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Guardian Asset Management

The First Line of Defense in Property Preservation By Carole VanSickle Ellis When Jerry Mavellia and Dan Leader, CEO and COO for Guardian Asset Management, respectively, formed their company in 2007, they did so with the knowledge that there was going to be an increase in foreclosures and defaults that would necessitate their services. “There was a real need for repairing and restoring properties as well as preserving and preparing them for resale,” said Mavellia, who had founded his first asset management company specializing in property preservation in 1995. After selling that company, Mavellia and Leader teamed up to create Guardian Asset Management in order to provide the housing industry with what they describe as “a forward thinking, client-centric national inspection, maintenance, and repair company.” “Property preservation is not easy,” Leader noted. “You do not get to pick and choose property location, and we function as ‘first responders’ when distressed assets come into inventory.” With a cumulative experience in excess of 50 years, Leader and Mavellia were perfectly suited to the challenge. In 2007 alone, lenders started foreclosure proceedings on 1.3 million properties, and another 2.3 million entered the pipeline in 2008. When a property enters foreclosure, asset preservation specialists are entrusted with the care of the outside and, in some cases, inside of the property — even if it is occupied in some cases. In the mid-2000s, not many companies were equipped to handle the volume and severity of the onslaught of foreclosures that hit lenders’ books all at once. Guardian Asset emerged in time to work closely with government agencies, servicers, large and small banks. The company set as its “true mission” the development of client-centric partnerships. “This mission is both rewarding and, at times, challenging,” Leader acknowledged. “We have taken over some areas that our predecessors had found to be tough markets, and we were proud to help make those communities better places to live,” he said. “We are not just serving our clients; we are serving and restoring communities by helping preserve properties for resale and improving the overall value of local real estate.” Treating Clients as Partners in the Process One of the benefits of being in the business of property preservation for decades is a clearer view of the real estate and lending industries that newer entrants to the sector cannot leverage. Leader explained that at Guardian Asset, all employees prioritize the relationships between company and client. “We do not look at ourselves as vendors,” he said. “It is a true partnership.” This partnership element means that Guardian Asset incorporates a dedicated client service team and client performance metrics into its own evaluative processes when dealing with daily operations. “We play an integral part in the success of our clients’ operations, so we prioritize hitting deliverables, helping them achieving favorable ratings on servicing scorecards, and assist clients navigate the evolution of requirements from federal agencies, banks, and other lenders,” Mavellia said. “We are so much more than just being the vendor that cuts the grass and takes out the trash.” Asset preservation, when applied to the concept of real estate, is certainly far more than boarding up a few windows or changing the locks on an abandoned property. It can also involve performing inspections on a property, winterizing it or protecting it from severe weather, estimating and managing repairs, and ongoing maintenance work. Lenders and others holding real estate as collateral rely on property preservation specialists to help them keep assets in good condition so that they retain or rise in value and may ultimately be marketed and sold in order to redeem the money lost on the nonperforming loan. “It requires a certain mindset from everyone in the company,” Leader said. “Our workforce needs to have the mindset that we are going to step in and take action to make the properties safe and secure so they can be marketed to the general public all while adhering to regulations put forth by government agencies and local municipalities.” This mindset also requires serious attention to detail, as banking regulations and the expectations of lenders have become much tougher since the housing and mortgage crises. “Quality reporting and documenting the work we perform has certainly become a focus in the industry,” he said. Part of treating clients like partners in the preservation process involves sending out only the best and most reliable service providers to those clients’ properties. Unlike most property preservation service providers, Guardian Asset maintains its own field crews of W-2 employees in key positions within the United States. Mavellia and Leader view the move as a demonstration of their commitment to clients and quality control, calling it “an insurance policy for our clients” because they are committed to having staff in “high-touch areas” and high-volume areas. “We are not just passing orders down to other contractors or vendors,” Mavellia explained. “We know who is at a property and what services they are providing. Having our W-2 guys in the marketplace is another layer of risk mitigation and protection.” Combining Service, Experience & Technology With an eye toward risk mitigation and reliability, Guardian Asset has incorporated innovative technology into its processes. The