People buy and sell properties all the time, and chances are good that someone is going to sell a property your company does work for. If the new owners are going to assume current maintenance plans, enhancements, or construction projects but not necessarily existing outstanding invoice balances, you may be asking “What do I do with the property record in Aspire?"
This article walks you through the key questions to ask when a property changes ownership so you can make the right decision.
Decision questions
There are two options when a property changes owners: rename the existing property record, or create a new property record under the new owner. To figure out which is the right path for you, ask yourself these questions in order.
When you answer any question with “Yes”, note the resulting action. then skip the rest of the questions and go to the Actions section.
Do you need to collect an open balance from the previous owner?
If yes: Keep the existing property record and make a new one for the new owner.
Note: The key here is visibility. You need to preserve the existing record and maintain the previous owner’s access to the customer portal so they can view and pay outstanding balances.
Is the new owner assuming an existing active contract, such as regular lawn or irrigation maintenance?
If yes: Rename the existing property.
Do you want to preserve historical data on the property from the previous owner? For example, is there historical data around service performance (such as a maintenance contract) that you would want easy access to after the ownership change?
If yes: Keep the existing property record and make a new one for the new owner.
Note: Keeping the existing record maintains visibility of the property’s historical data without adding unnecessary detail to the new owner’s record.
Has the scope of work dramatically changed from the previous owner to the new owner? Example: The previous owner was a builder contracted for landscaping a newly constructed house. The new owner is actually living at the property.
If yes: Keep the existing property record and make a new one for the new owner.
Note: This solution isn’t required. You can update the existing record if you want to.
If you didn’t answer any of the above questions with “Yes”, you can safely update the information for the existing property record instead of creating a new one.
Actions
Once you’ve decided on whether to create a new record or rename the existing one, there are some key actions you may need to complete.
Rename or create the property
Create a new property record for the new owner, or rename the existing property depending on what you decided.
(Optional) Depending on how you name properties, you may want to rename the existing property record so your team can tell the difference at a glance. Example: “OLD 228 Mockingbird Lane”
Add notes
Add a Property Note summarizing the ownership change. If you kept the existing property, add the note on both the existing and the new.
On the new record or on the renamed record, add a Collection Note that lists open invoice numbers and overall AR balance, if applicable.
Add and update contacts
If you renamed the property instead of creating a new one, remove the existing contacts from the property before adding the new ones.
Add new contacts for the new owner, and add them to the correct property record.
(Optional) Re-send estimates and invoices
If the new owner is assuming the previous owner’s active contracts and work orders, re-send the estimates after updating the owner’s information.
If work hasn’t already started on a work order, consider canceling the previous work order and building a new one altogether.
If work has already started on a work order, continue the scheduled services until you reach a clean Complete status to end the work order. Any new work should warrant a new work order.
If there are service visits scheduled for contracts, ride out the existing contract until the end date.
If the new owner is assuming the previous owner’s outstanding invoice balances, regenerate and re-send any open invoices so they include the new information.
If you created a new property record for the new owner, do the following:
Re-create the opportunity and estimate on the new property record. Make sure the total price matches.
If the previous owner paid a partial amount on an invoice, re-create the estimate for the full original amount, then issue a credit on the invoice during step 4.
Win the opportunity.
Complete all work tickets for the opportunity.
Create an invoice batch and send the invoice as normal.
Communicate with your team
There may be other special considerations not covered in this article, such as specific details and instructions around ongoing work, new owner invoice preferences, and billing frequency. Discuss these with your team to make sure work and billing cycles continue smoothly.