I agree the 1 per 100 rule is outdated. We will need to begin contracting out for some of the services we provide, or expand the team to keep up with service requests and simple regular preventative maintenance tasks. The time it takes to replace AC filters, change smoke detector batteries, and inspect for leaks for 1 building takes a full day. It's not realistic to expect the maint. team to also address HVAC emergencies, and other urgent requests at the same time.

And this is why this is such a great country! We get to choose what we do and who we do it for. While I agree with a lot of the statements on here, there are also a lot that I do not. Not all owners are greedy. Taxes are more, insurance is more, employee compensation is more, supplies are more, tenants are more, employees are more... EVERYTHING is more and you get less for the more.
I love my maintenance, and everything isn't about to pay. Pay isn't the reason the service industry is depleting; we told ourselves everyone needs to go to college when the reality is everyone should not go to college. We don't encourage trades. Hence it's not regarded in the same light as college but it should be.
Just because someone owns a property, doesn't mean they are rich, sitting on a boat drinking cognac and watching the sunset. Some work day jobs, and have saved to invest in the future.

Laura,

Well said!

I lost a great maintenance supervisor to this. He's now a contractor for multi-family, picks his own hours, makes a lot more money, and can choose which jobs he accepts.

It's good to see this topic has brought some interest and feedback from fellow colleagues in the industry regarding maintenance compensation. Clearly maintenance are in fact the backbone to the operations and with more work and discussions like this we will see more appreciation towards our team members. Saying that we also have to be responsible to fact check the average comps offered to maintenance through your local associations before blanket statements are made. Our data has shown 97% of the top 50 property management companies have in fact made an adjustment to increase hourly pay in the maintenance compensation and smaller management companies are matching and following one another to stay competitive. It's a working progress in a very positive way for our fellow team members in maintenance. Thank you for everything you do every day.

Unfortunately, some properties were not financed to afford payroll to current scale or the current inflation, and some owners are barely covering critical needs due to the losses through the pandemic and delinquent rent write offs that they had to find a way to keep the lights on. Some owners just simply aren’t in a position to fund payroll increases because they haven’t caught up from the deficit the property losses caused them to have already paid out.

Some operators are in a position to lead the industry in compensation and KPI bonuses to scale or better than scale depending on the level of proven results, commitment, and engagement. A very critical time to ensure you are at the top of your game in terms of skill, attitude, and drive. Fortunate that our firm is included in the group offering leading compensation with an incredible culture founded on appreciation and purpose. Best wishes for those deserving professionals to find a company match for their worth and be able to give great service to their communities!!