- Tenants
- Process
When the repair clock starts: the tenant’s notice
Most state repair deadlines count from the tenant’s notice. What counts as notice in 12 states, who it goes to, and what to log when a request arrives.
· 5 min read
Work order process
Every request has an owner Until it closes
Posts for property managers on moving a work order from request to close: confirming the repair, following up when a job stalls and catching the repair that keeps coming back. Start with the work order guide and the template.
Start here
Start with these two Then read the posts
- The work order process, from request to closeThe six stages of a maintenance request, from the tenant’s message to the closed work order: who owns each, where it gets stuck and what keeps it moving.
- Work order templateA work order template for rentals: request, priority, access, spend limit, vendor, visit, proof of the fix and the tenant’s confirmation in one record.
Posts
Every post on this topic
- Tenants
- Process
Mold after a leak in a rental: the first 48 hours decide the bill
Why the first 24 to 48 hours after a leak decide whether a rental gets mold, what to throw away, when to call a pro and what to log on the work order.
· 5 min read
- Owners
- Process
The monthly owner maintenance report: what to send and why
What a monthly maintenance report to a property owner should cover, how to split repairs from improvements, and a one-page layout you can reuse.
· 4 min read
- Process
- Vendors
AppFolio work orders: what the Work Done button can’t tell you
How a maintenance request moves through AppFolio, from the resident’s request to the vendor’s Work Done button, and the follow-up your team still carries.
· 4 min read
- Process
- Vendors
Buildium tasks or work orders: which record holds the follow‑up
Buildium splits a repair into a task and a work order. What each one holds, from the resident’s request to the bill, and the follow-up left to your team.
· 3 min read
- Process
- Vendors
Rentvine work orders: what the settings automate, and what they leave to you
The Rentvine settings that assign, notify and move a work order on their own, from the tenant portal to the vendor’s close, and the follow-up left to you.
· 3 min read
- Process
- Vendors
Rent Manager service issues: what Resolved means, and who checks it
A Rent Manager service issue from New to Resolved: memorized issues, checklists and the Make Ready Board, and the follow-up a status can’t do for you.
· 3 min read
- Process
- Vendors
Propertyware work orders: several vendors on one job, and who keeps it moving
One Propertyware work order can carry several vendors, a comment thread and bills. Who keeps the job moving between trades, and the follow-up left to you.
· 3 min read
- Vendors
- Process
How to follow up with a vendor who isn’t responding: a cadence that works
A follow-up schedule for vendors who go quiet: when to nudge, what each text says, when to move the job to your backup and how to keep the tenant posted.
· 7 min read
- Tenants
- Process
Tenant maintenance communication: the texts that cut follow‑up calls
Six short texts to send tenants at each step of a repair, with timing rules and wording, so fewer of them call back to ask what is happening.
· 7 min read
- Process
- After hours
Answering service vs maintenance coordination: what each one handles
An answering service picks up the call. Coordination books the vendor, follows up and closes the work order. What each covers and what to ask first.
· 7 min read
- Process
- Vendors
- Tenants
How to confirm a repair is done before you close the work order
How to check a repair really happened before you close the work order: what to ask the vendor, one text to the tenant and proof to ask for by repair type.
· 7 min read
- Vendors
- Process
Repeat repairs on rental property: how to spot them and stop them
How to tell when the same maintenance problem keeps coming back to a unit, what to check before you send anyone, and when to call the vendor back.
· 8 min read
- Owners
- Process
Maintenance markups and coordination fees in management agreements
Three ways property managers charge for coordinating repairs, how to write each into the management agreement, and why owners care most about disclosure.
· 7 min read
- Tenants
- Process
Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in rentals: placement, testing and replacement
Where smoke and CO alarms go in a rental, how often to test them and when to replace them, from NFPA and CPSC guidance, plus the chirping alarm call.
· 5 min read
Also on this topic
Guides, templates and terms that go with it
- GuideHow to evaluate maintenance coordination software or service
- GuideMake-ready and turnover: getting a unit rent-ready between tenants
- GuideBuilding a vendor bench: scorecards, response targets and backups
- GuideThe tenant maintenance request process, from first text to closed
- GuideMaintenance KPIs: what to measure and how to count it
- GuideA preventive maintenance plan for rental properties
- GuideOnboarding vendors: W-9, insurance and expectations
- TemplateVendor scorecard
- TemplateTenant maintenance request form
- TemplateMake-ready checklist
- TemplatePreventive maintenance checklist
- GlossaryFirst-time fix rate
- GlossaryResponse time vs resolution time
- GlossaryWork order
- GlossaryMaintenance request
- GlossaryTriage
- GlossaryScope of work
- GlossaryPunch list
- GlossaryPreventive maintenance
- GlossaryDeferred maintenance
- GlossaryMake-ready
Read up Then hand the chasing to Ours