The property management landscape is evolving at an unprecedented pace. With technological advancement and a rising preference for remote work, more property managers are looking to resources other than traditional operational structures to build their workforces.
Can a virtual team member handle maintenance for rental properties? While a remote worker can't be on-site at a property to repair plumbing issues or conduct the make-ready process, choosing a virtual solution for maintenance coordination is an excellent way to reduce costs, add skilled talent to your team, and optimize your maintenance operations.
Keep reading to learn about the benefits of a property management virtual assistant as your maintenance coordinator!
Why Should Property Managers Consider a Virtual Solution for Maintenance Coordination?
It might sound unconventional at first. After all, how can someone not physically present manage the hands-on aspects of property maintenance?
They can't.
However, many aspects of rental property maintenance services can be effectively managed by leveraging technology with remote team members handling specific tasks that don't require them to be local.
Local vs. Virtual Help
The conventional wisdom has always favored local, in-house employees for roles such as maintenance coordination. They're on-site, familiar with the property intricacies, and can interact directly with contractors.
However, as businesses have become more digitized and property management software more sophisticated, many tasks traditionally performed in person can now be managed remotely.
Accessibility and Efficiency
The virtual realm is not confined to the traditional 9-to-5 working hours. This flexibility of adding virtual contractors to your maintenance team offers unparalleled accessibility and responsiveness, especially crucial when optimizing your property maintenance services where issues can arise any time of day or night.
When your in-house team is off for the day, a virtual assistant can be on-call to respond to tenant emergencies and quickly schedule repairs after hours.
What Does a Maintenance Coordinator Do?
Understanding the vast array of responsibilities shouldered by maintenance coordinators is essential. These professionals are the backbone of any well-maintained property, keeping property owners happy with the condition of their investments and improving tenant satisfaction.
Here are just a few things a virtual maintenance coordinator does!
1. Vendor Management
Maintenance coordinators play a pivotal role in hiring, scheduling, and overseeing services ranging from cleaning to specialized repairs. This involves:
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Identifying the Need: Before engaging a vendor, coordinators must identify the nature of the problem. Is it a plumbing issue, an electrical fault, or perhaps something related to HVAC? Understanding the problem is the first step toward resolution.
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Engaging the Right Professionals: Once the problem is identified, they ensure that qualified professionals are hired. This requires a thorough knowledge of vendors, their specialties, and their track records.
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Scheduling and Oversight: Coordinators manage maintenance and repair schedules, ensuring the hired professionals complete their tasks efficiently and correctly. This often means managing multiple timelines and vendors simultaneously.
Your maintenance assistant must be able to communicate well with vendors, your in-house team, and tenants to manage repairs and maintenance schedules.
2. Support to Internal Maintenance Teams
Maintenance coordinators serve as invaluable administrative support for your in-house team. Their roles can span:
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Managing Work Orders: They ensure work orders from tenants or departments are promptly addressed, prioritizing based on urgency.
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Communication: They bridge the gap between the maintenance team and tenants, ensuring clear communication regarding timelines, required interventions, and any potential disruptions.
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Supply Management: Coordinators are responsible for maintaining an inventory of essential supplies and ensuring that necessary materials are always on hand for routine maintenance tasks or emergencies.
Property management companies with an experienced maintenance coordinator can deliver better maintenance services, improve tenant retention for property owners, and increase property values.
Benefits of a Virtual Maintenance Assistant vs. An In-house Employee
As we look deeper into the advantages of a virtual assistant vs. an employee, it's clear that this operational model offers tangible benefits to modern property managers. Here are a few!
Payroll Cost Savings
One of the most immediate advantages is financial. Choosing a virtual assistant vs. hiring an in-house W-2 employee eliminates expenses related to benefits, office space, training, and other overheads that come with an in-house employee.
Property management business owners reduce payroll expenses while adding skilled team members to their workforce!
24/7 Availability
Maintenance issues don't stick to business hours.
Virtual assistants, especially from diverse time zones, can offer continuous coverage, ensuring rapid response times even outside traditional working hours. When maintenance emergencies can't afford to wait until Monday morning, you have a team member in place to respond and resolve issues to protect investment properties and keep tenants safe.
Economical Salaries
By tapping into a global workforce, you can build a team of highly competent professionals at competitive rates, often significantly lower than local salary expectations. Property managers can often add 2-3 virtual contractors to their workforce for the same costs (or less) as the cost of one U.S. employee.
While it's always important to offer competitive wages to property management virtual assistants, these competitive pay rates are consistently lower than salary ranges in the U.S.
Industry Experience
The ideal virtual assistants come with property management experience for the U.S. industry, having worked with similar companies before. When choosing VAs through VPM Solutions, your remote team member also has access to free industry-related training through our VPM Academy.
So, property managers don't have to worry about training a remote worker from scratch. Choosing a virtual assistant for your maintenance coordinator role means adding someone to your team who can immediately jump in and make a difference in your productivity and maintenance services.
Access to Specialized Skills
The global talent pool is vast. Whether you need expertise in a specific property management software or a coordinator with multilingual capabilities, you're likely to find your perfect match through the right workforce outsourcing solution.
An Efficiency Boost
By entrusting maintenance coordination to a dedicated virtual assistant, your core team can focus on their primary responsibilities, optimizing overall operations.
Skilled VAs improve efficiency and productivity for property management companies!
Superior Customer Service
With quicker response times and efficient coordination, property owners and tenants enjoy a smoother, more responsive experience. When your company delivers the best maintenance services and superior customer service in your market, you'll retain more tenants and owners and grow your business!
Boost Your Property Maintenance Services With a Virtual Assistant
The momentum toward virtual assistance in property management is undeniable. As we've outlined, the benefits for a property manager and their clients extend far beyond mere cost savings, impacting every facet of operations.
To find the ideal talent as your maintenance coordinator, make sure you have a Free Company Profile with VPM Solutions. We are the foremost workforce-outsourcing solution for the property management and real estate industries. With us, you can access a talented pool of virtual assistants specializing in roles from marketing to maintenance coordination and beyond.
If you're ready to learn what to put in a job description for a maintenance coordinator and get your VA up to speed quickly with the right tasks, request a free copy of our "Property Management Maintenance Coordinator Job Description and Quickstart Task List!"