company uses a full-service property management platform with both client and vendor portals to optimize transparency and create a smooth management environment in the process. “We have a dashboard reporting module that enables our clients to view real-time reporting and progress of services ordered, and that platform integrates with other industry platforms like Black Knight and Yardi seamlessly,” Mavellia said. He noted that the company also offers mobile solutions and encourages vendors to use these tools to “route their days” to optimize completion of preservation and inspection orders. “Our platform leverages technology like GEO-tagging to create a ‘fingerprint’ to prevent mistakes when it comes to which properties are entered, inspected, or preserved,” Leader explained. “The photos taken through our mobile applications are automatically stamped with date, time, and GPS location data that is tamperproof.” Since property preservation sometimes involves entering

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The Now and the Future of Asset Management

The Times are Changing and so Should Asset Management Companies By Justin Askew Strategy is everything when it comes to comprehensive asset management. Outside of traditional buying, renovating, maintaining, and selling, it takes a forward-thinking approach to develop and execute an effective strategy based on current real estate market conditions. Pressures from rising interest rates and inflation are likely to be more evident in the coming months, which creates the need for proactive, data driven recommendations for property disposition. Factors for investors have changed in short order. Investors have benefited from low interest rates and a sellers’ market that resulted in appreciating values in most parts of the country from 20% to 35%. Current factors of supply chain slowdowns, cost of materials, rising labor costs and interest rate increases have challenged the potential rate of returns for investors. Investors should understand that times are changing, and the asset management approach needs to adjust accordingly. The decision to rehab, sell as is, or lease the property depends on the type of asset, location, and the condition of both the asset and the strength of the local housing market. An effective approach is having the asset management company coordinate the collection of information from renovation companies, maintenance providers and local real estate agents to provide local knowledge of the asset location. Once the collection of data has been completed, the asset management firm should analyze all the data to develop retail values of the property to ensure the best execution for the asset and to optimize the ROI. Most parts of the country still have a shortage on supply of rental properties and affordable homes to purchase. This has continued the flow of investors acquiring and renovating assets with property values remaining at their current levels. As market conditions adjust, the cost of financing and renovation must be considered. Investors that intend on holding properties for rental should understand the rising costs of ongoing maintenance and property management and its’ potential to continue in the future. A comprehensive asset management process should be a major consideration for the investor. This includes partnering with a vendor that has a deep understanding of each investor’s short- and long-term goals and ensure that the advisor aggregates and analyzes all data to recommend the most effective solution. When this occurs, the upside is always going to probable. Despite record rises in building materials, labor costs and a global pandemic, fix and flip investors averaged 32% returns on investment over the last few years. Investment returns can be sustained with the right asset management. A weakening economy and housing market will impact labor and material costs as supply increases and demand decreases due to inflationary forces. Renovation contractors have started feeling the slowdown from homeowner direct contracts resulting in contractors reconnecting with asset management companies for potential business opportunities. Our vendor management team has reported an increase in new contractors boarding for repairs, inspections, maintenance, and renovation by over 70% from just six months ago. This trend is positive for management companies. Due to our footprint in all 50 states, the recruiting and retention of boots on the ground is key to our success on multiple fronts. Dotting I’s and Crossing T’s with Rehabs or Renovations The approach to a successful renovation for investment assets is to ensure costs are contained. Our team executes this by deploying the specialized contractors needed by the service line for the assets. We utilize boots on the ground estimating to help prevent unforeseen issues and forecast accordingly. By collecting this data upfront and underwriting the estimates to account for actual material and labor costs, we provide real data to our clients to help them factor in overall renovation costs. By combining this with a thorough evaluation of real estate market conditions by reviewing both the sales of retail properties in the given market and the competition from neighboring properties, a comprehensive best execution strategy recommendation can be prepared. The Role of Technology We utilize multiple sources of technology to provide the most efficient and informed asset management solutions. Our proprietary software provides