Rental income is the name of the game to being a successful Landlord. It’s important to have systems in play and quality Dallas property management. All investors know that repair expenses can add up and eliminate profits. This brings a good question to the table. What are the pros and cons of using a home warranty? Well, let’s break it down from a property manager’s point of view.
Pros of Home Warranty Policies
Annual premium rate and low deductibles – Investors are attracted to the fact that they can pay a set fee each year and have their repairs taken care of. For example, if a microwave went out, the insurance carrier would cover the replacement. Same goes for HVAC replacements and freon leaks.
Quick dispatch – When the work order is submitted to the carrier, the vendor is assigned. Scheduling can get a little tricky here with a tenant and multiple parties playing phone tag: Home warranty provider, vendor, tenant and Plano property manager. With more people involved, this can cause serious delay. The pro here is that for the most part, the work order is in motion and the repair is on radar.
Access to quick solution – This is most appealing to many real estate investors. By filing a claim with the carrier, the work gets taken care. They can pass the torch and cross their fingers that everything is going to work out. Not too many people have access to multiple trades on short notice. They like the concept of utilizing the carrier’s network of vendors.
Home warranty policies can save the owner time and money. Especially if they don’t have an alternate solution for repairs. In fact, many owner occupants use these policies.
What’s the Downside?
A successful landlord must look at all angles when it comes to maintenance and repairs. Including what makes the system flow smoothly. Let’s explore the downside of going all in on these policies. It’s important for landlords to utilize the resources of their Dallas property manager. Often times the quick and cost effective solutions are already in the palm of your hand.
Filing the claim
This is a bruiser for property managers. It takes quite a bit of time on the phone. It’s common for these calls to take 30-45 minutes to submit a work order. This is not realistic to expect the property manager to do this with every work order. This creates a strain for the manager.
Assigned subcontractor
The biggest issue here is that the carrier assigns these subs. Neither the property owner or the property manager have a say so in who is getting dispatched to the rental home to do the work. This creates an immediate threat, because we like to know who is going into our homes. We also want to make sure we’re confident that they know what they’re doing.
Communication
Scheduling can be a nightmare on these work order. For example, let’s say the tenant submits a work order that requires three trades: electrical, plumbing and garage door. The carrier will dispatch three different vendors and the tenant will need to make themselves available for three separate appointments. Most likely missing work. Not to mention that if the vendor needs to collect the deductible, the property manager has to be available by phone to pay over the phone with a credit card. Since there is no set schedule, the tenants generally don’t get a clear appointment window and the property manager is not in the loop.
Scope of work
Information is vital on these work orders. If management doesn’t know exactly what happened and what was fixed, it’s difficult to make educated decisions and bill appropriately. This also creates confusion when the charge should be tenant’s responsibility. For example, the dispatched plumber will snake the line to unclog the toilet. Doesn’t relay the information about the plastic toy that was stuck. The landlord is stuck with the bill every time. That’s not fair!
Many tenants grow frustration with these policies. It’s common for tenants to avoid sending maintenance requests, because they don’t want to be bothered with all the moving parts. This causes the property to suffer with maintenance going “under the rug.” The policies are not tenant friendly.
Does your property manager handle repairs? Huntahome does and that’s why we are the leading Dallas Property Manager. We are able to tackle these issues generally in one visit, reduce tenant retention and provide quality handyman repairs. Plus, we collect all the details associated with each repair and take time stamped photos for our owners. You get more value with us, compared to a home warranty policy in the long run. Give Huntahome a shot and contact us today! Explore our full range of property management services. We keep your tenants happy!