Repairs by PM vs Self arranged trades

[traveller]

Hi All,

I have a 5 unit block in inner city Brisbane and have a question regarding the repairs.

Usually here in Melbourne(being local), the Property manager advises me of the repairs and i arrange my own trades person to look into it.

However In Brisbane however i am seeing trend where PM actually arranges for these quotes and repairs as well. Mostly these trades that the PM recommends is from companies who cater to multiple trades and have number of people working for them for plumbing, roof repair, electrician etc.

Do they come up being more expensive then one man operations? I will like to know if there is any downside to PM arranging for these quotes vs me calling trades from yellow pages? Do PMs earn any commissions from these repairs from the companies they recommend for repairs? Is there any other vested interest that PMs usually have?

Will like to know how the people on this forum usually arrange for the repairs.

Thanks...

 

[Terry_w]

See my post earlier today regarding the asset protection benefits of using a property manager to arrange repairs.

 

[Rixter]

Will like to know how the people on this forum usually arrange for the repairs.

Thanks...

All my PM's across all states (inc Brisbane) organise repairs/installations quotes and send them to me. I then instruct the PM on which one to go with and the PM organises the work carried out and makes payment for me.

I want it all to run on auto-pilot as much possible.This method has been working very well for me for the past 13 years.

The whole idea of building my portfolio in the first instance is to replace & free up my time & create passive income.

The last thing I want is to become a slave to it.

I hope this helps.

 

[russellpeter]

it depends on the job required doing?

if its a big item EG oven/stove or hotwater system i would get a number of quotes.

I know the hourly rate of my plumbers/electrician and handy men and would pass this info onto the owner and get an idea of the costs before they go onto site. once there my tradesman normally call the owner to discuss the issue and finalize a price if outside of my initial price.

This is if it can be done on the spot. if its something that they need parts for they normally quote and I would get written approval.


we have used a lot of tradesman in the past year and it has taken a long time to get 2 or 3 of each trade that we can trust.

we are happy for owners to get there own quotes and sometimes they are cheaper that what we get but a lot of the times they just use Google or gumtree and we are left fixing up the issues from unfinished or unsatisfactory work.

i would never get any work done on a owners property with out first getting approval first. unless its 3am.

 

[BeYourOwnAgent]

Hi All,

I have a 5 unit block in inner city Brisbane and have a question regarding the repairs.

Usually here in Melbourne(being local), the Property manager advises me of the repairs and i arrange my own trades person to look into it.

However In Brisbane however i am seeing trend where PM actually arranges for these quotes and repairs as well. Mostly these trades that the PM recommends is from companies who cater to multiple trades and have number of people working for them for plumbing, roof repair, electrician etc.

Do they come up being more expensive then one man operations? I will like to know if there is any downside to PM arranging for these quotes vs me calling trades from yellow pages? Do PMs earn any commissions from these repairs from the companies they recommend for repairs? Is there any other vested interest that PMs usually have?

Will like to know how the people on this forum usually arrange for the repairs.

Thanks...

When I had my own real estate agency we had an in house maintenance company (one man band who was a licensed builder / carpenter).

He received all the maintenance requests each day, and then funneled them out to his team of trades.

He took overall accountability for the quality of work, and also had a service and time guarantee (urgent with 12 hours, standard within 72 hours).

Worked really well for us as an agency and also for the client. We were transparent with his fee for arranging work, and owners were welcome to not use his services and have the PM go through another trade or them to arrange themselves.

Out of 600+ clients, probably 95%+ went with the inhouse arrangement.

I'll be using him once we launch Be Your Own Agent - it's a great way to keep on top of maintenance.

Hope this helps.

 

[mattysavager]

Do they come up being more expensive then one man operations? I will like to know if there is any downside to PM arranging for these quotes vs me calling trades from yellow pages? Do PMs earn any commissions from these repairs from the companies they recommend for repairs? Is there any other vested interest that PMs usually have?

I find that the 'multiple trades' companies are typically more expensive. There is one major company in Brisbane that is used by many PMs, and I've found that they're consistently more expensive than individual trades.

There might be something to be said for these companies if you need plumbing and electrical repairs on one day, however I always prefer to use tradies who are self employed/small business owners who I know and trust.

PMs in Brisbane at least would be stupid to earn any sort of commission on repairs, as this would mean they were project managing the job, and would open them up to a word of liability hurt.

Our office doesn't charge of course - and have managed to broker deals where by some of our tradies don't charge their normal callout, as we give them so much work. This makes them more competitive than others, and I know they do a good job.

Let me know if you want any recommendations.

Matt

 

[BeYourOwnAgent]

I find that the 'multiple trades' companies are typically more expensive. There is one major company in Brisbane that is used by many PMs, and I've found that they're consistently more expensive than individual trades.

Matt

It is a bit of a balancing act, and I agree completely with your point above.

We used a all-in-one company when we were managing a large portfolio. It did cost a little bit extra (we're talking maybe $10 per job), which owners were aware of.

What it did was create a fantastic level of service for all maintenance - the owner of the maintenance firm knew that the majority of his earnings came solely from us, so when the PM picked up the phone, he would act on it immediately.

Problem I found with smaller operators (especially general maintenance, which is normally done by a chippy), is they would often get a large job (say framing for a house), which would then make them unreliable for the smaller maintenance jobs.

It is a fine line, and one which agencies struggle with; maintenance, when not done quickly and professionally, can really damage client / PM relations.