A Maintenance Idea

I retired May 10th and have come up with an idea. Let me set the stage:
All of us managers have to deal with maintenance and repairs of our properties.
You either have a maintenance man or you contract outside. There is the idea:

(This is assuming you have no current maintenance person).

Mr Plumber will come and see you, and will charge you a service call of $75.00.
You had no other choice and you needed a disposal installed. Mr Plumber is going to get $75.00 to park at your property and walk in to see you. By the time he puts in the new disposal, your chalking around $150.00 for his labor. This constitutes a real problem for apartment managers and blows budgets quickly.

Enter me. I am retired, and can come and do the disposal for $50.00 labor, no matter how long we chit chat and drink coffee. Fifty bucks, and your in business.
I can do this because I am not trying to make money, but stay "hooked" now that I am retired. $50 bucks is ok. I might even do a few more things under the sink for that amount if needed.

Same-same for painting, electrical, HVAC, etc. I would do the work at a mid range and very reasonable price for you as I am NOT trying to make a living, nor trying to keep a business going.

You say well your undercutting a licensed and skilled tradesman!! Well, my answer is no, no more so than you and your corporation and property management company are doing by hiring this same work by an "on site maintenance man" at $7.50 an hour, and what do you really have for that? I mean be honest.

I write this because I have many manager friends still in the business who have talked to me about this. Kickers would be:

I am not trying to make money, I have enough already.
I am retired, but no wise am I dead yet.
I enjoy working in the units on this stuff.
I would have an answer machine, but my good manager friends would have my cell number, and could get "fixed" poste haste in emergencies.

What do you think?

As long as you are propertly insured I'd hire your service in a heartbeat!

So, to add on to what Stephanie has all ready written, and then what happens if the repair did not fix the problem? Will there be a guarantee for the services? Working with A/C and R22, you will have to be certified because of the R22.

Then there is the skeptic in me when a person says they are not in it for the money; then what is the charge for? Not trying to be smart, but I am a business man and I am always looking for the angle. Kind of like the fax telling me they do not like chickens for food and I let them into my chicken coop.

Cheaper is not always better and can end up costing more money in the long run to make corrections and getting something done right. Just saying and again not trying to shoot down the line of thought, but letting it bounce around in this empty space of mine.

Fair Questions.

In regard to insurance, I would, of course, need to consult my agent to see exactly what is required to cover myself and the owner of the properties I worked at. There would be no work done until I had everything I would need.

In regard to warranty on work I did, no problem on that. While everyone has an occasional call-back, I would always take care of a failed repair at my own expense, assuming it in fact was my error. And, no one would ever be charged $50.00 for me to tell them they needed to buy a new refrigerator or range. This happens, and it again is because of appliance repair companies can't (or won't) drive to your property for free.

As to the certifications on certain items, I simply will not do anything that violates licensing laws for which I am not licensed. Simple as that. While I can trouble shoot about any HVAC problem, I stop short of getting into freon or going into the electrical box. For that, get the professional HVAC person. I am saying why pay a pro to change filters, clean coils, clean drain lines, or do any of the smaller things needed? When your tenant's evaporator coil is frozen up, it will most likely be low of freon. I can do the diagnosis, and preparation, and all the pro has to do is come and add the freon. (And the best part is, I will get the pro in behind me for you, saving you a phone call and worry about it.)

On the plumber: When a plumber gets home from his day, he plays his answer machine and hears the calls he has. He sorts them into the most profitable calls first, the ones where he makes easy money. He does not consider that you are a landlord and have tenants crawling you about a stopped line. If he has a high end faucet to install for a client, and a stopped sewer, he is going to do the faucet and get the easy money first. He will schedule your stopped sewer for late in the day, so he can go from that job to his own shower. (Can't blame him on that). You and I know the stopped sewer is a pain for the complex and tenants. I will be there as soon as one of my manager friends calls me because I know first hand the problem the stopped line is for the complex. I have a sewer machine, so I can probably save you about $75.00 to $100.00 over the plumber, and I can be there "yesterday".

On the money part. I am talking about doing this for my "circle of manager friends" whom I have known over these last ten years. From my management time, I know their problems, and I know how long I have sit on "hold" on a Saturday trying to get a "pro" to come to the property. This is why I have learned over time to do my own maintenance tasks. I have a professional plumber, electrican, and HVAC guy in my pocket via cell phone. They can and sure will talk me though any or everything, or will come and help me if I get into something I need them for.
I am not against plumbers and appliance repair people or anything, but I have a lot of experience with them, and I know their ways. I wound up with about four great guys who I used a lot and these know I will get them business that is worthwhile for them. So, they helped me tremendously when I was managing complexes, and they still will.
As said, I really just need to keep myself occupied a couple more years, and thankfully it WON'T be in management. I love the maintenance side, but over time we came to dislike the management part. I mainly retired because wife and I were sick of that part of it.
Hopefully this post will clarify my OP.

While on maintenance, here is another thing that I found very helpful in keeping a vendor (plumber, etc) loyal to my properties.

You call a vendor, and they come and do the work. They give you a bill, and you ship it to the property management company for payment. You need to know when the PMC does their bills. Ours did them every other Friday. Then, I would allow mailing time, and I would call the vendor to see if they have received payment on that bill.
If not, I would tickle the PMC on it. Sometimes, depending on budget or cost, the PMC has to get the funds from reserve, and it can take up to 30 days. So, I tell the vendor at the time of bill being presented of that fact. It really makes things go smooth. The vendor appreciates the follow up call, and makes them want to come again. When you take the bill from the vendor, make a copy, and put a cover sheet on the PMC copy (original copy). Explain in detail what, why, where and when. This will save the PMC trying to call you and find out any questions on it.

While complexes operate in different manners, this method insures a smooth relationship with your vendors.

All you need to do is put that invoice in suspense until you have insured payment to the vendor. This is especially important to small vendors.

I am surprised they are not beating your door down. Are you still carrying work comp. general liability and commercial vehicle liability even though you are not a real business?