Today we are discussing why professional property managers hate working with home warranties. When you add a third party to your management relationship, it tends to cause coordination issues and it also has a habit of doubling the cost of taking care of your property.
Home warranty companies have so many limits on their coverage that you’re often charged for a service call just to find out that the repair is not covered. After that time and money has been wasted, the property manager will still need to coordinate your repair. This might confuse and alienate your tenant.
A major flaw with home warranties is that they do not provide an acceptable turnaround time, especially when it comes to emergency repairs. When a property manager handles an emergency at your property, it gets taken care of right away, whereas a home warranty company will take days just getting the repair scheduled. In the meantime, further damage could be occurring at your property and landlord laws can be violated if the home is not habitable for your tenant.
Another problem is that home warranty service personnel do not understand which repairs should be charged back to the tenant. It will cost you money you don’t need to spend.
These are some of the good reasons why property managers are not fans of home warranties. It might work for an owner/occupant but it rarely achieves what you’re trying to accomplish in a rental property that has a tenant. The most litigated section of the Landlord Tenant Act is maintenance, so you want to make sure these issues are handled properly.
A professional property manager will keep your costs as low as possible and review vendors’ work. They’ll charge tenants for their own mistakes and damage, and all of your charges will be reflected on your owner’s statement, keeping things simple at tax time. Professional property managers will respond to your tenants quickly and efficiently, resulting in lower turnover rates.
Vendors hired by property managers are normally trained in lease requirements and will let us know if they find something wrong at a property. This allows us to respond accordingly and again potentially save you a lot of money.
If you are considering buying a home warranty, think again and call your property manager. You can also contact us at Solutions Realty Network for more information.