distribution of orders for estimating and project management. This application is used to send and receive data throughout the life cycle of the renovation project. This software also keeps the investor engaged by providing full transparency of the status, to include project progress and expenses throughout the project. We use state of the art fraud prevention analytics and controls and embedded quality assurance and data integrity. We also monitor our contractors in the field and rank them based on performance to track efficiency and quality. We provide a mobile app that affords our contractors with the ability to communicate in real time. This allows for a faster, more accurate means of providing estimates and appeals to contractors by allowing them to save time by submitting bids from the field. This technology is vital to a necessary part of the overall management of the asset as it affords us the ability to receive bids quicker and provide them to the investor for quick decisioning. Valuations and the Importance in a Changing Market Valuation tools and software are instrumental in providing insight on ROI to investors. Advancements in technology, such as the use of artificial intelligence, are being implemented daily to improve the accuracy of valuations. This technology helps determine asset features and, in some cases, the immediate or short term needs for the property. Identifiers like the age of a water heater, roof, windows, siding, and other features enhance the ability to analyze the asset and prepare the best strategy for each property more accurately. The Future The extent that inflation and rising interest rates will have on real estate markets and foreclosures in the near future is unclear. Many within the mortgage servicing industry predict significant increases to levels equal to if not higher than pre-pandemic. Recent trends of REO assets selling quickly have the potential to change as knowledge of individual markets and the factors impacting pricing

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Implementing Innovative Technology for Asset Management

What to Look for in Field Documentation Software By Nicole Henry Maximizing value while minimizing risk is key when it comes to asset management. However, finding that sweet spot between too much risk and too little return is a cumbersome task. It requires extensive time, effort, and may end up tipping the scales out of your favor. If you are unable to be on site while your property is being renovated and made ready for market, that thin line you walk between risk and return can shrink even further. When time and money have been invested, ensuring mistakes and excess costs are minimized while keeping stakeholders happy is essential. This is where innovative technology comes into play. What is Technology? It might seem obvious to most what the definition of “technology” is, however it may not be so cut and dry. Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines technology as “the science of the application of knowledge to practical purposes” or in layman’s terms: to use information to achieve an end result. This means using a pencil to check off a box on a punch list after completing a task is technically considered a technological function. Taking it a step further, using your camera phone to take photos of the property for documentation purposes is also considered a technological function. Some questions to consider when technology is in use:  »         Am I completing a task in the most effective way I know how?  »         Is the information I am using up to date?  »         How do I know if what I am using is the best option?  »         How can I effectively manage my assets if my tools are wrong? Let’s look at the current processes in place and the gaps that could be affecting your asset management. Location Depending on your business, your portfolio will have properties in different areas of a city, state, or country. Regardless of the location, one thing is certain: you cannot physically be in multiple places at one time. With the evolution of technology, tools can be deeply connected to each other. A small, portable computer capable of endless possibilities, aka a cellphone, has made it possible for us to stay in contact with one another. This handy device can keep our contractors, investors, and other stakeholders up to date while also providing a basic solution for documentation thanks to the camera located on nearly every device. One thing our phones cannot do is connect all parties in one central location instantaneously and retain that information. Those photos your contractors took are most likely stuck in their camera roll or a long-lost text message. What about the other contractors working on that same project? How will they know if the job is finished early or hits a snag, pushing back their start date? And what if that device is broken or stolen or that contractor leaves your employ? That documentation is gone, potentially forever. Accessibility Being able to get in touch with your contractors, clients, investors, or any other stakeholder is essential when ensuring that your assets are being managed appropriately. This is especially true when all who need to be in communication can be easily and effectively reached. Current processes may include communication software like Whatsapp, text messaging, emailing, or sharing cloud storage platforms. While these platforms are effective at connecting people to documentation, there is an investment and recurring