Whenever a repair cost exceeds the amount agreed to in the owners’ contract, an estimate is provided to them for approval. There are times when a repair becomes a mandatory item because of habitability concerns for the resident and although an estimate is provided to the owner, there is expectation they will make immediate arrangements for payment. Below you can review the steps taken when a general repair is requested and its cost exceeds the amount allowed.

• Resident requests repair
• Work order issued to Vendor to provide estimate with a deadline for response
• Estimate received
• Owner is contacted by phone, email, fax or mail. See appropriate memo to attach, i.e. OWNEST, etc. with a deadline to respond with approval or denial. These memos can be found in M1-Letters-Maintenance
• Approval is given
• Funds received and retained in accounting
• Work order issued (WORK ORDERS ARE NEVER ISSUED UNTIL FUNDS ARE RECEIVED)
• Repair made

If not a mandatory repair and denied by the owner, you will notify the resident that the owner is not in a position to make the repair at this time. Refer to M1-Letters-Maintenance for the various letters to use.

If repair is mandatory because of habitability and owner is unable or unwilling to provide funds, see management. Funds will need to be retained in the owner’s account to pay for the necessary repair. Under normal circumstances, owners are willing to maintain their properties so as not to jeopardize their investment and avoid any legal ramifications.

Once a repair is made and the invoice is received, compare estimate to billing amount to approve for payment.