1) Line up Quality Vendors. Talk is cheap but quality is priceless. Watch for vendors that care and are into what they do. Craftsmanship may seem a lost art but it does still exist.
2) Keep prices competitive. Paying more doesn’t mean you will get a better job anymore. Once upon a time it did. It still can but it is rare.
3) Encourage their performance. When you do find quality, value their work with more work and appropriate pay. Recognize extra efforts. Give them opportunities to bid for other jobs.
4) They must understand that results are not an option. We must understand that results are not an option. Our employers certainly understand that results are not an option. Our customers hope that results are not an option.
5) Line up jobs and line up bids. List all the most common repairs needed at your property and develop plans of action. Recognize the jobs that will cost you much less time, effort and money, to do in house. Determine which jobs will save you the most time, energy, and money to vend out. Make sure you are getting apples to apples bids. The more you understand about needed repairs, the easier time you will have developing a plan. The better plans you develop the easier you can communicate it to your vendors. The better you communicate the better chance your vendors will have of meeting your expectations.
6) Keep a running wish list for capital improvements.
7) Research better solutions for the problems that plague you. Develop a jig if possible or a template to make jobs that must be repeated much easier.
8) Keep a running list of supplies and parts needed. This way when you do order parts and supplies, you don’t forget anything.
9) Develop and Implement the best preventative maintenance program you can. When you prevent things from going wrong in bulk, life becomes so much easier. Developing an understanding of the challenges at your property and building up solutions will save you countless headaches.
Experience can be tough but when you learn from it difficulty will be less on in. Think strategically. Recycle your tough experiences into hitting first where it counts.
~~~ Gain Some Nice Ground ~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~ Kung Fu Maintenance ~~~~~~~~~~~