cost in time that must be spent. This recurring cost may come in the form of uploading and downloading (or reminding others to do so), sharing folders, granting access, repeating information in multiple channels (text messaging, emails, etc.) and keeping track of said information that has been shared and with whom. Overall, it is an organizational nightmare and cause for potential liability concerns. Liability When managing your assets, there are a lot of moving parts, some of which can be harmful and dangerous, even deadly. Ensuring that those on your property sites are following safety procedures and using methods that will in turn result in a safe end product ready for market is imperative. Being reliant on those you are working with to document safety procedures because you are unable to oversee processes in person requires a lot of trust. Keeping quality standards high without your direct oversight creates additional room for transparency issues, not to mention instances where the only answer is “I don’t know.” Those unknown factors can put a dent in your finished product, not to mention how potential investors and other stakeholders view your company. Enter Innovation Punch lists, camera phones, and other solutions may sound familiar to you or may be currently implemented in your process of managing your assets. The real question is, are the processes you are using the most effective for what you are trying to accomplish? If there is a risk of losing documentation due to storage issues, device security, or manual work that can be hindered by human error, there may be alternatives to better protect your assets and increase your ability to enhance your portfolio. Innovative technology can give you access to your properties, employees, partners, and clients all at the touch of a button. So why dip into your resource pool to continue upholding systems that are not working as effectively and efficiently for you if there is a better option? When looking to innovate your current systems, you will want to ask yourself the following questions:  »         Am I able to easily access the documentation of my portfolio assets and oversee job progress easily without being impeded by others?  »         Am I able to communicate with my contractors, partners, investors, and other stakeholders easily and efficiently?  »         Am I able to keep my documentation and communication records organized with little to no time spent? If the answer to any of these questions was “no,” you may be a good candidate to start looking for improved field documentation software to ensure everyone is on the same page with information accessible to all. How Do

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What Your Networking Strategy is Missing

Build Relationships with Trustworthy Suppliers for Operational Efficiency By Fred Harris Networking is quite the buzzword these days. You have probably watched the TED Talks, read the articles, and seen all the research and statistics. And you have experienced firsthand the value that connections make to support solid real estate portfolio investments. But what if your networking strategy is still missing something important, such as direct relationships with your building material suppliers? The challenges of the past few years have made this gap financially painful for many investors. Project delays, missed opportunities, frustrated tenants, and slow turns are not the hallmarks of growth for a portfolio. Partnering with a trustworthy supplier can ease and potentially eliminate these problems in the most challenging market conditions. But even more important than reduced costs, a strong relationship with a dependable supplier can have a meaningful impact on the ongoing increase in value for your investments. Here are some key points to consider: Negotiate Pricing Directly Times have changed, and new lines of communication have opened up. More than ever, manufacturers and suppliers are open to direct conversations. Previously, access was only given to contractors, installers, or developers. The agreements were guarded and exclusive. Now, suppliers are not just open to direct communication, but eager to establish good relationships. This opens up significant opportunities for real estate investors and asset managers. Leverage Your Buying Power You have a lot of leverage and buying power when you walk into a negotiation armed with information about the number of units and turn rates across your properties. That is not the time to hand over the reins to someone less experienced, knowledgeable, or persuasive. That is the time to send in your expert negotiator to secure the best deal for your building materials. Discover Your Actual Costs for Labor and Materials Recent years have seen an unprecedented fluctuation in costs across all categories, including labor and building materials. The constant change has increased the risk of blind spots and potential vulnerabilities when contracting with one company to provide both labor and materials. Markup is a standard practice and can be handled in a manner that is fair to both parties, but how do you really know if you are paying a fair price? You cannot know unless you negotiate the price directly with the supplier. Removing layers of obscurity provides valuable insights about your true costs, increases your ability to forecast, and helps protect you from being taken advantage of in a volatile economy. Protect Your Day-To-Day Operations Good relationships with building material