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RoseM9 (Texas)
Posts: 22
Posted:
Hello All,

In late 2021, we began managing a townhouse community with full-time maintenance workers.

This is a first for me, and I'm curious how other managers interact and assist maintenance.

We have a shared document work order spreadsheet in Google Docs. Management received work orders from homeowners, or during property visits, and uploads to the spreadsheet.

The crew is also responsible for routine maintenance of gutter cleaning, soffit repair, etc., which used to be on a set schedule of 1-2 buildings per month for several years until about 2017. They also manage many irrigation repairs.

Do you allow maintenance some autonomy and trust that their work is complete when they say it is? Do you inspect most, or all, work on a weekly or monthly basis?

Thank you

KerryL1 (California)
Posts: 14,550
Posted:
MY high rise HOA's contract with our Management Co. (MC) states that the property mgr. (PM) manages/supervise the custodians, security officers, building engineers, who are full-time, and all other vendors, e.g., landscapers, gym equipment maintenance, pool-care guy, etc. To the Board here, this means inspecting their work from time to time. We have full-time onsite PM and his mgr. asst. The contract requires the PM to conduct a monthly inspection of the premises form the roof tops to P-3.

Is your PM full-time on the premises? What size is the community? Are any staff employees of the assn.?
RoseM9 (Texas)
Posts: 22
Posted:
Hi KerryL1,

Thank you for your email. I think it comes down to us meeting with maintenance weekly or bi-weekly and help them schedule priorities. Right now, they are constantly spending time "putting out fires", or bending to the residents who voice complaints the loudest and/or pull them aside to prioritize work in their area.

Only the maintenance workers are FT on the property. Property manager visits once per month for a property inspection, and meets with vendors, etc., several times throughout the month.

150 units. 30 buildings.

KerryL1 (California)
Posts: 14,550
Posted:
There are some community managers here and I hope they'll respond. Meanwhile, I'll ask, what does this assn. board expect of you? What is in the contract?

I think I'd want to the Board to support your PM by somehow making a policy that residents leave the maintenance folks alone. IF maintenance ppl are employees of the Board, I think the MC should lean hard on the board to support the maintenance ppl. The Board, for instance, can instruct, via you, maintenance to instruct residents to direct all requests through the PM, or a work order form on the web site.

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