Establishing Relationship with Contractors

While tenants are the bread and butter of the assets you're managing, as property manager, they are not the only people you have to be concerned about. Like how you deal with tenants through meetings, it is important to communicate with your contractors as well. They are key entities to the performance of your property. Be it major or minor glitches, these people are the ones on the rescue.

The fundamental principle once you take over a property is to have it under control as soon as possible. But it is not uncommon for a property manager to take over an asset that has damages overlooked by the previous administrator. Contractors are very much needed in cases like this. They know the ins and outs of the building, and can give you a better overview of how it was run before, as well as all kinds of maintenance problems that has occured in the past. It's also important to dig out previous supporting documents.

So let's get down to the basic maintenance concerns that you have to tackle with your contractors. These are air conditioning, cleaning, electrical, gardening, general merchandise, lifts, lightings, plumbing and stormwater, security, structural, toilets and bathrooms, and finally, rubbish removal.

These are only the basic. Depending on the kind of property, there could be more. Ask the tenants and contractors in order to gain further picture of the property's history. Also, look up the financials of the building in the past few years, as well as itemized expenses histories. They may contain names of key contractors that has worked in the building before.

Among all other factors, maintenance contractors are the best to provide you valuable building informations. Should you decide to change contractors, be sure to dig up the history of the building to match them with new service contracts and response methods in case the same problems arise. As property manager, you’re free to consider contractors your best friends in case of maintenance problems.