suppliers also provide tremendous benefits for ongoing operations. Teams working on-site deserve a lot of credit for the complexities and frustrations they deal with through the maintenance requests and unit turnover process. When disruptions happen, it quickly becomes like a train of dominoes. How can a direct relationship with suppliers help with any of that? Consistent Materials Improve Efficiency Nothing burns time and money like trips to the hardware store. By working directly with suppliers, you can standardize the parts and materials used across properties. This may sound like a minor benefit, but it compounds and grows with time. Six months down the road, maintenance crews know exactly which parts they need, which tools to use, and have experience to do the work quickly. This should be in the top ten of things you do not want to hear: “Well the last time work was done in that unit they used a different type of [insert-building-material-here] which is a different size so our [insert-normal-part-here] does not fit and we have to special order the part or redo the whole thing.” Consistently sourcing materials from manufacturers provides efficiency in supply, storage, labor, and training. Consistent Materials Ensure Quality Roughly 30% of all traffic accidents occur during a lane change. These accidents happen between vehicles driving the same road in the same direction at similar speeds. That is a good analogy for the increase in risk when changing the source of building materials. Manufacturers use different standards, material quality and testing tolerances, so even products that look identical cannot be trusted to be identical in performance and quality. Luxury vinyl plank flooring is the fastest growing category in flooring and has caused a flood of many similar products into the market. Yet each is designed, engineered, and manufactured differently. You will experience an unpredictable range of issues if your units have flooring from different sources. Some products will expand and contract more than others. Some will last longer and can be preserved across multiple tenants. Some products will transfer more sound and annoy occupants of lower units. Consistent Materials Stabilize Operations Asset management is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re going to get. That is true, unless you develop a solid relationship with building material suppliers that you can rely on to get the right products for your properties. Avoid the perfect storm of empty units, upset tenants, unpredictable products, and unreliable suppliers. Level Up Your Strategic Planning Negotiating pricing directly affects the bottom line. Consistent sourcing protects the day-to-day operations. Now you are set up to score real growth for the future. As you set your eyes on the horizon, make sure these additional elements are included in your supplier agreements. Predictable Timelines Do not make the mistake of only negotiating price. The best price on the market does not mean much when delivery will be four weeks too late. One major advantage of a direct relationship with the supplier is that you can work together to ensure project timelines include the appropriate lead time. An excellent supplier will also keep you in the loop for any timeframe changes. Secured Inventory There may not be a bigger travel-related frustration than arriving at the airport and discovering that the airline oversold your flight, and your spot is in jeopardy. Unreliable suppliers have no problem selling to others the stock reserved for you. That terrible approach to business forces you to delay

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Adopting A Strategic Asset Management Philosophy

Achieving Optimal Execution on Investment Return or Recovery By Ryan Hennessy Success in managing a real estate portfolio is traditionally measured by return on investment or loss recovery. While these measurements can be easily calculated, to truly maximize them requires a comprehensive understanding of critical inputs, the impact of controllable and uncontrollable variables, and prioritizing the decisions that are more crucial to the management or liquidation strategy. Recent history has shown that interest rates hit modern lows and property values rapidly appreciate driven by an extremely aggressive buyer’s pool, amidst a global health pandemic. As we enter a new real estate cycle, we are currently experiencing a cooler real estate market impacted by declines in new purchase loan originations and refinances, and inflation, as the word “recession” continues to be utilized when classifying the state of the economy. As these trends often align with additional opportunity within the real estate owned (REO) and distressed real estate asset classes, adopting a strategic asset management philosophy is imperative. Two Types of Portfolio Owners Portfolio owners can often be classified into one of two categories: those where their strategy dictates their portfolio and those where their portfolio dictates their strategy. The former is often comprised of those with a hyper-focused management strategy within a few key market areas. The strategy box dictates the portfolio as very rarely will an asset be acquired that falls outside of the investment objective. The latter to the aforementioned is often comprised of those with a more global strategy, either investing in national pools of assets or mortgage debt, or financial institutions servicing mortgage debt related to delinquent loans. In this