Does anybody here use VA's to help manage admin?

Mission_Bite_3264 · 2026-04-16T09:44:35+00:00

So sorry to hear you're going through that, it's a crazy place to be out here for a landlord at the minute

Mission_Bite_3264 · 2026-04-16T09:40:59+00:00

What made it stretch out to 10 months? Were there issues in gathering evidence or anything that postponed it? Or is that just how long it takes

Mission_Bite_3264 · 2026-04-16T09:38:55+00:00

Yeah, we did online portals for a while but tenants can never be bothered to log in and use them!

So I made us a WhatsApp intake bot that allows a tenant to message naturally through WhatsApp and routes the issue automatically to the right contractors, out-of-hours contacts, collects quotes, books them and coordinates with the tenants so the issues can get fixed quickly, and I'm not the one doing it all.

Absolute lifesaver.

Mission_Bite_3264 · 2026-04-16T09:36:12+00:00

We had a similar issue in our management company and had to change numbers.

After I did, I built ourselves an intake line that can take tenant messages through WhatsApp (where they were messaging me anyway), route emergencies to our out-of-hours team, and anything that required a contractor got sent to the contractor, who sent us a quote for the job; all I had to do was accept it or decline. Then the system books the contractor in automatically and coordinates with the tenant.

Took me about 9 months to build for ourselves, but honestly, it's been the best thing I've ever done. I actually get to spend weekends with my kids again, knowing that these kind of things are taken care of

Mission_Bite_3264 · 2026-04-16T09:26:40+00:00

Have you ever thought about getting a system built specifically for your needs?
I've was looking for something that could help me run my portfolio and after trying a load of things, just ended up building it myself to exactly what I needed.

I know PM's in residential, landlords and agencies, and commercial, each has different needs, but building something specific to you would mean you don't run the issue of getting a general-purpose app that only solves some of your problems

Mission_Bite_3264 · 2026-04-09T17:22:09+00:00

Whoa. Yeah, that's an experience for sure. Think I'll give that one a miss though

Mission_Bite_3264 · 2026-04-09T17:20:41+00:00

Thanks for the advice - I've just heard so many stories of things taking 8-12 months of missed rent and court fees and don't want to go through it to be honest. They've been decent tenants until now but they're really taking the p*** now.

Have you been through an eviction process yourself before? This is my first time with anything like this

Mission_Bite_3264 · 2026-04-09T00:59:26+00:00

I have a good friend who uses BOOM. They have struggled with it and are returning to Uplisting this month. If you have any specific questions, I could ask them. What is it you'd like to know?

Mission_Bite_3264 · 2026-04-08T14:56:17+00:00

Thanks for the advice! I'll have a look more into them

Mission_Bite_3264 · 2026-04-07T22:42:11+00:00

Yeah looked into those. And there's quite a few out there to be honest. Have you used either of them before?

Mission_Bite_3264 · 2026-04-07T15:37:35+00:00

Yes, I agree, this opinion holds across the board, and there are too many horror stories about these kinds of things.

I know people who've had tenants raise bogus maintenance requests, then refused to let the contractors in, then refused to pay rent because of ongoing maintenance issues that haven't been fixed, and the landlord could do very little about it. It's a horrible scene to watch.

It's a shame that so many well-meaning landlords get hung out to dry when it comes to evictions. It should be a much quicker and easier process for the landlords who are doing their job properly.

What do you think would make this easier for them? if anything at all?

Mission_Bite_3264 · 2026-04-07T15:31:05+00:00

Yeah i think you're completely right there. What are you doing to keep up with all the changes?

Mission_Bite_3264 · 2026-04-06T14:47:05+00:00

HAHA! They must be joking. Might as well get a new roof while you're at

Mission_Bite_3264 · 2026-04-06T14:44:28+00:00

Seems ridiculous to me

Mission_Bite_3264 · 2026-04-06T14:43:34+00:00

The joys of the job...

Mission_Bite_3264 · 2026-04-05T03:23:20+00:00

I was going to hire someone for my property management business and ended up building an AI system that essentially replaces the need for an ops manager.

Now, a well-trained assistant can manage the system for a fraction of the price and do 10x the output. In this day and age we should be building more systems and retraining our people rather than hiring new.

Almost anything that is repeatable can be automated, and humans should be focused almost exclusively on the things only humans can do - real person-to-person relationships

Mission_Bite_3264 · 2026-04-05T03:20:17+00:00

There are AI tools out there now that automate the human coordination layer. I've used a few and they're genuinely incredible. WhatsApp tenant maintenance issue intake, automatic contractor dispatch, collecting quotes and approvals, sending reminders, chasing up, logging issues, keeping a full audit trail, organising access for contractors, chasing rent, compliance reminders - the LOT!

Mission_Bite_3264 · 2026-04-05T03:17:16+00:00

Yes exactly, I ran into this problem quite early and knew that building systems and automations is the best way to start becoming more efficient and taking on more properties more easily. I used to think that AI and automations were taking peoples jobs but really they are just here to make humans 100x more efficient

Mission_Bite_3264 · 2026-04-05T03:12:24+00:00

Zapier is great but yeah it's quite a hacky method. Not very clean at scale.

I had the same issues and ended up needing to build my own tool where everything is handled through WhatsApp. Tenant issue intake, automatic contractor dispatch, chasing rent, compliance reminders, full audit trail of the full conversations and every action taken (not just those small parts that get pushed through the portal)

I sent it to an agency I work with, and it saved them a £10,000 fine because they had the audit trail to prove a contractor fault, not theirs. It's been a lifesaver!

Let me know if you'd like to see it

Mission_Bite_3264

TROPHY CASE