When I'm on the road visiting properties, either for showings or making rounds doing walkthroughs, I've found it frustrating in the past to not have some tools needed to fix quick repairs. I would resort to calling our on-staff maintenance team member and have it addressed. Our maintenance team is very affordable, but it kills me to have a client pay for some simple repairs like a leaky faucet, door knob falling off or not lining up right, bedroom door not closing properly, dryer vent hose fell off, can light came loose, toilet not flushing well, no heating/cooling, the list goes on. Sure no heating or no cooling could be a much bigger issue, but if we're requiring and reminding tenants to be changing filters quarterly the chances of the heating issue being a quick reset on the motherboard or troubleshooting on the thermostat are high.

Knowing I can make a lot of these repairs on my own, I decided to start carrying the necessary tools needed to make quick changes - if I can fix it with the tools in my bag, in about 10 minutes, I don't charge the client. Saves my handyman time to focus on the bigger issues, and keeps money in my client's pocket. I'll share every tool I carry in a handy tool backpack but here's my top 5 you should ask your PM if they carry with them:

1. Drill or screwdriver. Pretty much every problem requires accessing something that's fastened by a screw. I've gotten to the point where I keep one in my bag, one in my truck and a few at home in different spots.

2. Channel locks. Often times, a leaky faucet or drain pipe just needs some minor adjusting. Having the channel locks handy allows you to tighten everything up and mitigate that leak pretty quick. (Bonus if you carry some plumbers tape or a few rubber washers in case some have broken or become old and brittle!)

3. Knife or boxcutter. Square off a drywall hole so you can patch it clean, cut open those hard-to-open plastic packaging for a new lockset you're installing...you can always use a knife.

4. Dust pan and brush. You don't want to be leaving a mess behind you when you leave a tenant's home, leave it cleaner than you when you arrived. Or, show up to check on a contractor's work and realize they didn't clean up good enough to your standards? It's always good to have this handy.

5. Electrical wire pliers. Sometimes you run into old switches or need to change out an outlet or light. I like having these on me to make small electrical work quick and simple.

Those are my top 5 tools I carry and have put to use the most. What do you think? Do your PMs carry tools and do quick fixes for you? Do you think a PM should or shouldn't do these things? Would you rather the handyman just go out and fix it? This should probably be a blog post but I'm curious to hear thoughts here.

Indianapolis, Indiana

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