For all the Property Repairman and Maintenance out there no matter how new your property is or how careful your tenants are, you will have to do occasional repairs and maintenance. The problems might be minor, such as a backed-up drain, or major, such as a leaking roof.

Maintenance on a rental property can be a confusing issue. Renters may mistakenly assume all maintenance is the responsibility of the leasing agent and maintenance staff but this is usually not true. In many cases the leasing agent and maintenance staff are responsible for maintaining the common areas and performing major repairs on the apartments but the renters do typically have some responsibilities. These responsibilities are often defined in the rental agreement and the renter should familiarize himself with this document to verify his rights if a dispute arises.

For your own protection, make sure that any repair or maintenance requests from the tenant are put in writing. This creates a record of the request, the nature of the problem, the date it occurred, the action taken, and confirmation of the tenant's satisfaction with the service.

Make sure you follow up with the tenants to confirm whether the contractor you hired to do the work showed up on time and was courteous, and whether the repair was completed to their satisfaction. This information will come in handy when deciding who to call for future maintenance repairs. Keep good repair and maintenance records on everything that is handled.

Review the yellow pages for repairmen who accept credit cards. Credit cards provide an additional layer of security for you. If you are not happy with the fix and the repairman refuses to resolve your concerns, you can notify your Credit card representative and submit a charge back to the merchant. This will require additional paperwork on your part, but can afford you a superior position when negotiating a dispute. Be aware, however, that using this plan too often can leave you in bad standing with your credit card company. Review their policies on charge backs first.

The best time to fix a problem is before it even starts. Here are some tips for making maintenance easier and reduce problems:

(1) Expect the walls to get dirty and scraped. Use the same color of paint for the interiors for all the properties making it easy to touch up a wall. This way there's never a problem of trying to match the right colors.

(2) Use quality faucets that can be easily repaired. Leaky faucets can become an irritation to tenants. The faucets don't have to be fancy or expensive, just good quality. This will reduce the chance of leaky faucets and lower your repair bills in the long run.

(3) Develop reliable point of contacts for repairs and maintenance. Maintenance companies can handle a broad range of services such as plumbing, electrical, and drywall repair. When a problem occurs, you want it fixed right away.

(4) Use the same brand of locks on your doors. When one tenant moves out, you can switch locks from one property to another. The locks themselves last a long time, so you can keep them in rotation. But don't use the same locks at the same property after a tenant moves out because this is a liability issue.

(5) Label your keys with a code for each building and apartment. Just don't write the full name and address of the property in case someone you don't know finds the keys. You need to protect yourself and tenants against someone coming back to the property and gaining entry.