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Kelly Scanlon2 Posts
Maintenance Tips for Navigating the COVID-19 Pandemic
A willingness to adapt processes, communicate clearly and seek opportunities are keys to remaining successful in the age of COVID-19. Investing in rental property is a great way to diversify your portfolio and build wealth. But, real estate investing is not for the faint of heart. This is especially true right now as we navigate the COVID pandemic. What has the pandemic changed about rental property management? One major area of property management that has seen significant change is maintenance. This is probably the most common issue that keeps owners up at night and the No. 1 reason why residents opt not to renew their lease. Handling Maintenance The pandemic only adds to the importance of handling any maintenance request—whether routine, urgent or an emergency—quickly, efficiently and safely. Have you outlined a process and communicated it to your team, tenants and vendors? Here is some key information you should be adding to your work orders: Asking vendors and residents (or anyone in their home) to adviseif they are symptomatic or have come in contact with anyone who has been exposed to the virus. If so, the work needs to be rescheduled or reassigned. Recommending that residents and vendors wear face coverings whenever possible during their appointment. Communication is key and is critical. Essential Repair Requests Under “normal” circumstances, repair requests are submitted, evaluated and scheduled to be completed. In our current environment, not all repair requests are created equal. Today, when a repair request is submitted, what steps are you taking to determine whether the request can be delayed for a period or if it is time sensitive? Determining this goes beyond simply deciding what is a maintenance emergency. Having a checklist of questions you can ask the resident about the repair is critical to determining the level of urgency. Your team should be equipped with this list when communicating with residents to ensure all repair requests are being handled in the same manner. Sharing the list with residents is beneficial as well. Communication and clarity are key at any time, but they become even more critical during times of uncertainty. Communicating with residents about how your maintenance process has changed can help alleviate their frustration, minimize additional work for you and your team, and reduce stress for all involved. Asking residents to provide photos or a video of the issue can also help you diagnose the repair. Adding this step may help reduce the number of times someone needs to access the home, which can result in more trip charge costs and inconvenience to the resident. Tracking Delayed Maintenance Delays in maintenance create yet another process you must manage. Remember, delayed maintenance does not mean it isn’t necessary. Rather it’s an issue that can wait for a period of time without causing additional damage to the property or harm to the resident. You can strengthen whatever method you use to create, dispatch and track work orders if you add a process that signifies the priority level (emergency, urgent, essential, delayed) of the repair request. This gives you the ability to monitor repair requests and their status through completion. Make sure the method you use to track submitted repairs includes procedures for delayed repairs so they don’t get overlooked. That will only frustrate the resident and cause the repair to become more substantial and costly. Property Inspections Inspections are an essential part of rental property management, whether they are move-in, move-out, interim (or mid-lease), lease renewal, quality control (after major maintenance repairs or turns). These inspections are necessary for a variety of reasons. Property inspection operations have typically been handled in person with both the resident and a representative of the homeowner present. Updating your inspections to follow a no-contact process is a great way to ensure you are still protecting the property and the resident while adjusting to the current environment. No-contact inspections are fairly easy to achieve with properties that are vacant. For example, as you complete a move-in inspection, provide a copy to the resident and allow for a short window of time (perhaps 48 hours) after the lease start date to allow them to report any issues not noted on the inspection. Please note, this does not mean you are in agreement that the issue was there and missed, but it does give the resident an opportunity to be a part of the move-in process, which helps them protect their security deposit later. Similarly, when a tenant moves out, be sure to provide move-out instructions/guidance on ways they can help ensure the return of their security deposit. These instructions can include the expectations of property condition upon move out; instructions for the return of keys, amenity access items, garage remotes, etc.; and a way to report the property condition back to you upon vacating the home. This does not eliminate a move-out inspection being completed on behalf of the homeowner, but again, it allows the tenant an opportunity to help ensure refund of their security deposit. To avoid delays with occupied inspections or skipping occupied inspections altogether, create a process where the resident completes the inspection. This process can include steps as simple as requesting various photos of the home to providing an inspection form for the resident to complete and return. As with anything else, communication and consistency are critical. Letting residents know that you are changing your process to help ensure their safety will put their mind at ease and help ensure cooperation. Provide the resident with the details of your request and a reasonable amount of time for the return of the information. There is no doubt the COVID pandemic has been very stressful for homeowners, residents and property managers alike. However, in any crisis situation, there is also opportunity. The pandemic has been an incredible learning experience, teaching us that we need to be nimble and willing to change as needed. Believe it or not, there is plenty of opportunity surrounding property management right now if you are paying attention. There
