As an investor’s real estate holdings grow, more and more tenants will call with maintenance requests. These requests can range from emergencies to frivolous, but will require attention at some point. How should maintenance calls be processed? What about taking calls in so they can be logged and prioritized? Don’t get bogged down, it isn’t as bad as it seems. With a good system in place, managing maintenance tasks can be easy!
There are a lot of programs out there currently that will allow investors to log, track expenses, and run fairly sophisticated reports on maintenance tasks, but in the early stages, it may be possible to get by with a simple spreadsheet. Most spreadsheet software has the ability to add multiple sheets to one file (normally they look like tabs). Prioritize using 4 different sheets, Emergency, General, Cosmetic, and Tenant Caused. Each spreadsheet should have columns for address of property, tenant name, phone number, work requested, and work completed. This allows the quick scheduling of work at a glance, the ability to track when it is completed, and have access to tenant information as necessary. Now, when calls come in, they can logged and prioritized as necessary.