instance, assets will enter the portfolio in various markets with diverse property specifications, condition, and risk or opportunity, requiring a strategy to be determined while the asset is under management and not determined prior to it entering a management or owned status. The paradox of these types of portfolio owners is that they each strive to be the other. Those with a more concentrated strategy often aspire to expand, be it geography, property type or both, while those with a more global approach aspire to have a more local approach as to further maximize opportunity. The Critical Inputs While advancements in technology have made data more attainable and resources more tangible, identifying strategies at an asset level, as well as key drivers that may require a pivot, is not an automated process. As such, maximizing opportunity or mitigating risk requires a flexible process driven by four critical property-level inputs: occupancy, value, intangibles, and geography. Occupancy While the essential data point is tied to status – occupied, occupied by possession, or vacant – leveraging data to better assess the cost implications is a key component of a strategic approach. Through example, a best practice approach when geographically applicable, is to understand projected costs that may be incurred when considering an eviction as this will help determine a breakeven amount to leverage as an offering for relocation assistance (cash for keys). This can be determined by aggregating cost data surrounding state-based attorney fees, trash out/debris removal probability costs, and property taxes incurred during the eviction process based on state-driven timelines. The sum will help determine the relocation assistance vs. eviction breakeven cost to consider within the overall management strategy. Value While value is often analyzed during the acquisition due diligence or mortgage servicing phase, valuation tools that are leveraged are derived from a more cost-effective approach, therefore reliant on general market data, or are assigned to a local professional without sharing insight into the use case of the valuation. In both instances, the impact of a property’s condition on current and potential value is often either unable to be determined or overlooked. Properly assessing all elements that go into determining value, with emphasis on those that can be aggregated through data resources, such as multiple listing service market data, provides the required resource within this variable. Intangibles A component often overlooked are the intangible inputs associated with asset management, namely title, taxes and liens. While a property might be in a marketable state desired by targeted buyers, failure to analyze these items can hinder or prevent a sale to a prospective buyer, especially if the buyer is obtaining financing. Properties acquired via foreclosure sale or assets that migrate to an REO status via foreclosure often have delinquencies or defects associated with them. Building taskings or triggers to obtain title or tax and municipal lien reports will drastically impact management strategy. Geography Diversity in geography causes different considerations in asset management, from the impact weather can cause to the prime windows for “selling seasons.” An additional consideration is the velocity geography can bring when leveraging both rental and liquidation strategies. Understanding the forecast of a portfolio, especially those across diverse geographies, will assist in either expanding or narrowing down management options. As an example, a property located in a one-off market may be ideal for a rental, however, this strategy may not be logical without additional opportunities to bring assets under management in that same geographic. Effectively aggregating data on the above better supports an asset-level decision, which can include repaired sales, as-is sales, auction, conversion to rental, or alternative disposition methods (deed-away, donation, pools sale, etc.). When managing a real estate portfolio, management strategy determination is the tier-one driver that all other supplemental decisions will be made from. For example, if marketing a property, determining an initial list price is a crucial decision but determining this is subsequential to the strategy. While the decision to be aggressive or conservative with pricing will impact projecting marketing time, the variance in price between an aggressive and conservative strategy is nominal given the strategy was already determined. As we enter changes within the real estate market and overall economy, the availability of data, technology platforms and integration with various providers provides information to investors which allows them to make better decision on their portfolio assets while also creating a more competitive

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HVAC Preventative Maintenance

