Staying on top of maintenance is not only the right thing to do, it’s also the law. One of the best ways to remain compliant is to utilize property maintenance software.
With this specific type of software in your toolbox, landlords can swiftly respond to vendors and tenants, effortlessly create work orders, track fixes from start to finish, pay for repairs, and do it all from a single, user-friendly location.
Because landlords only typically have 3-7 days to fix critical repairs, every second counts. Leveraging property management maintenance software is a great way to stay on top of small and large tasks while protecting your reputation and property from damage.
Let’s take a look at the five best options available today.
Marketing. Applications. Leases. Payments.
The software selected covers a wide range of maintenance tasks. Some skew towards rental property management, while others are more for commercial spaces. Whatever your needs are, we hope to satisfy them with an option from the following list.
DIY landlords and real estate investors who want to manage their properties without ponying up for costly property managers should consider TurboTenant for their property maintenance software needs.
With TurboTenant’s Maintenance Plus, landlords and their tenants centralize all the clutter that goes into maintaining properties. From a single browser window or an app, landlords streamline:
Rather than filtering through emails and text messages, all these tasks happen directly in your TurboTenant account. Plus, our partnership with Lula enables landlords to access a wide range of qualified contractors who can complete the work, so you won’t have to play the online review guessing game when selecting contractors.
Note that the preceding features are a paid addition to TurboTenant and are unavailable nationwide. That said, landlords can make DIY maintenance management easy even with a free TurboTenant account.
Examine the following features to see how TurboTenant is all-in-one property management software.
Landlords with a team of professionals who maintain their properties should consider MaintainX as their property maintenance software provider. MaintainX is part of a class of software called computerized maintenance management systems (CMMSs) or enterprise asset management systems (EAMs).
Software in these classes streamlines maintenance operations for a wide variety of industries, including:
In terms of rental property management, MaintainX provides landlords and property managers the ability to:
Like TurboTenant, landlords who use MaintainX won’t have to sift through piles of papers and notebooks for each maintenance request that filters in. Instead, all the information a landlord needs is right at their fingertips.
Unlike TurboTenant, MaintainX is designed specifically for maintenance. In other words, you won’t find rental applications, tenant screening, or functionality related to tenant acquisition and management.
In short, property managers and landlords seeking tools directly related to residential and commercial maintenance might be overwhelmed by MaintainX’s functionality.
UpKeep is a CMMS similar to MaintainX. For the purposes of rental property management, UpKeep’s software solution revolves around work orders. With UpKeep, property managers gain valuable tools that enable them to:
Part of the allure of CMMS software is that it’s bidirectional. Managers can easily communicate with their technicians or contractors and vice versa. Instead of utilizing back-and-forth communications, technicians log updates, making it easy for their managers to track work order statuses.
Ultimately, software like UpKeep is designed for both large and small maintenance operations, including machine upkeep. It doesn’t include property management software features like those found in TurboTenant, such as lease agreement creation and management.
Like MaintainX, UpKeep might offer more functionality than landlords want or need.
Another top CMMS software solution to consider adding to your software stack is FMX. Like MaintainX and UpKeep, this property maintenance software focuses on maintaining a wide array of assets.
FMX includes features like:
Many of the features that FMX creates are designed to maintain tenant satisfaction. With FMX, tenants can submit work orders themselves. For vendors, it allows property managers to communicate updates on work orders.
For landlords who seek to simplify their management needs, FMX might be overkill. Its list of features might fall outside the scope of essential maintenance, as FMX seems built for large organizations, including schools, governments, and manufacturing organizations.
Plus, the platform does not offer features like rental property marketing. However, if you’re a large-scale maintenance operation, FMX could be your solution.
Now that we’ve examined some of the top CMMS software, another all-in-one solution like TurboTenant made the list in Propertyware.
Propertyware features a wide range of property maintenance features that will interest landlords. When you choose Propertyware, you’ll find access to:
Unlike MaintainX, UpKeep, and FMX, Propertyware features a range of property management software features to help landlords streamline their vacancy-related tasks, including:
Compared to TurboTenant, Propertyware doesn’t feature state-specific lease agreements or showing scheduling. However, it utilizes a contact center to help sort through potential tenants’ questions.
