All Forum Posts by: Ethan Lieber

Some PMs do markups on invoices anywhere from 5-15%. I spoke with a PM in Silicon Valley that was doing 20% markups on their contractor invoices. Check on that. 

The hourly rate you quoted isn't off base for a good contractor. It is a reasonable price. However, it may be that your PM is sending licensed contractors to do work that a handyman should be doing. You don't need a licensed contractor to touch up paint or nail holes etc. 

@Grant Schroeder There are definitely services that will only manage the maintenance side of things on your rental property. Everything from taking the tenant calls to dispatching a good contractor for work. There are 2 things you want to screen for:

1. Do they do an effective job troubleshooting over the phone? (And are their fees aligned with that incentive?) 

2. Will they be able to screen the difference between an emergency and a standard request? Any good service will immediately respond to an emergency within the budget limit you provide. Standard requests should be sent back to you for approval before being worked on.

@Adrienne McCloud If you're just looking for help with upkeep and don't want to go with a property manager then you may want to consider a 24/7 maintenance solution like Latchel. We help landlords that self manage by coordinating maintenance.

• We give you a dedicated line for your tenants to call
• We diagnose if the issue is an emergency or not
• We troubleshoot the issue with our own team to try and get a fix done over the phone
• We will get a contractor out to the home asap if we can't fix the emergency on the phone
• If it is a standard request, we'll email you and see if you want us to send someone out to fix it

If you think a service like ours would save you time and hassle please reach out. DM me or you can book a time to speak with me here: http://latchel.as.me/ethan

Thanks.

@Courtney Downtain - You may want to consider a 24/7 maintenance solution like Latchel. We help landlords that self manage by coordinating maintenance.

• We give you a dedicated line for your tenants to call
• We diagnose if the issue is an emergency or not
• We troubleshoot the issue with our own team to try and get a fix done over the phone
• We will get a contractor out to the home asap if we can't fix the emergency on the phone
• If it is a standard request, we'll email you and see if you want us to send someone out to fix it

If you think a service like ours would save you time and hassle please reach out. DM me or you can book a time to speak with me here: http://latchel.as.me/ethan

Thanks.

@Felicia Elliott - You may want to consider a 24/7 maintenance solution like Latchel. We help landlords that self manage by coordinating maintenance.

• We give you a dedicated line for your tenants to call
• We diagnose if the issue is an emergency or not
• We troubleshoot the issue with our own team to try and get a fix done over the phone
• We will get a contractor out to the home asap if we can't fix the emergency on the phone
• If it is a standard request, we'll email you and see if you want us to send someone out to fix it

If you think a service like ours would save you time and hassle please reach out. DM me or you can book a time to speak with me here: http://latchel.as.me/ethan

Thanks.

@Corey Jacques You may want to consider a maintenance solution like Latchel. We help landlords that self manage by coordinating maintenance.

• We give you a dedicated line for your tenants to call
• We diagnose if the issue is an emergency or not
• We troubleshoot the issue with our own team to try and get a fix done over the phone
• We will get a contractor out to the home asap if we can't fix the emergency on the phone
• If it is a standard request, we'll email you and see if you want us to send someone out to fix it

If you think a service like ours would save you time and hassle please reach out. DM me or you can book a time to speak with me here: http://latchel.as.me/ethan

Thanks.

Hi Justin. Online portals work well for standard maintenance, but they fall short for emergencies. It may be worth looking at dedicated maintenance solutions like Latchel for emergencies. Tenants get a dedicated line to call in for maintenance. Latchel diagnoses if it is an actual emergency or not, we troubleshoot with real property managers over the phone, and only send out contractors if it is required to fix the emergency.

It protects you 24/7 for emergency maintenance issues and can help stop toilet overflows, burst pipes, etc from becoming severe property damage. Ping me if you're interested in learning about how Latchel's maintenance solution works or grab time on my calendar here: http://latchel.as.me/ethan

Thanks.

Most of the self managed landlords that use Latchel will give out the dedicated number that Latchel provides so all tenant calls are directed to us. This is usually the easiest way to do it since we take all tenant calls for maintenance and will take a message for non-maintenance issues. It also protects you from tenant calls at all hours of the night, workday, or holidays. 

Others will set up TalkRoute. It allows you to put a phone tree onto your cell phone number. For instance, you can set it up so it says, "Press 1 for maintenance, Press 2 for..." and then you can forward each button to a different phone number.

24/7 Tenant Reception and Emergency Maintenance Solution

Instead of waking you up at midnight or interrupting your work day, your tenant calls Latchel. First, we take your tenant through an emergency diagnostic. Then we'll troubleshoot their issue over the phone to prevent an unnecessary visit from a contractor.

If we determine that your tenant is having a true emergency (see details below), we'll dispatch the best contractor for the job. We dispatch within 2 hours and contractors will charge the minimum amount necessary to prevent property damage. We can also dispatch your preferred contractors if you have them.

PROTECTING YOUR BUDGET

We enforce a strict budget for all emergencies. If you want more protection, you have the option to increase your budget limit when you begin services.

What qualifies as an emergency?

Any issue that can cause property damage or is a legal obligation to fix because of tenant habitability is considered an emergency.

- Leaks that could cause property damage

- No functioning toilets in the house

- No heat in cold weather (under 45F; 55F if young children, elderly, or sick people are present)

- No AC in hot weather (over 95F; 85F if young children, elderly, or sick people are present)

- Security and safety issues (broken windows, open doors)

- Electrical outages (not caused by power company) and loss of power to medical equipment

STOP TAKING TENANT CALLS

How much productivity goes down the drain when you don't get a good night's sleep? You should be focusing on business and your life, not waking up in the middle of the night to handle maintenance emergencies.

PRICING

After-Hours Service: $25 + $0.50 per Unit/Home

24/7 Service: $25 + $1 per Unit/Home

I welcome you to sign up for a meeting to see if Latchel can fit your needs by going here: http://latchel.as.me/ethan. Lets work together to make your rental properties easier to manage. 

Thank you so much for all your help and support. I can’t tell you how much we appreciate it. I look forward to continuing to share Latchel with you and appreciate you telling the world!