Can I use my own contractors for repairs?
Yes and No. Over the past decades, we have put just about every contractor to the test. Cost is always important, but as you know, sometimes you get what you pay for. So the contractors we use now, have proven to provide fair costs and quality workmanship.
Most of our contractors are small companies with little overhead. We believe that this is how we can keep costs down as well as ensure quality of workmanship. Also, we give them a lot of work, so we typically get better pricing than anyone else.
With that said, we are always willing to try someone new to put them to the test, once the owner signs some additional documentation. We do require that the vendors have all appropriate licenses and registrations, complete a W-9, have worker’s compensation insurance, and have a general liability insurance policy listing the management company.
If we and the property owner agree to test out their contractor, the instructions need to come through our office. We have a work order system and if we do anything outside of the system, things can go wrong.
Can I do the repairs myself?
Yes and No. 99% of our owners direct Real Property Management to handle all repairs because of our volume, we get discounted rates and we have a long list of professionals who can jump right on the job and get it done which helps maintain the residents satisfaction. Because of this, we have developed systems so that these repairs are done timely, cost effective, and with professional workmanship. So when an owner requests to do work, it’s outside of our systems and the opportunity for timeliness repairs and error are greater.
With that said, we have had some owners that are professional tradesmen, such as an owner of a heating and cooling company. In this case, it makes sense to utilize the property owner’s own company to service their rental property. In these cases, we do require all of the paperwork to include licenses, insurances, workers compensation, etc… as we do from all of our other vendors.