Property Manager for an owned home?
May 15, 2023 5:00 PM   Subscribe

My aging aunt needs someone to coordinate general upkeep, repairs, and remodels. What do you call this person and what, roughly, do they change?

My aunt is aging and losing patience and ability for maintaining her home. She has robots for the cleaning and mowing, but wants someone to essentially come by a few times a year and:
1) Inspect the home, prioritize repairs against a budget she provides, and organize the repairs.
2) Perform regular maintenance like cutting branches, cleaning gutters, sweeping the roof, etc.
3) Coordinate renovations such as repainting or remodeling.

Is there a name for a SINGLE service person or company who would do this work? She is balancing this against moving into a condo with monthly fees so several hundred dollars a month isn't insane if that's what it costs.

This sort of seems like what a property management company would do for a distant land-lord. From some prelim searching they'd charge 10% of rent per month but that also includes legal, billing, and tenant screening which she doesn't need. Also given that many renters hate their property management companies, she wants to know she's getting a reliable service and is unclear on how to find reviews. Is there a better keyword for this?

She has very low tolerance for phone calls and prefers app-based request systems where she doesn't interact with anyone, it just happens. She's a bit of a pushover, so would prefer a company that provides this service versus a handyman that she has to negotiate with. She is located in Seattle.
posted by Narrow Harbor to Home & Garden (11 answers total) 10 users marked this as a favorite
 
You may want to contact a General Contractor. On large construction projects, they coordinate and hire all of the sub-specialists needed to complete a construction job. Not sure if they take on this type of job, but they may be able to refer you to someone.
posted by Silvery Fish at 5:10 PM on May 15, 2023 [1 favorite]


many renters hate their property management companies

Your aunt is not the renter. The reason renters hate property managers is because they aggressively look out for the interests of the property owner. Your aunt is the property owner. Not saying this is the way to go, just that the renters’ opinions don’t matter.
posted by kevinbelt at 5:39 PM on May 15, 2023 [6 favorites]


Best answer: If your aunt were in Dallas, I would have a rec for her. We pay a company $10/month for this and we just text our rep when we need service on something. They set us up with a great roofer who helped us go through our insurance and everything when we needed to replace our roof after a hailstorm did it in. We've also had some necessary plumbing work done through them and we've been happy with the outcome of that (which proved to be super complicated and involved repairs to the 1960s-era original plumbing under the house).

If I were looking for this service in another city, and if we moved I sure would be, my search terms would include "concierge".
posted by gentlyepigrams at 6:06 PM on May 15, 2023 [5 favorites]


Best answer: If you lived near me, you could maybe hire this company.
posted by amtho at 6:40 PM on May 15, 2023


What do you call this person and what, roughly, do they change?

Handyman. Varies.
posted by Jacqueline at 7:26 PM on May 15, 2023 [3 favorites]


Or a caretaker?
posted by NotLost at 7:44 PM on May 15, 2023 [3 favorites]


The place I rented a few years back had a property manager. When I moved into my own house I hired her to do everything for this place that she did for the rental. She really has the exact skills I need.

When you say "organize the repairs"... I have my property manager arrange any day to day jobs (water leaks, broken toilets, etc.) but for anything really big I have a general contractor that runs the show.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 8:00 PM on May 15, 2023 [2 favorites]


I have a friend who does exactly this for 4 very wealthy families. She does it for 4 houses for 1 family, 2 houses for another and 1 each for the other two. She is, or calls herself, a House Manager. She coordinates things like annual ac maintenance, opening and closing of the pool, gardening services, any interior repairs such as painting or fixing doors, she also coordinates all the electronics such as cable, internet, and Sonos type systems, etc.

She does it from NY, but only 1 of the 8 homes is in NY. Most are in LA, one in Colorado and one in Hawaii.

For the most part, she charges by the hour which is mostly arranging for local tradesmen and service providers. Her edge in getting and keeping business is her relationships with the trades people who are very responsive because of the amount of business she gives them and her clients pay top dollar on time.

My point is there are people out there that do this although I suspect on a bigger scale than what your aunt is seeking.

I would look for a house manger. I think finding one who can do this with a budget all via app or text may be difficult depending on where she lives.

I would also contact AARP and ask them. If there is a local senior citizen center contact them as well.

Also consider a virtual personal assistant. The right one who knows about house maintenance could do a great job at this. It takes organization and finding local trades people.

When I first read the question, my reaction was that this seems like a good idea for a new business for the right entrepreneur. Someone who used to work in property management that wants to work from home and can get enough clients to make it cost effective for the client and profitable for the manager
posted by JohnnyGunn at 10:12 PM on May 15, 2023 [4 favorites]


Property managers for rentals charge based on a percentage of rent charged. That comes to many hundreds to a thousand or two per year. Then the landlord pays for the services of contractors when repairs are needed beyond what the PM can do itself.
posted by yclipse at 4:31 AM on May 16, 2023


Best answer: In my area, there are home services firms or general contractors with handyman divisions that will provide some property management services for non-rentals. As of a couple of years ago it cost about $200 per quarter for visits to take care of low-level maintenance, plus additional labor/materials costs for anything on top of that or other services (plumbing/roofing, etc.) that they would have to contract out. Try googling "non-rental property management" for the area in question.
posted by AndrewInDC at 5:51 AM on May 16, 2023 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Try searching for "homeowner concierge service" or "home management service."
posted by c lion at 6:35 AM on May 16, 2023 [2 favorites]


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