Maintenance

Our maintenance process can sometimes be complex. Your maintenance and repair issues are very important to us and we take them seriously. Here is a breakdown of how our maintenance process works.

It is important to understand that JWC does not own your rental property. JWC is a Property Management Company. We manage your rental property for the owner of the property. The owner of your rental property has hired us (JWC) to manage the property.  When there is a maintenance or repair request by a tenant, JWC must consult the owner of the property before any action is taken to resolve the request. Once we get approval from the owner to resolve the request, we will then dispatch a vendor to your property to either fix the issue or get an estimate to fix the issue. We will then get funds (money) from the owner to pay the vendor to resolve the request. Below is a timeline of events that transpire during our maintenance process.

  1. You (the tenant) submit a service request for a maintenance or repair issue on your tenant portal.
  2. The service request is automatically entered into our system.
  3. Our staff is immediately alerted of your service request. If it is after business hours, we will receive the alert immediately the next business day.
  4. We will contact the owner of the property and get permission to resolve the service request.
  5. We will then send a vendor to your property to get an estimate to resolve the request.
  6. We will then send the estimate to the owner.
  7. If the owner approves the estimate, we will collect funds (money) from the owner of the property to get the service request resolved.
  8. We will then schedule the vendor to resolve the request.
  9. The vendor will then, come to your property to resolve the request.

 

Delays

We can often get the service request resolved within the same business day or 1-2 business days. However, there can be several issues that can cause delays in the completion of your service request such as the following:

  • You submit the service request after hours or on the weekend. Our office is not open 24/7. Our office is open from 8:30-5:30 Monday through Friday. Our office is also open on Saturdays from 10:00-4:00, but for leasing only.  All other departments are closed on Saturday and Sunday. We will receive the service request the following business day.
  • We are unable to get in touch with the owner of the property.  As mentioned above, we must get permission from the owner of the property to resolve the issue.
  • Our vendors are extremely busy. We have designated vendors for every type of service request. We do not have our own maintenance and repair staff in office on standby. We outsource all maintenance and repair issues to local vendors.  Depending on the nature of the repair and the season, sometimes our vendors may have delays in coming to get an estimate to fix your issue or to resolve the request. For example, during the winter and summer months, our heating and A/C vendors are very busy.  If your A/C goes out in the hot months of the summer or your heating goes out in the cold months of the winter, our vendors are typically overbooked and it may take more time than usual for the vendor to get to you. Unfortunately, this is just the nature of our maintenance process. We work as close as we can with our vendors and push them to get service requests resolved quickly.
  • The owner of the property does not agree to resolve the request. As mentioned above, we manage our rental properties for the owner of the property. Sometimes, although very rarely, the owner of the property will not agree to resolve the request. If the owner does not agree to resolve the request, this is most likely because the issue is not seen by the owner as being necessary to keep the tenant safe and comfortable.
  • The owner of the property does not have funds (money) readily available to pay the vendor to complete the service request. For extensive repairs that cost a significant amount of money, it can sometimes take the owner more time to get the funds to pay the costs for service request. For example, if the repair costs $2000 to fix your A/C, the owner might not have $2000 immediately ready to pay to the vendor. The owner may have to get a loan or find some other way of obtaining the funds to pay for the repairs. JWC does not pay for the repairs and then rely on the owner to reimburse JWC. No exceptions.
  • The repair request is complex. We only hire certified and professional vendors to perform maintenance and repairs for our rental properties. However, diagnosing and fixing a refrigerator, A/C, heater, oven, microwave, etc can be trial and error. For example, A/C systems have several components that work together that make up the entire system. Our vendors will diagnose and repair the A/C to the best of their knowledge, but sometimes there can be more complex issues that require multiple trips to complete the process.
  • The vendor has to order parts. For example, if an internal part goes out in your refrigerator, the vendor most likely will not have the part readily available for replacement. The vendor will often have to order the part from the manufacturer or an aftermarket dealer. If it is agreed upon by the owner of the property, the part can often be shipped quickly and arrive the next business day.
  • The vendor cannot get access to your property. If you have added a lock to the fence, the vendor will not “jump over” the fence to gain access to your backyard.  If you are home and have the internal deadbolt locked and you do not answer the door, the vendor will leave resulting in further delays. If the vendor feels in danger at any time due to an aggressive pet or for any other reason, the vendor may leave further causing a delay. If the vendor cannot get access to your property, the vendor will leave a card at your door. Please respond to the vendors card to avoid a delay.
  • The owner has a home warranty on your rental property. Although this does not immediately present a delay in the maintenance process, there are more parties involved in getting your request completed. If you live in a rental property and the owner of your rental property has a home warranty, we will send your service request to the the home warranty company. Once we send your request to the home warranty company, your service request is no longer handled by JWC.
  • Tenant not responding to vendor phone calls. In many situations, a vendor will attempt to contact you in regarding to your service request. If the vendor receives no answer to repeated telephone calls, this can cause delays in the completion of your service request.

 

Submitting A Service Request

The quickest and most effective way to submit a service request is through the online tenant portal.  When you submit a service request through the online tenant portal, the request is automatically entered into our system.

Emergency Requests

Our phone number for afterhours emergencies is 254-289-3125. Emergency Repairs are repairs needed immediately to protect life and property. Examples of emergency repairs are gas leaks, flooding of property, sewer backup, inability to secure property and loss of heating when the temperature falls below freezing. Examples of Non-Emergencies are plumbing stoppages, locked out of property, air conditioner/appliances not working, noisy neighbor, broken windows/screens, etc.