When I work with consulting clients, one of the biggest issues I see is that property management companies simply aren’t making money on maintenance. In fact, many of them are straight up losing money.
Maintenance is one of the most important things we do as property managers, and that’s because it’s one of the most important ways to protect the client’s investment. If this is one of the most important aspects of property management for the client, don’t you think they would be willing to pay a little extra to make sure it’s taken care of the right way?
When companies aren’t making money on maintenance, their ARPU (Average Revenue Per Unit) clearly reflects it. And, when ARPU is low, the level of service you provide is reduced because you simply can’t afford to provide top-tier service.
One of the first areas that suffers when ARPU is low is maintenance coordination because it’s one of the most labor-intensive things that we do. To properly manage maintenance, we need not only basic property management software, but we also need maintenance software like Property Meld. A way to handle after-hours emergencies, proper staffing for dispatching and following up on work, a way to properly screen and rate our vendors, etc. The only way to provide all of this is to have a high-enough ARPU, and that can only be accomplished by making money on maintenance. If you aren’t making money on maintenance, then you simply can’t afford to manage maintenance well, and that’s a recipe for disaster.
So, are you interested in hearing about four excellent ways to make a profit on maintenance and repairs?
Todd Ortscheid
Todd is the CEO of Revolution Rental Management, a property management company in Atlanta, GA. He is also the CEO of Always There Repair, a maintenance coordination and hotline provider for property managers. Along with his wife Abi, he also owns PMAssist, a training and consulting company helping property managers with their revenue, processes, and automation. Todd splits his time between Atlanta and Naperville, IL with his wife, stepson, and Cocker Spaniel.
Todd Ortscheid’s regular column about various fees and revenue tactics to raise your topline.
