In a new survey of 700 rental property owners across the country, maintenance, repairs and replacement continues to be the biggest stressor overall for property owners and managers, according to Buildium.com. Overall 61% of respondents reported maintenance and repairs as stressful, compared to 62% last year, according to the survey.
“It is clear property owners are struggling with both maintenance and tenant management,” Darcy Jacobsen, content manager at Buildium.com said during the webinar about the property owners perspective survey. “If you are an owner and you are struggling with these issues you are not alone.
“If you are a property manager these are things you might want to bring up when you are trying to win more business, or emphasize in your marketing materials, or when you are talking to owners,” Jacobson said.
Top 3 Biggest Stressors for Property Owners and Managers
- Maintenance, repairs and replacements
- Dealing with problem tenants
- Finding and keeping good tenants
Dealing With Problem Tenants Now No. 2
While maintenance scored as the top stressor, three out of owners’ four top complaints were solidly in the area of tenant management.
Last year, ‘finding and keeping tenants’ came in a very close second (58%). This year it dropped to number 3 – (49%). It swapped spots with ‘dealing with problem tenants’, which is now number 2 – (52%). ‘Tenant damage and vandalism’ came in fourth place this year (38%).
The take-away here seems clear.
Maintenance woes scored highest on their own, but three out of owners’ four top complaints were solidly in the area of tenant management. In fact, you have to go very deep into the list to find additional maintenance-related issues – such as pest management and severe weather, which tied at 6%.
Breaking Down the Top Maintenance Issues
When Buildium.com broke down the top maintenance issues in the survey, to highlight problems that have hit owners and property managers the worst in recent years, roofing, painting, foundations and landscaping came to the top.
Maintenance upkeep costs were clearly at the top with “bad tenants” right behind, so “no wonder then when we asked owners why they might look for a property manager, 60% told us their top reason was maintenance,” Buildium.com said in the survey.
Owners said in the survey, “I would like someone else to deal with maintenance and emergencies,” was the top answer. And, 52 percent said managing property day-to-day is too time consuming.”
Property owners were 54% men and 46% women, according to the survey.
Buildium said in the survey that, “As a rental property owner, whether you are a strategic investor or someone who has fallen more unexpectedly into ownership, you are probably curious about the experience of others.
- How are they keeping property ownership profitable and enjoyable?
- What are their best practices?
Or perhaps you are a property manager looking for insights on what owners care about most.
- How can you connect with them?
- What are their expectations from property management and ownership?
To get the full 2017 Property Owners Perspective Report, go to
www.buildium.com/resource/2017-property-owners-perspectives-report/.
RentalHousingJournal.com, an interactive community of multifamliy investors, independent rental home owners, residential property management professionals and other rental housing & real estate professionals, is the most comprehensive source for news and information for the rental housing industry. This website features exclusive articles and blogs on real estate investing, apartment market trends, property management best practices, landlord tenant laws, apartment marketing, maintenance and more. Reprinted with permission.