What a Property Management Virtual Assistant Can Do as Your Maintenance Coordinator

Their responsibilities include conducting routine inspections, coordinating repairs with service providers, and ensuring the property remains in good condition.

Now, imagine these tasks handled by a virtual assistant — a remote worker who manages tasks digitally. Choosing a property management virtual assistant as your maintenance coordinator, they leverage digital tools and technologies to schedule, coordinate, and oversee maintenance activities. While they can't physically conduct maintenance or repairs on a property (since they work remotely), they can be the ideal resource for coordinating repairs and maintenance for all properties under your management.

Whether it's about scheduling routine inspections, contacting service providers, or handling emergency repair situations, your virtual assistant can take care of everything remotely.

Reduce Operational Costs

A significant advantage of hiring a virtual assistant lies in cost-effectiveness. You save on expenses related to office space, utilities, insurance, and other overhead costs associated with a full-time, on-site employee.

You pay solely for the services you need and the hours your virtual contractor works, which can be adjusted according to your demand.

Round-the-Clock Service

Virtual assistants can provide services beyond your standard working hours, ensuring continuous and reliable property maintenance services.

For example, your VA can be available to respond to after-hours maintenance emergencies when a tenant calls or submits a maintenance request online. Virtual team members working in other countries and time zones can be your maintenance resource during their daytime hours when the same hours are "after" hours for you.

Enhance Productivity

Choosing a virtual assistant to manage maintenance tasks gives you more room to concentrate on core business activities.

Your virtual assistant takes care of maintenance requests, schedules inspections, coordinates routine or seasonal maintenance tasks, and handles make-ready coordination, allowing you to focus on strategies to grow and develop your property management business.

• Scheduling Maintenance: Virtual assistants can create and manage a routine maintenance schedule. They ensure every property receives the necessary upkeep and inspections regularly, adhering to both the landlord's and the tenants' convenience.
• Communication: They act as a liaison between landlords, tenants, and service providers. All communication regarding maintenance, whether it's notifying tenants about upcoming inspections or discussing repair issues with contractors, can be handled by the virtual assistant.
• Emergency Situations: Unexpected issues might arise that require immediate attention. In such instances, the virtual assistant can quickly contact the appropriate service providers to handle the situation promptly.
• Cost Tracking: Virtual assistants can keep track of all the costs related to maintenance, providing a clear record of all expenses for review and analysis.

If you thought you needed an in-house or full-time employee to handle these tasks, we hope you're excited to learn that a virtual contractor can be an excellent solution for these tasks with lower payroll costs!

Maintenance Scheduling

The assistant would be responsible for scheduling and overseeing regular maintenance and inspections. The ideal candidate must have excellent project management, calendar management, and organizational skills.

Vendor Relations and Management

The ideal candidate must be able to manage relationships with service providers and ensure high-quality services are provided. This requires good communication, organizational, and problem-solving skills to maintain good relationships and know which vendor to call for specific maintenance issues.

Repair Management

Your virtual property management assistant should be capable of overseeing and managing any repair requests or issues that arise, including emergencies. They should be able to review maintenance requests, talk with tenants about issues, then provide a plan and timeline to repair problems.

Once the plan is approved, they must be able to schedule services and ensure they are completed with high quality to keep tenants and property owners happy.

Cost Management

Managing a maintenance budget is crucial for success in the role of a virtual maintenance assistant.

Make sure the job description includes details about keeping track of all maintenance costs, including creating and updating expense reports, getting estimates for repair and maintenance work, and monitoring costs for each property.

Excellent Communication

Effective maintenance coordination requires good, proactive communication skills. Your virtual team member will act as a point of contact for your team, landlords, tenants, and service providers regarding maintenance matters.

Schedule these weekly and make sure they take place over a video conferencing system (like ZOOM) with cameras on to build a good relationship with your VA.

Additionally, clear task lists and deadlines can ensure productivity. Digital tools, such as project management software, can help track tasks and schedules, like routine maintenance needs for each property under your management. Cloud storage can be utilized for easy document sharing and collaboration.

You'll also want to set goals and expectations (like key performance indicators or KPIs) for your VA to help them succeed in their role. For a maintenance coordinator, good KPIs can include how quickly they respond to tenant requests consistently and finalizing all seasonal maintenance tasks for all properties within a specific timeframe.

They can also coordinate building inspections, manage tenant buildouts, and help keep common areas clean and updated by coordinating with cleaning services and designers.