Managing several buildings calls for a partner who works to a schedule and documents every visit.
A property manager's needs differ from a private client's in two ways. First, there are many properties and they vary — from a pre-war building with a damp basement to a new build with tightly sealed windows. Second, every job has to be accounted for to somebody else: a meeting of flat owners, a board, or the particular resident who complained.
| Situation | What is usually needed |
|---|---|
| A resident complains about mould | Inspection with moisture measurement |
| A smell in the stairwell | Finding the source + ozone treatment |
| A basement with damp and mould | Inspection + treatment |
| Flooding affecting several flats | Emergency treatment + drying |
| A sewage incident | Disinfection once the source has been dealt with |
| Regular treatment of common areas | Schedule + reports |
Most call-outs fall into two groups. One is planned work on a schedule — treating common areas, inspecting basements before and after the heating season. The other is responding to a specific complaint or incident, and there the main thing is to establish the scope quickly, because that determines whether the work fits the current budget or needs a separate decision.
For several properties we work to one schedule but document each property separately — otherwise the reports are of no use.
A practical tip from experience: it is worth marking access quirks in the list of properties from the start — where there is a key code, where the basement door is locked and a particular resident holds the key, where the lift is out of order. Half the time lost on multi-property work comes from access rather than from the treatment itself.
Before work in common areas we recommend informing residents — when the work will happen, how long it will take and whether there are any restrictions. We can draft a short notice that can be put up in the stairwell.
It is worth including five things in the notice: the date and approximate time of the work, which areas will be treated, how long people should stay out of them, whether anything has to be moved out of the common areas, and who to contact with questions. The more specific the notice, the fewer calls the property manager gets.
The most common situation in a property manager's work: a resident complains about mould and believes the building is at fault. The property manager believes the ventilation habits are at fault. Both can be convinced, and both can be partly right.
An inspection with moisture measurement answers this question technically. The reading shows whether the wall material is wet right through or only at the surface.
If the moisture comes from the structure — a damaged roof, a crack in an external wall, a failed riser, a cold bridge — the material is wet at depth and the distribution of moisture follows the structure. If the cause is condensation, the moisture is on the surface, concentrated in the coldest places — the corners of external walls, behind furniture, around window reveals — and the relative humidity in the room is raised.
The written result of the inspection is not a legal expert opinion but a technical description of what was found and measured. In practice it often settles a dispute before it turns into a conflict, because the conversation moves from "who is to blame" to "what do we do". If it turns out the cause is in the building structure, we say so clearly, even when the property manager is the one paying for the treatment.
In practice the cause is often shared, and that is worth saying too. In a Soviet-era panel building a cold bridge at a panel joint is a property of the structure, but the patch appears only in the flat where the ventilation grilles are taped over and the laundry is dried indoors.
In renovated buildings with new airtight windows this is a particularly common case: insulation and new windows reduce heat loss, but they also reduce the unplanned air exchange, and the moisture that used to escape through gaps now stays in the flat. The right response is then neither treatment alone nor a telling-off for the resident, but restoring the ventilation.
A written basis for a decision. If the reading shows a structural defect, that is an argument at a meeting for carrying out repairs. If the reading shows how the space is being used, that is the basis for a reply to the resident and a recommendation of what specifically to change. In both cases the answer rests on numbers rather than opinions, and that is usually the reason the inspection was ordered in the first place.
For several properties and for ongoing work we prepare a combined quote with a discount for volume. The price depends on the number of properties, the floor area and the frequency of treatment.
After the inspection we provide a written description of what was found and of the moisture readings. It is not a legal opinion but a technical description, which is usually enough for the conversation.
Yes. For several properties we prepare a combined schedule and quote with a discount for volume.
We state that clearly in the inspection result. Treatment inside the flat is a temporary solution in that case, and we say so honestly.
Describe the situation — we will tell you whether treatment is needed at all, and which one.
Fill in the form — we will call you on the number you provide, ask a few clarifying questions and propose a solution.
Thank you! We will contact you on the phone number you provided shortly.
