A malfunctioning stove starts a fire, a small leak becomes a flood, a single pest makes way for an infestation. These worst-case scenarios are every property manager’s worst nightmare — and for the most part, with routine maintenance, they’re avoidable. That being said, it isn’t always easy to step in before a quick fix becomes a costly renovation, especially if you suffer from communication breakdowns with your residents.

The Domino Effect of Ignoring Maintenance Requests

Maintenance is just as important to residents as it is to property owners and operators. In fact, in resident satisfaction surveys, maintenance is regularly ranked the No. 1 most important concern. For most renters, insufficient maintenance is also the main reason that they will move out of a property — leaving you with turnover charges and a vacancy to fill. When maintenance slips through the cracks, it causes a domino effect that ultimately ends up with higher costs for managers and unhappy tenants.

So, if both parties agree that maintenance is a top priority, then where is the communication breakdown occurring?

When resident submits a maintenance ticket, they generally expect a response — and hopefully a repair — within 24-48 hours. If they don’t get one — whether the reason on your end is a lack of staff bandwidth, a lack of urgency, or a lack of funds  — then they may begin to lose faith in management. Eventually, they may stop reporting any issues at all, assuming that there’s no point in trying. This is where the first domino drops. As unreported maintenance issues continue to pile up, units fall into disrepair and residents begin seeking housing elsewhere.

How AI Can Help Solve Communication Breakdowns with Residents and Improve Maintenance Ops

Residents are most likely to proactively help with resolving a maintenance complaint in the minutes following their ticket submission. If their request is ignored for too long, they may get too busy or disinterested to answer follow-up questions.

With a generative AI assistant like ApartmentAdvisor ASSIST, residents are engaged immediately. The average time it takes for ASSIST to respond to a new request is 20 seconds, regardless of the time of day. Even better, the average response rate from residents is over 80 percent. According to our customer data, the resident who submitted the ticket is typically actively communicating with the AI assistant within 90 seconds of the ticket being created. Most of the time, we even see the resident responding with a "thank you" — despite knowing that they are speaking with an AI assistant. This can have a huge impact on your maintenance operations, from either party’s perspective; faster responses mean faster results, higher resident satisfaction, and better-maintained units.

ASSIST doesn’t just send stock responses, either. The AI is able to triage and prioritize the request, asking follow-up questions, giving suggestions for quick fixes, and even analyzing photos and answering questions sent by the resident. If the AI is not able to help the resident solve the issue on their own, then it is escalated to the appropriate party with the organization.

By beginning this conversation with residents when they’re most engaged, ASSIST is able to handle small problems before they become disasters.

For example, when one of our customer’s residents submitted a ticket about a flooding toilet, the AI was able to analyze a photo and answer questions about turning off the water valve. From there, it walked the resident through plunging the toilet until the flooding was resolved. Within hours, a potential multi-unit flood become a nonevent — and both the resident and the property owner left the situation feeling satisfied with the maintenance protocol.

Interested in Trying an AI Solution? 

Schedule a complimentary demo with our team. We’ll review your process and spotlight the most impactful AI opportunities to elevate your property operations.