09/06/2026
This may offend a few property managers and agents, but if you’re offended, there’s a reasonable chance you’ve just recognised yourself in the story.
I’m saying this on behalf of tradespeople everywhere who work for real estates and property managers.
As a former property manager myself, I know the job is busy. You’ve got inspections, entry notices, maintenance requests, owners wanting updates every 15 minutes, tenants reporting that the light globe they haven’t changed in three years has suddenly become an emergency, and approximately 7,000 emails before 9am. I get it.
What I don’t get is how some PMs think it’s perfectly acceptable to ignore tradespeople, sit on invoices for 4+ weeks, and provide absolutely no update whatsoever.
Apparently some agencies operate on the belief that if you ignore an invoice long enough, it will simply wander off into the wilderness and live happily ever after with the missing socks from the office laundry.
Spoiler alert: it won’t.
When I was a PM, if there was going to be a delay with payment, I’d simply tell the tradesperson. I know, I know—what a radical concept. Some might even call it “communication.” I’d even arrange for owners to pay directly if needed. Strange what can happen when people answer emails.
What really fascinates me are the PMs who confidently say:
“That will definitely be paid on Friday.”
Friday arrives.
> No payment.
Monday arrives.
> No payment.
Tuesday arrives.
> Still no payment.
Then suddenly the PM disappears so completely that NASA should be tracking them as a missing satellite.
☎️ Phone calls? Ignored.
📧 Emails? Ignored.
🔂 Follow-ups? Ignored.
🐦 Carrier pigeon? Probably ignored.
🔥 Smoke signals? Also ignored.
The funniest part is that some PMs act shocked when tradespeople start refusing jobs.
“Why won’t they work for us anymore?”
Well Karen, it might have something to do with the fact that your accounts department moves slower than a government-funded sloth on annual leave.
Imagine if your employer told you that you’d be paid on Friday.
Then Friday came and went.
Then another Friday.
Then another Friday.
And every time you asked where your wages were, your boss responded by entering witness protection.
You’d be furious.
Yet somehow some PMs expect tradespeople to smile politely while waiting a month or two for payment after they’ve already done the work.
Tradespeople have bills too.
Their mortgage company wants money.
Their fuel card wants money.
Their suppliers want money.
Their staff want money.
Their families enjoy weird luxuries like food and electricity.
The electricity company doesn’t accept “The property manager said she’d check with the owner” as a payment method.
And let’s be honest—without good tradespeople, some agencies would be completely stuffed.
Who’s going to fix the burst pipe at 4pm on a Friday?
Who’s going to repair the hot water system when the tenant says they’ve been without hot water for “three weeks” but somehow only reported it ten minutes ago?
Who’s going to attend to your urgent last minute bond clean because you have new tenants moving in the next day?
Who’s going to attend your “URGENT PLEASE CALL ASAP” work order?
Certainly not the tradesperson whose invoice has been sitting unpaid since the last season of reality TV started.
The irony is that the PMs who communicate well and pay on time rarely struggle to find trades. Funny how that works.
Most tradespeople are actually incredibly reasonable. If there’s a genuine delay, just tell them. They don’t expect miracles.
What they do expect is not to be treated like an ex-partner you’ve decided to ghost.
So here’s a friendly reminder:
Tradespeople are not charities.
They are not interest-free lenders.
And they are not participating in some surprise competition called “ “Guess When You’ll Get Paid.”
To the PMs who communicate, respect their trades, and keep payments moving—thank you 🙏. You’re the reason some trades still answer their phones.
To the PMs who think ignoring invoices is an acceptable management strategy, don’t be surprised when your next urgent maintenance request receives the exact same level of communication you’ve been giving your trades.
Seen ✔️
No response 🦗 🦗 🦗 😏
