dangers of In-House Maintenance with Property Managers

Property maintenance can be one of the most costly expenditures for a property owner. That’s why, as a property owner, you want to ensure that your property manager is handling this aspect of your properties with utmost care. If a property manager offers in-house maintenance, this can seem like an alluring solution as a one stop shop. However, there are a number of drawbacks that can make this an approach to take caution with.

The Risks of In-House Maintenance

In-house maintenance property owners conduct maintenance through a team that they themselves employ. The property manager through this department conducts repairs on properties themselves and charges the property owner. This practice can cause a conflict of interest between the property manager and owner, and make repair costseven more expensive than they already are. A few of the ways this conflict manifests include:

• Markups on Services: Instead of paying flat for the work needed done on a given property, oftentimes an owner will pay double or triple the cost actually needed to complete repairs. This is because property managers pay their workers by the hour, and then collect payment on top of that from the owners per hour required. This can cause the out of pocket cost to skyrocket on work that is subpar more often than not.
• Lack of Expertise: When relying on an in-house maintenance team, it can be very difficult to possess the know-how to tackle every problem that arises in property maintenance. Especially if the team is small, they might approach certain maintenance issues with limited knowledge. On top of this, the team will be highly reluctant to use outside contractors to handle unique issues that they don’t have the knowledge to handle. This is because they don’t want to cut into the previously mentioned profits property managers make from in-house repairs.
• Working Cheap and Frequent: Outside of a lack of comprehensive maintenance expertise, in-house teams will often intentionally complete work in the cheapest way possible. This leads to them having to return frequently to solve the same maintenance issues repeatedly. Because they are paid hourly, the workers and the property manager themselves have incentive to have to work as often as possible when sometimes, the issues can be solved more efficiently.

The conflict of interest in the in-house approach is clear, but there are a number of other headaches this can cause for the property owner as well.

• No Choice of Vendors: One issue that quickly becomes apparent for the owner is a lack of choice in how maintenance is completed. In-house maintenance means the property manager will always use their team. If the property owner has a preferred vendor they have worked with in the past on air-conditioning repair or plumbing for example, they no longer have the option to use those vendors.
• Insurance and Licensure: Licenses to perform various maintenance jobs are often specialized. This means that a generalized maintenance team is less likely to possess all the licenses necessary to work every job your property might require. The same thing goes for insurance for liability to your property and the workers themselves. The insurance needed for maintenance work is often just as wide-ranging as the licenses required, and this can lead to uncertainty on if the property manager is properly insured to protect you from liability.
• Availability: When relying on a single team of workers, this can mean that a property manager might not have the availability to address all the maintenance requests from your properties in a timely manner. The smaller the team, the greater this problem becomes. If workers are out on vacation or unexpectedly taking sick or personal time, this means that the property manager won’t have the proper resources to handle all the maintenance work needed.

The Benefits of Using Maintenance Vendors

When a property manager uses a combination of owner-preferred vendors and their own network of reliable vendors, the owner experience and cost of repairs sees vast improvement.

• A Network of Experts: Having a network of vendors means that every problem that arises on your properties will be addressed by an expert on that problem. Property managers using this approach will have their own lengthy list of contractors and service providers that are properly licensed, insured, and experienced on a given maintenance need. It also means that the property owner gets a choice to use their own preferred vendors.
• Cost of Repairs: Vendor repairs also mean that you avoid the unnecessary markup charges that come with in-house maintenance. You won’t be paying for the hourly wages and the property manager’s profits. Simply paying for the work received is the much more economical solution. It also means the vendor will solve the problem the right way the first time; there won't be cheap easy fixes that will need a repeat visit.
• Work Done On Time: Maintenance emergencies can arise at any time. When work can be completed by multiple parties, these problems can be addressed around the clock and on any given day. There’s no chance of a call not being answered promptly, which protects your properties and grants much better peace of mind.
• Transparency in the Process: With no incentive to make money off of repairing your property, the property manager is going to be just as invested in ensuring the upkeep of the property as the owner is. This means clear communication throughout the process on the status of your property and a guarantee that the long-term health of your property is prioritized. This can also help in ensuring your tenants are staying compliant with their lease agreementahead of any inspections, such as a tenant keeping pets when they aren’t allowed to.
• The Right People for the Job: When every maintenance job has a specialized expert vendor you can call, you never have to worry about a job being performed without the proper licenses and insurances attached to it. If you have a specific vendor for a problem, you know they are going to be following all proper compliance on the job for that task. It eliminates the hassle and worry of not being protected as a property owner.

Property Management That Gets the Job Done

Maintenance and repairs on a property can be the biggest unforeseen cost of running a property. Any sensible landlord wants to feel secure that their properties are being handled with utmost care in this aspect.

Chambers Theorypolicy on maintenance utilizes the owner’s preferred vendors as well as our network of trusted, licensed, insured vendors so our owners have peace of mind and an always economical solution to their maintenance needs. You can alsocheck out our FAQs for more on how we handle property repairs.

If you are in need of a property management company that always makes your property’s success a priority, we want to help you.Get in contact with us today to get started.