Identify Problems Before They Become Costly Emergencies By Ray Hespen The extreme swings of cold, heat, and humidity can cause stress to heat and cooling equipment. Preventative maintenance on your HVAC systems is often held off for the summer months when residents turn off their A/C unit for the winter. However, there is a better way to protect your investment in equipment. What is HVAC preventative maintenance? HVAC, which means “heating, ventilation, and air conditioning,” is the system that keeps your home and rental units at optimal temperatures. It keeps your home warm in the brutal winters and cool in the sweltering summer months. HVAC preventative maintenance is cleaning and assessing the system’s components to ensure it is operating correctly to avoid future problems. For example, not changing HVAC filters or coils regularly can lead to leaks that will wreak havoc on your HVAC system. Why is HVAC preventative maintenance essential? Improves the overall health of the home Consider your HVAC equipment as the main artery that keeps the heart of a home beating. When the cooling and heating system operates efficiently, the entire home benefits. Alternatively, poor equipment can result in increased negative impacts. For example, if your heater is not running correctly in cold temperatures, you risk other major, costly home issues. So why can’t you turn it off once in a while to prolong its life? There is a high chance that when you turn off your heater, the temperature can dramaticallydrop and ultimately freeze your pipes. How is that possible? According to Mid Atlantic HVAC, the frozen water in the pipes can expand, burst, and even flood the home. Water damage will cost you more than paying the heating bill. Preventative maintenance routines can reduce the risk of costly maintenance issues by 95%. Imagine being able to tell your property owner that you are extending the life of their assets while saving them money. Improves owner satisfaction and retention Speaking of property owners, keeping their property in optimal shape is essential to owner satisfaction and retention. Your owner’s property is an investment, and they trust you to ensure that their investment is maintained. Save thousands of dollars lost in HVAC repairs and avoid owner churn by spending a little time and money to do routine inspections. Improves resident satisfaction and happiness It is no secret that a smooth-running HVAC system keeps your residents happy. At Property Meld, data shows that satisfaction ratings and maintenance issues are inversely related; when problems arise, ratings drop, and when issues drop, ratings rise. The length of time you have to repair an HVAC issue before a resident becomes disgruntled — and leaves a negative review — is shorter than with any other common maintenance issue. Our data shows that property management companies have just 72 hours to fix an HVAC issue. If it takes any longer to repair, the chances of a resident writing a negative review skyrocket. Regular preventative maintenance ensures that everything will run smoothly, reducing the chance of resident churn and negative reviews. Decreases cost of repair in high demand seasons If you want to keep your maintenance costs down, your best bet is to avoid emergency repairs in high-demand seasons. When there is high demand for a vendor or technician, the price of their work will likely increase as well. In addition, if a priority maintenance issue occurs, you have little choice but to hire a technician regardless of the timing or price. Implementing regular check-ups for your equipment will save you hundreds and thousands of dollars from emergency repairs during peak seasons. Less stress on internal staff Many businesses are experiencing inadequate staffing levels. The last thing your property management company needs is a flood of residents calling simultaneously about their AC unit breaking down. By simply taking preventative measures with regular inspections, your staff can put their efforts and time towards tasks that profit your company. HVAC Issues by Season and Region HVAC issues by season When you think of the worst time for HVAC repairs, you probably imagine a sweltering early June day when thousands of air conditioners kick on for the first time of the year. However, according to our data, the most expensive month for maintenance repairs is September. The average HVAC repair invoice is $435 — 21% higher than the average repair cost. The second most expensive month is February, where the average invoice is $416 — 15% higher than the average cost. That sweltering June day? It comes in at third, with an average invoice equaling $407. HVAC issues by region In addition to seasonal issues, each region is unique and can experience different fluctuations in repair costs depending on HVAC vendor demand. Southern United States: 50% of all HVAC service issues in the south happen during the summer. In addition, the monthly repair request invoice is 123% higher than off-season invoices! Northern United States: The monthly average repair request invoice is 61% higher than an off-season invoice during the winter months. HVAC Preventative Maintenance Tips and Checklist Preventative programs emphasizing routine inspections are a great place to start. When you create a system of regular check-ups for your property and assets, you are able to identify problems before they become costly emergencies.  »         Perform spring cleaning. We recommend cleaning the HVAC system’s air condensers and filters. This work will come at a cost to your company. Still, it will avoid expensive emergency repairs duringthe peak season.  »         Consider charging an administration fee for preventive maintenance. It is reasonable and fair to charge an annual administration fee for HVAC preventative maintenance. The additional revenue will come in handy to invest in replacing new units down the road.  »         Perform an inspection during a resident turnover. Another tip is to integrate HVAC inspections into your resident turnover program.

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