Tradies: Help or Hinder?

After a recent trade nightmare of my own, I started thinking about the tradespeople we use in our property management businesses. More specifically, I thought about how often we receive calls from screaming tenants when tradies don’t call, don’t turn up or leave because they don’t have the right equipment for the job!

Do you experience first hand what your tenants experience and, if not, do you ask your tenants about their experiences?

In property management, we rely heavily on the expertise of people to help maintain the properties we have under management, so why don’t we check for reliability, cleanliness, affordability and quality of work?

Nothing beats a trade who turns up on time, takes off their shoes at the door, does the work for a quoted or agreed price limit and asks the tenant if they have an other minor issues relating to that trade while they are at the property to save any future call outs!

So how do we ensure this is how our trades conduct their business while working with your properties?

Set up a trade contract, outlining all the expectations for their work, insurances, timeline, cost limitations and reporting, as well as your commitment to payment timelines and frequencies. Then have each of your trades sign these contracts before they commence working with you.

A great tradie is worth their weight in gold and setting expectations early can be the start of a beautiful working relationship, resulting in a more streamline process for you, more work for them and happier tenants!

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