Providing the information to keep nearly 40,000,000 Americans living in Common Interest Real Estate and giving free information to another 80,000,000 Home Owners..
Providing the information to keep nearly 40,000,000 Americans living in Common Interest Real Estate and giving free information to another 80,000,000 Home Owners..
Some owners and tenants in condominiums and co-op style housing debate over whether they should have an on site full time maintenance person, or outsource the maintenance of their buildings and grounds. This page is to provide the reader with the reasons why I believe in the benefits of an onsite full time maintenance person. Of course size and location of the property play an intregal part in the decision of whether a full time maintenance man is needed, but i feel that any dwelling with more than 30 units probably need the services of someone on call at least eight hours a day, and in the case of an emergency can be called upon day or night to deal with a serious problem, either by fixing the problem themselves or have the skill to swiftly coordinate trades people to come in and rectify the problem.
All co-ops and condominium developments have the problem of maintaining their buildings and grounds. Maintenance is ongoing and the better you manage the process the less likely you are to have it get on top of you and the less likely you'll have a huge problem and the associating bill to deal with. Employing a full time maintenance man can seem an expensive option, however what this does is help to keep you on top of any situation that may arise, and a full time employee is not as expensive as you may think. Their wage is lower than a self employed contractor, there is no call-out fee and a good maintenance man is multi skilled. Therefore he be can called on to do painting, minor plumbing, carpentry, tiling, service the hot water and airconditioning systems,as well as mow the grass and tend the pool. The maintenance person should also have good record keeping skills, which is presented to the body corp at their meetings. Saving a huge amount of time for the body corp.
A good way to maintain safe security in buildings and grounds is to have Video Surveillance. Places such as banks, shops and even your ones own household can be safely cared too with video surveillance protection.
Good maintenance procedure Includes weekly and daily activities. With good planning, the workload does not vary that much provided the maintenance man has a disciplined approach and a good preventive maintenance system.Good relations, harmony and a friendly environment in a condominium, co-op or even the community as a whole can be attributed to good maintenance work, and this includes such essential things as clean and safe common areas. An alert fellow resident on spotting something amiss, such as broken glass, a loose tile or slippery step have no need to wait for the next body corp meeting to inform of a posible danger if there is a maintenance man on call. In fact they have an obligation to can contact him immediately, ensuring a speedy rectification, or to take the measures to ensure safety, and in these days of litigation this could save the tenants and owners a fortune in settlements and penalties, not to mention hefty lawyer bills. Remember in a co-op or condo "one in all in" unless you can prove negligence on someone elses behalf, 'cause you can rest assured your insurance company will be looking for someone to blame before they pay out.
If you have ever tried to get a tradesperson to come quickly lately you will realise that there is a present and will be a future shortage of skilled trades people, a potentially dangerous situation left increases the chances of an accident thereby increasing the chance of litigation. An on site maintenance person can be very cost effective in these cicumstances.
Common interest development - HOME
Keep the peace
Contract Basics
Surviving the Noise.
The Right Stuff, Not the least expensive
Living without Utilities
Deliberate Decisions/Painless Changes.
Dealing with Dust
Keeping Track of Money.
Drainage
Noisy Plumbing
Toilet Problems
Roots and Sewers
Cladding Alert
Carpenter Ants
Changing Locks