Maintenance request automation that knows a burst pipe from a dripping faucet
Resident requests arrive through the portal, email and text. We build automation that reads each one and its photos, sets trade and priority against your emergency rules, checks the vendor's insurance and creates the work order in AppFolio, Buildium, Rent Manager or RentVine.
- Emergencies paged to on-call, routine work queued for business hours
- No dispatch to a vendor with a lapsed COI
- Residents updated at each status change
What breaks between 'my sink is leaking' and a closed work order
Vague requests, wrong trade
'Kitchen is wet' could be the dishwasher, a supply line or the unit above. The wrong vendor goes out, finds nothing in their trade and bills a trip charge to the owner.
Emergencies hidden in routine queues
A no-heat request in January lands between a squeaky door and a burned-out bulb. Repair duties under state and local habitability law do not pause because it came in on a Saturday.
Work orders that never close
The vendor finished but never sent the invoice or photos. The resident thinks nobody came, and the work order sits in assigned status for weeks.
From intake to closed work order
Your PMS keeps the work order. The automation does the reading, sorting, checking and chasing around it.
Request and photo reading
Pulls the description and photos, asks one clarifying question when needed (is water still running?) and fills in trade, location in the unit and permission to enter.
Emergency routing
Requests matching your emergency rules, such as gas smell, no heat in cold weather, active leak or sewage backup, page your on-call person with full context.
COI and license check
Before assignment, confirms the vendor's general liability and workers' comp certificates are current and your additional insured endorsement is on file. Missing paper blocks the dispatch.
Vendor assignment and NTE
Proposes the preferred vendor for that trade and property, attaches the owner's not-to-exceed limit and holds anything above it for owner or manager approval.
Pre-1978 lead-safe flag
For homes built before 1978, flags jobs that disturb painted surfaces so they go to an EPA RRP certified firm, since the lead-safe renovation rule can apply to that work.
Close-out chase
Follows up for completion photos and the invoice, sends the resident a completion note and reopens the work order if they reply that the problem is not fixed.
Fits the PMS and vendor tools you use
AppFolio work orders
Read and written through AppFolio's API where your plan includes write access, or staged for staff where access is read only.
Buildium and Rent Manager
Tasks and service issues created through Buildium's Open API on the Premium plan and through Rent Manager's API.
RentVine and Propertyware
Work orders through RentVine's open API, and Propertyware's API where your account includes it.
Vendor certificates
COIs read from email, your vendor compliance tool or the vendor record in your PMS.
Vendor invoice matching
Invoices matched to the work order and NTE before anyone approves them.
Part of a wider agent setup
Maintenance intake alongside leasing and owner statement agents.
Designed around liability, not just speed
Habitability first
Repair duties and timelines are set by state and local law. Your emergency rules are written down, applied the same way every time and logged with each request.
No uninsured vendors on site
Dispatching a vendor with an expired certificate shifts risk to you and the owner. The check runs on every assignment, not once a year at renewal.
Owner money waits for approval
Anything above the owner's NTE, or a capital item like a water heater or roof, waits for approval before a vendor is told to proceed.
Entry handled carefully
Required notice before entering an occupied unit varies by state. The automation records the resident's permission to enter or sends notice on your configured timeline, and staff confirm.
“He got me 9 sales in my first 7 days of launching our campaign, which exceeded my expectations!”
Common questions
What is maintenance request automation?
Automation that reads resident repair requests, sets trade and priority, creates and assigns the work order, checks the vendor's insurance and keeps the resident updated until the job is closed.
What if the AI marks a real emergency as routine?
Emergency categories and keywords are hard rules, not just model judgment, and anything uncertain is escalated rather than downgraded. Every miss is reviewed in the monthly check.
Can it assign our in-house techs as well as outside vendors?
Yes. It routes to in-house maintenance by property and skill, and to vendors when your techs are booked or the job needs a licensed trade.
Our COIs live in a vendor compliance tool. Does that work?
Yes, if the tool shares status by API or export. If not, we read certificates from the vendor record or the inbox they arrive in.
Can residents send photos with a request?
Yes, through your portal, email or text. The automation uses them to choose the trade and to spot obvious emergencies like standing water or a scorched outlet.
Can it approve vendor invoices?
No. It matches the invoice to the work order and NTE and flags overages. A person approves the bill in your PMS.
Get the maintenance queue under control
Take the 2-minute AI audit to see how much of your maintenance desk can be handled before a coordinator touches it.
- Grade a quarter of old work orders
We export 90 days of requests and work orders and check how each should have been triaged, so the rules match your portfolio and your vendors.
- Write your emergency definition
Your maintenance lead signs off on what counts as an emergency, who is on call, NTE limits per owner and how residents are told before entry.
- Triage in shadow mode
For the first few weeks the automation suggests trade, priority and vendor while your coordinator approves each one. Emergencies still page on-call from day one.
- Review misroutes monthly
After launch we look at every misrouted request each month, add new vendors and properties, and adjust when your PMS changes.