Hi, there! Joe White here from Grow Property Management, your trusted property management company in Philadelphia.
We want to talk about something that often frustrates property owners: multiple visits from technicians to repair issues at rental properties. Recently, we had an owner get unreasonably upset over a repair, and while that’s not uncommon for a property management company, it highlighted something important about repairs that we think every landlord should understand.
First, let me say that it’s completely natural to be upset when you receive a repair request. We own rental properties ourselves, and we're not thrilled when the property management company informs us that one of our properties needs a repair. No landlord enjoys hearing they need to spend money on a new appliance or a fix. In fact, part of the reason we love owning a property management company is that we can distance ourself from the day-to-day stresses of managing our own properties. Grow Property Management Company manages the owner's wife and his rental properties along with all of their clients’ properties, and we don’t have to stress over things like buying a new dryer or fixing a leaking roof. We just let the company handle it.
But some property owners take things to another level. Certain owners seem to get upset every time there’s a repair, and they often want to blame someone — whether it’s the tenant, the property management company, or the technician doing the work. It’s frustrating for them, and they sometimes lack the emotional maturity to deal with it. They want everything to go smoothly, but the reality is, repairs are a normal part of owning rental properties.
What we want to emphasize is that repairs aren’t always straightforward. Property owners sometimes have unrealistic expectations that the technician will know exactly what’s wrong, fix it on the spot, and that will be the end of it. But, much like with car mechanics, roofing, or any number of other services, diagnosing and fixing a problem isn’t always that simple. Sometimes it takes multiple visits to figure out exactly what’s wrong.
Take roofing, for example. A small roof leak might only require a $3 repair, but figuring out where that $3 problem is can be challenging. The roofer might think they’ve fixed it, only to find out months later that the leak returns when the wind and rain hit the roof at a different angle. It’s the same with appliances. An appliance technician might troubleshoot and fix what they think is wrong, but the problem could reoccur. This doesn’t mean the technician is incompetent; it’s just part of the repair process.
At Grow Property Management company, we manage a large number of properties, which gives us a lot of data and experience with repairs. Over the years, we’ve become experts at recognizing patterns in how repairs go. We carefully vet the vendors and technicians we work with, whether it’s HVAC specialists, appliance repair companies, or plumbers. We’ve tried multiple vendors in each category and only stick with those we trust.
For instance, we’ve worked with several appliance repair companies in Philadelphia. Many of them, unfortunately, had a pattern of declaring appliances “beyond repair” just to sell us a new one. This is particularly common with refrigerators, where something simple like a frozen fan can cause the fridge to stop working. The tenant might overfill the fridge, causing the fan to freeze, which leads to the fridge failing. In this case, the solution is often as simple as unplugging the fridge and letting the fan thaw out. But some repair companies might take the fridge to their shop, let it thaw, and then try to sell you a new one.
We track these situations closely. In one case, we found that out of the first 21 repairs we sent to a new appliance tech, only two were declared beyond repair. This was a stark contrast to the previous company we worked with, where the majority of appliances were labeled as unfixable. The point here is that good vendors still sometimes need multiple visits, and as a landlord, you may not always have the experience or the data to know whether you’re being taken advantage of.
A good technician will troubleshoot the problem, attempt a repair, and test the appliance or system to the best of their ability. But sometimes, despite their best efforts, the repair doesn’t hold, and they need to come back. It’s a normal part of the process. Just like a car mechanic who fixes one issue only to discover another problem later, repair technicians can’t always predict every possible complication.
As a property management company, we have the advantage of handling a large volume of repairs, so we’ve seen it all. We know when a repair is likely to require multiple visits, and we understand that some problems are more complex than they seem. Landlords who only manage one or two properties may not have the same perspective, and that can lead to frustration when a repair doesn’t go smoothly on the first visit. But it’s important to understand that this is just part of the reality of property ownership.
Multiple visits from technicians for repairs aren’t uncommon, and it doesn’t necessarily mean that the technician or company is doing a poor job. Repairs can be complex and require follow-up visits. If you own rental properties, it’s crucial to have trusted vendors and a good property management company to navigate these challenges. Understanding this can help reduce frustration and set more realistic expectations.
As always, happy investing!
