We hear it all the time, “I want my property manager to use my handyman. It’s my property! I want to know why property managers won’t use my handyman.” Well, here’s why most property managers don’t want to use your vendors for cleaning or repairs.
Cheap is not better
The main reason most landlords want us to use their vendors, is price. We understand, you want to save money. No one wants to pay too much for repairs or cleaning services. However, through years of experience in the rental management business, we have found that cheap vendors almost always cause more problems. Working for cheap rates means a vendor has to do a lot more work to make a living. That means he may tend to rush through jobs, because he needs to get on to the next one. Then when we have to call them back to correct improper work, they won’t want to do it, because their profit is thin, and correcting their work takes time away from other paying jobs. Basically, they often cannot afford to provide quality work, because their prices are too low. Our vendors may not be the cheapest, but they stand by their work and they’re reliable.
In addition to rushed or incomplete work, cheap vendors can’t afford insurance. That means WHEN they fall or get hurt working on your property, they may come after you / your property for compensation. This can be a huge risk to a rental property owner. We use vendors who have insurance. When one of their employees gets hurt on a job, they go after their worker’s comp instead of your property.
Moreover, cheap vendors are often less reliable. When someone calls them for a better paying job, many times they will leave your small job hanging, to go work elsewhere. Or, they may start more jobs than they can handle because they need the money, and then take a long time to finish. They can be difficult to reach, because they’re a “one man show”. Either way, this creates more problems for your tenants, creates more work for the property manager, and can cost you extended vacancy time. All of this results in greater expense for you as the property owner.
Drunk Uncle Bob
Everyone has a Drunk Uncle Bob who will gladly do any job for you and you can pay him on Tuesday. Bluntly, Drunk Uncle Bob is a liability. The question isn’t IF he will cause a problem, but WHEN. No one else wants to put up with him. Your paying customers shouldn’t have to put up with him. We simply won’t put up with him.
Example of the work done by an owner’s buddy
Recently a cleaning service was referred to us by a landlord client. He contacted his buddy for deep cleaning and settled on a price. The level of cleaning needed was discussed, and we also reiterated to the cleaners that deep cleaning was needed with special attention on appliances. Photos below show some of their work. These cleaners left the stove, microwave, and cabinets covered in grease, and the refrigerator was still dirty. This was their version of “deep cleaning”. This is just one example of why property managers don’t want to use your handyman or your cleaners.
We had to send the vendor back to finish the job. Initially they claimed if they kept scrubbing, they would damage the stove. They also said they never pull appliances out to clean them. Now, pulling appliances is a standard part of deep cleaning. Any professional cleaner should know how to clean a stove without damaging it.
You may be thinking, the tenant left the kitchen excessively dirty! They did, but we had a cleaning fee and a deposit. We just needed the cleaning to be done properly. After the second attempt, this cleaning company still left grease caked in the crevices of the stove and under the knobs, and they still hadn’t touched the microwave or cabinets. We had a new tenant scheduled to move in, so we couldn’t afford to wait any longer on this vendor, and got the cleaning finished ourselves.
Happens every time
Every time we have ever tried to work with a client’s handyman or vendor, a problem arises. Either they are hard to reach / unreliable, or they are very slow, or they simply do poor work. Maybe your buddy will be different. But our years of experience say otherwise. This is the answer to the common landlord question: “why won’t property managers use my handyman?” To save you the extra expense of having to correct your buddy’s poor work, we will only use our trusted, vetted vendors from here on. You can hire your buddy to work on your own house where you live 🙂
Our vendors are vetted
After 10+ years of managing Las Vegas rental properties, we have built relationships with reliable vendors who do good work at reasonable prices. If we find an issue, they stand by their work. We have had countless repair and cleaning jobs done over the years. Our vendors treat us fairly because we have steady work for them, and we pay timely. Vendors seek out property managers, and once they’re in, they want to stay on our vendor list. This means we often get better pricing and service than most landlords can get. Bottom line, we know our vendors will provide good service at a fair price. We won’t compromise.