When you have a property management company, one of the areas you really need to focus on is maintenance. Clients want to ensure you're taking good care of their properties, and the tenants who live there also need clean, safe spaces.
If you don't carefully optimize your services in the maintenance area, you may find that your company isn't growing the way it should. However, property management and maintenance go hand in hand, and the right maintenance offerings can increase your company's future success.
Keep reading for our best tips to optimize your maintenance services for more success!
Being Aware of Maintenance Service Needs
Every property management company needs to keep a close eye on its maintenance operations. Property owners expect their management company to take over and handle important aspects of caring for their property. However, if they can't rely on the property manager to handle maintenance, they may wonder why they're paying someone to manage it at all.
There are a number of maintenance services property management companies can offer. Which ones you provide will most likely be determined by several things. First, understand what the market is asking for. Knowing what property owners expect in the way of maintenance in your local area can help you manage your offerings.
Second, you should also know what your competition is doing. For example, if you aren't providing the same levels of service as other companies with your property management operations, property owners might choose them instead of you. 
Additionally, you can offer more services than other property management companies in your area to increase your customer base, as long as those added services are things your customers want or need and you have the resources to deliver them with excellence.
Most property management companies offer support for move-in and move-out cleaning, preparing the property for a new tenant, and making needed repairs if something goes wrong at the property during a lease term. Additionally, if a tenant is concerned about anything, they contact the management company to get that item fixed.
Remember that well-maintained properties experience better longevity. This can lead to happier property owners that see a real estate investment appreciate in value over time while generating higher rental rates than less well-kept properties.
Well-maintained properties can also attract better tenants and rent for a higher amount. Therefore, the property management and maintenance your company provides should be something tenants and owners appreciate about your services.
What Are the Benefits of Optimizing Your Maintenance Services?
When you optimize what you offer to property owners, you can increase both your productivity and efficiency. You'll also see more satisfaction from owners and tenants, which can help your company grow its client base and manage more doors to reach your business goals.
Cost savings is another big benefit of optimizing your maintenance services. Property managers can save big on maintenance and repairs when they apply property management software and maintenance coordination to their services.
Not only will you spend less over time when optimizing operations, but your property management company will also see an improved reputation, and you'll keep property values higher for your owners.
The Right Strategies Make Maintenance Service Optimization Easier
When you establish clear policies and procedures for your management company's maintenance goals, you can make sure every property you're in charge of gets the care it needs. Property management and maintenance software is a great way to make maintenance easier and keep it all in one place.
By implementing the right software and hiring skilled and experienced professionals to work with your maintenance company, you can take good care of your clients' properties and make sure tenants receive prompt responses to repair requests. In addition, if you work to create strong relationships with suppliers and contractors, you can get more done quickly and often for a lower price.
Maintenance Service Optimization Has Its Challenges
Finding qualified people to help with your property management operations is one of the biggest challenges you'll face as a property manager. Unfortunately, depending on where you're located and what kind of budget you have, it can be challenging to hire the people who best fit your needs.
Along with a limited budget and hiring pool, tenants and employees may not like the changes you want or need to make to the way maintenance is handled. Especially when you choose property management and maintenance software, there can be a learning curve that may be difficult for some people to feel comfortable with.
With effective planning and communication, though, you can overcome these challenges and move forward with changes to how you handle maintenance. The right changes can be a significant factor in growing your property management businesses and serving more clients!
Get Expert Help to Improve Your Property Management and Maintenance Operations
If you aren't sure how to improve your operations or where you should start, working with a property management consultant can help. Real-Time Consulting Services is here to review your current processes, software, and personnel, then provide actionable recommendations to make your maintenance services one of the things property owners and tenants love about your company. Reach out to learn how we can help!
Get more operational insights for growth when downloading our white paper, "Property Management Business Insights."
We will review your business plan and make sure you are on track.