Questions to ask a residential property management company regarding property maintenance and repairs: Part 2

Property management companies play a very important and beneficial role in the maintenance and upkeep of the properties of their owners. Regular inspections by these companies are a critical component of their preventative maintenance.

In the first part of this article [Part 1] we have learnt about the most common questions that you need to ask for the residential property management companies about their maintenance and repair process, in this part also we would learn about some more such questions and concerns.

Learn about the system they follow to practice preventative maintenance. Preventative maintenance is a procedure in which the management company maintains the value of your property and avoid letting minor issues become larger and giving rise to more expensive problems down the line. So make sure your management company has this process in their agenda.

This maintenance process involves things like a predefined upkeep and inspection schedule as well as prompt addressing of the known problematic issues. All reputed property managers engage in sustainable practices that maximize property values and avoids short-term practices that delay a lot. So it’s very important for you to know about the preventative maintenance practices of the company in advance.

Ask if they provide itemized statements along with the receipts for the works performed by them.
Itemized statements add accountability and transparency to the billing procedure. So ask if the selected property management company provides it or not. As you would not like to hire a company which is unwilling to provide solid documentation of where your money is going and how it’s spent.

Inquire about the list of different recurring maintenance works that they expect the tenants to perform. Though this is not considered as an accountability hazard, but providing these services actually eliminates the issues of the tenant complaints. This can actually improve tenant satisfaction that would in turn help with the retentions. So do not forget to ask about this list from the selected residential property management company.

Your next question should be to ask whether they let tenants perform repairs or not.
The rental agreement is actually a very intricate and vital document. So if in case the residential property management company doesn’t allow tenant repairs, you must make sure that this is written into the rental agreement. Most of the tenants perform sub-standard work and maintenance, and even their lack of insurance coverage, liability or worker rewards could leave you liable in the event of an accident or injury. So do not let them bring any kind of risk like accidentally falling off a roof or ladder or electrocuting themselves etc. that may be harmful to you. So you must know about all the repair works your management company is allowing your tenants to do.