Maintenance Dispatcher

SFR3 is a boutique real estate investment fund managing $2B+ of affordable single-family homes. The fund renovated distressed homes, using software drivin operations to run many "tertiary" markets concurrently. Today we own 10k homes across 20 states, and will launch a second fund on the same rails.

You are a hands-on problem solver who achieves the right outcome through excellent communication skills. You have turned the wrench, or you have stood next to the person turning it — either way you know how residential systems actually fail, not how a manual says they fail. When a resident says “my sink is leaking,” you are three questions from knowing whether it is the supply line, the P-trap, or something behind the wall. “No cooling” does not make you reach for the dispatch button - it makes you ask about the filter, the breaker, and the thermostat setting first.

You speak clear, conversational American English and you are comfortable running a call — guiding it, slowing it down, keeping it professional when the person on the other end is having the worst day of their month. You write the same way you talk: clean, specific, no filler. Your work-order notes and scopes are the reason the field resource shows up prepared instead of guessing.

What drives you is getting it right the first time. An unnecessary truck roll offends you. A repeat visit for a part someone should have brought offends you more. You sit at the intersection of the trades and customer service responsible for bringing both sides together to deliver best in class resident service EVERY time.

Your Mandate

Diagnostic accuracy is the name of the game: you are the single decision point between a resident’s description of a problem and the money we spend solving it. You determine what is actually happening in the home, whether anyone or the property is at risk, whether the resident can safely resolve it themselves, who should do the work, how urgently, and exactly what they need to know before they knock on the door. What kinds of calls are you working?

• Sorting a “no cooling” call into a filter, a tripped breaker, a thermostat setting, or a real HVAC failure
• Recognizing an uncontrolled leak, sewage backup, gas odor, or electrical hazard fast — and escalating before it becomes property damage
• Getting a Property Engineer to the door with the right trade and the right parts on the first trip
• Knowing when a specialized vendor is worth the spend, and when it is not

Talk & Diagnose

• Excellent communication skills verbal and written in clear-professional English
• Ability to guide the conversation with effective diagnostic questions
• Translate what the resident describes into accurate maintenance terminology
• Explain the issue and the next steps in language the resident can actually follow
• Professionally manage a large volume of issues to completion

Troubleshoot & Self-Resolve

• Guide residents through safe, basic troubleshooting where appropriate — GFCIs, breakers, thermostat settings, HVAC filters, simple plumbing conditions, appliance controls
• Use real maintenance knowledge to determine what is occurring at the home, not just what was reported
• Know when troubleshooting should stop and a qualified field resource must be dispatched

Triage Emergencies & Habitability

• Quickly recognize life-safety, emergency, active-damage, and habitability conditions
• Ask the questions that establish real severity and urgency - If everything is an emergency, nothing is an emergency. You know where to hold the line based on facts not resident frustration or other market dynamics.

Dispatch & Own the Outcome

• Write work orders carrying enough diagnostic detail that the field resource arrives prepared - First visit resolution is what keeps you up at night.
• Monitor the work through completion and keep the resident informed every step of the way
• Control maintenance spend by cutting unnecessary dispatches, wrong-trade assignments, repeat visits, and avoidable vendor use

You will be measured on response time, triage quality, resident communications, resident satisfaction, and your team’s productivity. Build & Ship

What We Are Looking For

• Previous experience in residential maintenance, construction, property management maintenance, facilities management, maintenance dispatch, or a related field — required
• Working knowledge of common residential systems: HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing/water intrusion, sewer/drain, appliances, doors/windows, drywall, flooring, and general residential construction
• Strong spoken and written English — not just understanding conversational American English, but ability to run a professional call with a U.S. resident, explain technical information simply, and summarize it in clear, grammatically correct writing.
• Solid grasp of what constitutes a maintenance emergency and a habitability concern
• Sound decision-making on information gathered remotely, at volume, without someone checking your work
• Proficient with computer-based work-order systems, dashboards, and communication platforms

Strong Signals

• 5+ years of relevant maintenance, construction, property management, facilities, or dispatch experience
• Hands-on field time — you have personally diagnosed and repaired residential systems
• Prior remote work supporting U.S.-based customers or field teams
• Experience in a high-volume, fast-moving environment where you owned the call and the outcome