Maintenance

Love it or hate it maintenance is part of managing your portfolio! 

It may seem common sense but having a list of reliable contractors is an essential part of your tool kit. Rather than just one person it is worth having a number of contacts in your armoury to cover each trade and try to build a relationship with your contractor, wherever possible so that you are not just a number in their phone. 

Personal recommendations are the gold standard  and even better if your contact has previously used the contractor themselves. This is where networking comes into its own by asking around.

Over the last few years it has become more difficult to find reliable contractors. This doesn't seem to be unique to one geographical area and adds to the frustration of booking people and  getting work completed in a timely fashion. 

Whether you are using a spreadsheet or property management software making sure you store as much detail about each contractor is essential and trying to grow it, as well as keep it updated.

Each client I work with I focus on developing a list of preferred contractors and also build a rapport with them. Nobody wants to be bottom of the list when an emergency situation arises.

​Of course paying promptly once the work is completed also helps to ensure that they will work for you again.