- What is a property maintenance company?
- Which property maintenance services do they cover?
- What are the advantages of a property maintenance company?
- Top tips for finding the best property maintenance company
- Conclusion and final checklist
When it comes to running a property business, it’s always important to consider new ways of streamlining operations. One possible way of doing this is to use a property maintenance company, enabling them to support you with upcoming projects and assist with making your business more efficient.
The issues that property maintenance companies handle can vary massively, which is why hiring someone to ensure your business runs smoothly can be a savvy move. However, finding the best property maintenance company can be challenging, and knowing where to start can be daunting. Fortunately, we are on hand to make sure you don’t get yourself into a contract with a mediocre company.
In this guide, you’ll learn about why you should consider using property maintenance services and discover our top tips on how to find the best company to suit your needs. At ROCC, we aim to combine our vast experience in the housing sector and best practice knowledge to make your life easier.
What is a property maintenance company?
Whether it’s simple one-off repairs or more technical maintenance that’s required, a lot of work goes into taking care of property. This is where property maintenance companies come in, as they handle work that includes anything from cleaning and landscaping to changing light bulbs and addressing leaks.
How often the services of a property maintenance company are required depends on the property, but an arrangement is often made to ensure that regular visits are conducted to ensure everything is kept in good condition. They’re often employed to oversee multiple properties, which is why it’s best to pick a company that prides itself on efficiency and flexibility.
Property maintenance companies are often a more cost-effective alternative to on-site maintenance staff that work on a full-time basis, allowing multiple repairs to be conducted at once and the opportunity for work to be completed much quicker.
In need of a network of reliable workers that can turn their hand to just about anything? Then a property maintenance company is likely to be a good solution.
Which property maintenance services do they cover?
Put simply, the main reason you’d employ a property maintenance company is to make the process of dealing with repairs and any related issues that arise more efficient. Having a trusted company at your disposal means tenants and clients can communicate with them directly when something goes wrong, which can save you time and money.
Some property maintenance services that are usually covered include:
- Plumbing
- Carpentry
- Painting
- Gardening and groundskeeping
- Keeping shared areas tidy
- Electrical work
- Heating and ventilation
- Pest control
- Broken locks
- Night porter.
What are the advantages of a property maintenance company?
Now that you know more about what property maintenance companies do and the services they offer, it’s worth noting what the main benefits of acquiring their expertise are. While employing a property maintenance company comes with obvious initial costs, there are also several key advantages. These include:
- Saves you time – you won’t have to find and organise various different contractors’ visits and the tenant can deal with the company directly, cutting out the middleman.
- Saves money – you’ll be able to save money long-term by not having to hire individual contractors all the time for different repairs. Having a maintenance company do the work for you allows you to forecast and plan costs.
- Maintains property value – by keeping property well maintained you’re able to keep it in good condition and help prevent something major from going wrong in the future.
- Keep tenants smiling – make sure your tenants stay happy by ensuring they live in a property that is in good condition. This will help build a more trustworthy relationship between yourself and the tenants.
Top tips for choosing the best property maintenance company
Choosing the right company isn’t a decision that should be taken lightly. Don’t just opt for the first company you find, make sure you do extensive research to narrow down your search and select a property maintenance service that suits your business. As an experienced business in this field, here are ROCC’s top tips for selecting the right company.
1. Conduct extensive online research
The internet is the go-to tool for good reason, however, the sheer amount of information at your disposal can make it a bit of a minefield. It’s always best to look for a company that operates locally to your property, so searching for ‘property maintenance near me’ is a good place to start. By doing your research online, you’ll be able to thoroughly consider the following tips we are about to discuss.
Pro tip: Don’t settle for the first company you find!
2. Reach out to your network
This may seem obvious, but some of the best recommendations come from word of mouth. Whether it’s colleagues, local business owners, professionals from the same sector, family or friends, it’s always good to hear from people you trust. If there is a particular company that keeps getting mentioned, then the chances are that you’ll be able to rely on their services. LinkedIn is another great tool for getting tips and advice from like-minded professionals. It’s a competitive sector, so any insider knowledge is valuable.
Pro tip: Don’t be afraid to ask. More often than not people are always happy to help.
3. Review their current portfolio
Once you have a shortlist of property maintenance companies (we recommend at least three), you can then start considering their portfolio in more detail to narrow your search down further. Take a look at the properties they’re currently managing and compare them to your own. If the properties they’re responsible for are local to you, then you could always check them out in person to see how well-maintained they are.
Pro tip: Take a look at their various advertising streams to assess their professionalism. See how they advertise online, with local media and social media.
4. Assess what services they offer
It goes without saying that this is a hugely important factor to consider. Before you start looking at what services each company offers, it’s vital that you’re clear on the type of services you’re looking for. If you’re slightly unsure exactly what you’re after, then it makes it very difficult to pick a company that works for you and your property. Most companies will allow you to pick and choose what services you need, but it’s worth making sure you’re aware of their complete offering. Can they deliver to the standard you need?
Pro tip: Think about the services you may need in the future. While they may not be on the horizon now, they could come in handy further down the line.
5. What’s their track record like
Understanding a company’s success rate and reputation in the sector is a no-brainer. When speaking to each company, make sure you ask about their successes and see examples of case studies. If they have a good record, then they should be more than happy to provide you with the relevant information. Equally, this is a good way of exposing companies if they’re all talk and no action.
Pro tip: Make sure you check they’re accredited! Do they look after their staff, pride themselves on their professionalism and consistently meet high standards of quality?
6. Read reviews
Reviews online can sometimes be unreliable, but in the main, it’s still useful in determining how successful a company is. It’s usually pretty obvious to separate legitimate reviews from those that are biased. By reading reviews, you’re able to hear exactly what customers think about the company, allowing you to get an insight into how trustworthy the company is and see the kind of relationship they have with clients.
Pro tip: Try to gather reviews from as many different websites and sources as possible. The more the merrier.
7. Consider their fees
Don’t get locked into something you can’t afford. All property maintenance companies will have fees attached, so make sure you know exactly how much using their services will cost and budget accordingly. It’s always worth getting this in writing before you agree to anything. At this point it is worth thinking about the long-term impact these fees may have on your finances – what you can afford now may not be the case in a year or two, so consider your options before agreeing to a hefty contract.
Pro tip: Seek financial advice if appropriate for added peace of mind.
8. Hold meetings with the companies you’ve shortlisted
The time has now arrived to meet them in person. At this point, you should only have two or three companies left as part of your search. Face-to-face meetings are always better than chatting over the phone or on a video call. This is a good opportunity to see how they respond to some of your firmer questions and also receive added clarity on previously discussed issues. If they’re a reputable company, then they should take all your questions seriously and respond in a respectful manner. Their responses should also be very detailed.
Pro tip: Don’t let them hit you with sales techniques and jargon. Ensure they respond to your questions clearly, using digestible language.
Conclusion and final checklist
Hopefully, you now feel well-equipped to choose the right property maintenance company to suit your needs. In this guide, we have taken a deep dive into property maintenance services and shared our top tips for ensuring you select a company that has your best interests at heart. Getting the right company on board is hugely important, so make sure you familiarise yourself with our guidance before making a decision.
To summarise, here is a quick checklist for you to keep in mind:
✓ Consider your options and conduct thorough research
✓ Know exactly what your property needs
✓ Determine what you want from a company
✓ Meet with the company and ask any important questions
At ROCC, we pride ourselves on creating solutions that enable excellence within your business. As one of the most experienced companies in the housing sector, we hope that articles like this can assist you in navigating complex areas within our industry.
