Even if you remove the cost of taxes, insurance, and other fees, it still costs around $298 a month to maintain the average American home.
That expense could climb even higher—particularly if you don’t know the best way to manage the maintenance of your property investment portfolio when it comes to handling Detroit multi family units and their maintenance!
However, when you hire a property management company in Detroit, you can put the reins on maintenance costs and keep them to a minimum. This not only saves you money, but it also strengthens your real estate portfolio as a whole.
The right contractor is worth their weight in gold: there’s nothing better than knowing you can depend on someone to do the job right—the first time.
Finding a quality contractor can feel like an impossible task. Further, you can find what you think is an excellent contractor—only to find out through trial and error that you had better options out there. The only way to ensure you have the best contractors for each maintenance job is to use several different companies over time. You would have to employ this strategy regardless of the makeup of your real estate investment portfolio.
A Detroit property management company has done just that—and with multiple properties of different types, styles, and sizes. When you sign up for expert property management in Detroit, you instantly gain access to their network of experienced, reliable, cost-effective contractors.
Not all maintenance requests are created equal. Some cost much more than others, and skilled Detroit property management is going to know how to limit the number of unreasonable demands.
This is accomplished through carefully interfacing with the tenant to feel out what’s behind the maintenance request. For example, if they are asking for a new refrigerator, there may be a less expensive solution. Perhaps the fridge has started making an unpleasant noise, has a leak, or has another problem needing repairs.
The vast majority of requests are about satisfying an emotional need—not necessarily a physical one. The tenant may feel frustration, anger, disappointment, confusion, or fear. A property management company knows how to ascertain the feeling behind the request and, most importantly, how to alleviate it.
Another thing to consider is this: time is money, especially when it comes to maintenance. A property management company can also help in this area.
Often, a tenant makes a request that is so difficult that investors have to spend an excessive amount of time trying to satisfy it. This involves both extra time and extra effort, particularly if the request comes with a sense of haste. When tenants throw multiple requests at their landlords, they can start to pile up quickly—and soon, the balls being juggled come tumbling down.
A property manager can limit the number of complicated requests and makes them easier to field. A property management company has a solid idea as to how much time each type of request is going to take to satisfy. This comes with years of experience.
If you hire expert property management in Detroit that can demonstrate a portfolio of successful request management, you are well on your way to some serious pain-point reduction when it comes to your portfolio.
Here are some things to keep in mind when selecting a property management company for this purpose:
Ask them to outline the kinds of requests they manage weekly. Not all requests require the same amount of time. You want to see how they apportion each type.
Ask about how they would handle one that would take a long time. What the management company does after they get a request will tell you a lot about how effective they are.
Inquire about how your potential property manager would reduce the number of unreasonable, time-consuming requests. The strategy of the Detroit property management company will tell you a lot about how they are going to help limit your headaches.
If you get an emotional, urgent request in the early afternoon that has to be satisfied by the evening, you may not have the time to run around shopping for a solution. Figuring out where to buy the item and which store has the best price often takes even more time than checking out an item’s specifications.
With a property management company by your side, the shopping process is far smoother. Not only can they handle all of it for you, but they know where to go and what prices to expect. When you consider the number of properties you have now, and the number of properties you'll have in the future, having an expert pair of hands helps remove some of the "growing pains" associated with expansion.
Whether your maintenance costs are higher or lower than the average, they can quickly get out of control with multi-family units. The best way to stay on top is to hire a property management company.
JMZ Management has the team and tools necessary to help keep your maintenance costs to a minimum! We not only offer expert property management services to single-family property owners but to investors in Detroit multi family units as well!
Curious about how much a property management partner could save you when it comes to your Detroit multi family units? Learn more about the services we offer to investors when it comes to multifamily property management and see what your portfolio has been missing!