No matter which maintenance software for property management solution you choose, it should include the following features. These tools are critical to the success of your rental property maintenance program.
It all starts with the work order. Without it, landlords and vendors cannot know what work needs done. When the tenant can create it in a centralized place, work orders won’t get lost in an email inbox or text message application.
Getting everybody on the same page is critical to ensuring repairs happen on time, every time. Choosing software that coordinates schedules between tenants and vendors makes certain everyone is happy.
Visibility into what needs fixing before and after a repair guarantees you’re not paying for work you don’t need. Plus, access to vendor notes helps you understand why repairs cost what they do and how to prevent them in the future.
Tenant/vendor communication is critical to the success of maintenance requests. Sometimes, a problem can be remedied with basic troubleshooting, saving you money immediately. On the other hand, you may need a pro to come out and make the necessary fixes.
Either way, communication between both parties ensures that the job gets done at a time that works for everyone.
Maintenance report generation is critical as it documents all maintenance activities, ensuring compliance, aiding decision-making, and enabling performance evaluation and budgeting, thus enhancing operational efficiency and property value.
Detailed records of work performed help landlords identify when a recurring problem could indicate a larger issue. They’re also an excellent way to keep track of expenses incurred.
Picking a solution that neatly organizes maintenance history into a single location helps you keep detailed records without fuss.
Depending on your situation — maybe you’re a busy landlord with a full-time job or just have too many units to manage — property management maintenance software can save you a lot of time while ensuring your tenants live in a safe environment.
Because every minute counts when somebody’s water heater goes down, the ability to quickly address issues ensures that you uphold your end of the bargain.
Compared with a number of competitors on this list, TurboTenant’s holistic approach to property management provides all the tools you need to manage your property yourself from vacancy through move-out.
Critically, maintenance is a significant part of ensuring your property remains habitable while preventing minor issues from snowballing into major ones.
If you’re a remote landlord, our partnership with Lula helps you get your property fixed by qualified professionals under budget. No matter your landlord style, TurboTenant streamlines maintenance from broken to fixed.
Due to its ability to efficiently coordinate and manage maintenance tasks, streamlined scheduling makes TurboTenant the top pick for property maintenance software.
By centralizing scheduling within the platform, TurboTenant simplifies the entire maintenance process, enabling landlords to effectively manage their properties while providing tenants with prompt maintenance services.
One of the biggest challenges of hiring a contractor to complete work on your rental property is having to check in with vendors for status updates continually. With our Lula integration, checking vendor updates is as simple as checking your app or browser for up-to-date information.
Communication with your service providers is built directly into the TurboTenant maintenance portal. Instead of shooting one-off text messages to random phone numbers, you can message your provider directly from within TurboTenant.
A record is automatically generated every time you create and complete a maintenance request in TurboTenant. To view an overview of the work that’s been completed, navigate to the maintenance section and find what you’re looking for.
Starting with your tenant request, tenants are empowered to snap photos of things that need to be repaired. You can then fix it yourself, documenting the process along the way.
Or you can upgrade to Maintenance Plus, and your vendor will document all the steps they took from beginning to end. Once they’re done, you’ll have a complete record of the completed work.
When estimating maintenance costs for rental properties, consider several factors, such as the property’s age, condition, location, and the types of systems and materials used. One approach is to set aside a percentage of the property’s monthly rental income for maintenance, typically around 1% to 3%. Additionally, conducting regular property inspections and staying proactive about maintenance can help anticipate and budget for future repair needs.
Maintenance expenses for rental properties typically include routine repairs, appliance maintenance, landscaping, groundskeeping, and HVAC system upkeep. Additionally, budgeting for painting, flooring, pest control, and professional services such as contractors and electricians is essential. Long-term investments in the form of capital improvements, like roof replacements and major renovations, are also important considerations for preserving property value.
Budgeting for rental property maintenance is difficult. Use the 1% rule (property value x 1%), 50% rule (half of the monthly rent), or square footage rule ($1 per sq ft) for a ballpark figure. Consider these as starting points, as unexpected repairs can happen, and older properties or harsh climates may require more upkeep.
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