Deciding on the Best Vendors for your Property Maintenance
As you grow your property management portfolio through the years, you will come to find that you will need a carefully selected team of contractors and vendors to help with any maintenance issues, repairs or projects that come up. The process can be very daunting when you have no idea where to start looking and what to look for in a dependable contractor and company. However, you will find after you find that perfect fit for the job, you have much less to stress about, since you have a go-to company for your needs and have developed a great professional relationship with them.
It’s a good idea when preparing for a large project to put some extra time into researching the best company or vendor to do the job. This requires you to call around to at least 3-5 different vendors to see what services they provide, what the costs associated would be and the time frame of the project completion. Once you have narrowed down the list a bit, you then should research what their experience with other projects has been like. You can do some internet digging and find reviews for their work to see if they have good reviews or bad. You should always check multiple sources for the reviews, such as Google, Facebook, and Yelp. This will ensure a have a well-rounded answer for the company’s track record.
Once you have verified that the reviews are upstanding, you can still reach out and request the company to provide references from their current/past clientele. This way you will hear firsthand how the company’s customer service is and can ask any questions about their work. This may seem like a lot when looking for a company, but when you are hiring someone to do a major project on your property, you want to ensure that you are making a well-informed decision.
After finally selecting a vendor that you would like to move forward with, you need to ensure that they have the proper licensing and insurance. This step is vital in protecting your company and property in case an accident or incident happens while they are completing work. When the company provides you with their Certificate of Insurance, it should name your company as additionally insured and as the Certificate Holder and should be current with the current date frame.
When you have all the necessary licensing, insurance, bids, and paperwork, you should have a timeframe set up for the project and should be ready to start work. It is a great idea to have the bid or quote state when the completion date is set for, so that there is written documentation of this, as well. During this time, it is important for you and your contractor to maintain regular and open communication so that you are aware of the progression of the project from start to completion.
After the job is completed at your approval, and payment has been made, you have the choice to decide whether this is a company that you would like to work with in the future. Sometimes the work that was completed requires regular maintenance, such as HVAC units or parking lot repairs. If you were satisfied with the work the contractor you hired did, you may choose to start some sort of maintenance schedule so that you are all set when the next time comes around for maintenance. This saves so much time, since you have already researched, collected documents, and worked with this company.
Finding the best fit for your company can be a consuming task at first, but once you become established with a company, you will have much less to stress and worry about. As always, it’s important to do your research so that you protect your company and your property while maintenance is being done. Going this extra mile will safeguard your company and property.