Many service professionals will not allow their team onsite without someone present for the repairs. Hemlane follows similar procedures, and we require someone to be in person at the time of the service to meet with the service professional.
Here are 3 reasons why this is the best process:
- The person onsite can answer the service professional’s questions about the exact problem and what may be required to entirely resolve the problem.
- You do not have any liability of a tenant stating that “something went missing” during the appointment while a service professional swears they did not take anything. Just like anyone else, tenants can misplace something and may correlate it to the recent service visit.
- The person onsite can confirm and sign off that the repair request has been completed prior to payment for services.
Below is a breakdown of our most frequently asked questions regarding scheduling.
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- Who schedules repair requests during the turnover (when the unit is vacant)?
- I can’t take off work to be available. What should I do?
- Can we just use the lockbox?
- Why can’t Hemlane’s list of professionals use the lockbox for entry?
- Do I need to be present the entire time?
Who schedules repair requests during the turnover (when the unit is vacant)?
During a turnover, you, an agent, or our Hemlane Leasing team can schedule these requests. You can learn more about our Leasing Services here.
I can’t take off work to be available. What should I do?
If the tenant is unavailable, they can designate someone (family member, friend, neighbor) over the age of 18 to be present.
Can we just use the lockbox?
For tenants, we don’t recommend use of the lockbox as you will want to keep the access code secure and used for emergencies only. If it is given for use to the tenant during an emergency, we recommend having it changed shortly after.
For you and your leasing agent, lockbox access can be provided to your own services professionals given you are comfortable with that. Our third party service professionals are not permitted to enter a property unescorted.
Why can’t Hemlane’s list of professionals use the lockbox for entry?
These restrictions are in place to protect your investment. As we are not a local company, it is important that the service professionals know that someone is there reviewing their work, including the quality and number of hours the labor actually took. While photos can be taken, it’s often hard to get the whole picture and you never know what wasn’t pictured until too late. It’s a more efficient process overall to have someone present at the time of service. When your new tenant moves in, we want to make sure it is in the condition they would expect.
Do I need to be present the entire time?
Agents often ask this question as the job can often take hours. They do not need to be present the entire time. They should, however, meet the service professional onsite to provide access and discuss the job to make sure all preferences are clear. Then, they can leave the service professional there to do their work. They will want to make sure they come back before the service professional leaves to walk through the property to ensure the job is complete and review the quality of work.
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