Save Loan Denials With Trio
SPONSORED Wouldn’t it be great to be able to close a loan for your customer even if they are denied? Sounds too good to be true! But now you can through Trio’s OwnOption Mortgage. Three years ago, Trio launched its OwnOption Mortgage product with a select group of lenders with the sole purpose of responsibly expanding access to credit. Today, lenders across the country are lining up to take advantage of this innovative program. Through Trio, lenders now have access to a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) lease-purchase mortgage product they can originate when a customer is denied. Trio’s affiliates qualify as borrowers under a special program with FHA. Lenders originate a simplified FHA mortgage to Trio’s affiliates and distribute through its partnered FHA issuer and servicer, Land Home Financial Services. Customers then sign a lease-purchase agreement with Trio and take occupancy just like a traditional mortgage. One hundred percent financing is available down to a 580 credit score. The program has no maximum income limits. After customers take occupancy, they have up to three years to finish qualifying. Trio’s HUD-approved counseling agency (Money Management International) provides 24 months of counseling to assist. Once customers are ready, Trio provides down payment assistance covering the required down payment and closings costs. Customers can assume the original FHA OwnOption Mortgage or, if rates have gone down, use a new mortgage to purchase their home from Trio. “From late-stage denials to expanding our third-party origination channel, Land Home Financial has partnered with Trio and its OwnOption Mortgage Program,” says Mark Sheridan, senior vice president of Third-Party Origination. “Lenders, brokers, builders, agents and sellers benefit from a successful closing that would have otherwise resulted in a loss. But, to see customers that were denied for a mortgage returning to our closing offices to become homeowners is very satisfying and proof that Trio’s system works.” And now, Trio has created an online ‘Rules Engine’ that simplifies and automates the process for lenders. According to Land Home Financial Services, Trio’s Rules Engine qualified over 40% of its denied mortgages into an OwnOption Mortgage. Imagine sitting with a customer and realizing they will likely be denied and then being able to offer a ‘back up plan’ that assures them of a path to homeownership. Sheridan, says, “This is a game changer for originators when working with potential homeowners. It expands originations as well as saves deals.” Trio is a finance company based in Bellevue, Washington, that has been offering affordable lease-purchase programs for nearly 20 years. Most industry professionals shy away from lease-purchase programs because most overpromise and underdeliver. What makes Trio different is that each home comes with a single-family mortgage and a fixed purchase price, making ownership affordable. Darryl Lewis, managing director and founder of Trio, is very proud when he tells us, “Trio has over a 70% success rate of transitioning its customers into homeowners.” Needless to say, Trio’s OwnOption Mortgage is a safe alternative for customers having a difficult time getting into a traditional home loan. “Trio’s OwnOption Mortgage was created to bridge the gap between renting and owning, for those who aren’t able to initially qualify for a traditional mortgage,” says Lewis. “Our mission is to create homeowners through responsible innovation. Everything we do goes back to that idea.” Trio’s OwnOption Mortgage helps potential homeowners ranging from first-time buyers to recent college graduates to those with student loans or jobs in the gig economy. An OwnOption Mortgage is also a wonderful option for those lacking a down payment, small business owners, those recovering from a financial or medical setback as well as renters wishing to become homeowners. Lenders have used OwnOption Mortgages to save late stage denials, bridge qualification gaps due to changes in employment, relocation, down payment seasoning and have rescued new construction sales with homebuilders. Sheridan further comments, “Lenders big and small are now using this unique product to expand qualifications and cure deals helping to expand relationships with agents and builders.” Trio and its industry partners have engineered the ‘holy grail of home finance’ that unlocks a new door to homeownership, providing the industry with a new way to originate a mortgage for customers that are nearly qualified, but not yet ready for a direct mortgage. Trio truly provides a win-win-win for all parties involved. iBuyers, homebuilders and single-family rental investors are also working with Trio. Trio pays market pricing for existing rental homes with tenants that may want to convert to homeownership through its OwnOption Mortgage product. Trio purchases in bulk or singles from these investors and offers its lease-purchase program to existing tenants. “Our mission with our investor purchase program is to return affordable homes that were swept up after the housing crisis back to homeownership” says Lewis. Trio is currently offered in California, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Colorado and Georgia. “We will be expanding very quickly in 2020 to more states” according to the business development director Aaron Tuttle. “There is a lot of demand for this program, and we are excited to partner with our government housing agencies to bring Trio to potential homeowners in those states.” The Trio Rules Engine will be broadly available at the end of the first quarter of 2020. Lenders who are interested in learning more about Trio’s OwnOption Mortgage or signing up to participate can inquire at the Trio industry website, www.trioresidential.com/lender. “With our Rules Engine launching this year,” said Lewis, “originators everywhere will have a streamlined way to save loan denials and help more people break out of rentership to become homeowners. Everybody wins.”
