Building maintenance costs

[Ron Fiscus]

I would like  to discuss how other owners are dealing with maintenance.  I currently have 50 units in Anchorage, Alaska.  I find that $65 per hour for maintenance work is fairly common.  Rents don't support paying a maintenance guy $65 per hour.  What are other owners doing for maintenance and how much are they paying per hour?  At what point can you justify hiring someone for maintenance, if ever when you consider all the headaches and extra effort to have employees, and the stress of keeping them busy and enough hours to keep them happily employed?  I can go on and on regarding this topic because I have tried a few ideas but still struggling with this issue.  I can also give plenty of examples of issues I'm having.  This is causing my growth potential to stall at the moment. 

Thank you,

Ron