Custom Voice AI Receptionists for Property Managers
The best voice AI for property managers is a custom agent that answers tenant calls and schedules maintenance. It integrates directly with your property management software to create and track work orders automatically.
We built a voice system for a 7-person firm managing 350 residential units. They were missing 15-20 calls per day. The system went live in 4 weeks and now fields over 90% of inbound maintenance calls, creating work orders in their PMS in under 60 seconds.
This is not an off-the-shelf phone tree. We build a system trained on your specific call types, from leaky faucets to leasing inquiries. The scope is defined by your property management software (PMS) and the number of distinct call flows you need automated, typically between 5 and 10 for a residential firm.
What Problem Does This Solve?
Independent property managers often start with a basic phone system and a shared voicemail box. This quickly becomes a bottleneck. A single receptionist cannot field 40 calls a day while handling walk-ins, and voicemails create a 2-4 hour delay between a tenant's call and a work order being created in AppFolio or Buildium.
Answering services seem like the next step, but they are a high-cost, high-error solution. For $800-$1,500 per month, you get third-party operators who lack context on your properties. They misclassify urgent issues, misspell street names, and cannot answer simple questions like 'Is my rent check processed?', leading to more follow-up calls, not fewer.
Off-the-shelf call center bots fail because they cannot handle industry specifics. They are programmed for generic support questions, not a tenant describing a 'running toilet' or a 'humming garbage disposal'. They cannot connect to your PMS to verify a tenant's identity or check their lease details, so they end up just taking a message like an expensive voicemail service.
How Does It Work?
We start by analyzing 50-100 of your past maintenance tickets or call transcripts. Using the Claude API, we identify the 5-7 most common request types and map the specific data needed for each, like unit number, issue description, and tenant permission to enter. This forms the blueprint for the AI's conversational logic.
We build the core conversational engine in Python using the FastAPI framework. When a call comes in, the system uses a speech-to-text service to get a live transcript. The Claude API then classifies the call's intent and extracts entities in under 800ms. The logic is designed to handle ambiguous language and ask clarifying questions, just like a human receptionist would.
Once a maintenance request is confirmed, the system makes a direct API call to your property management software. We have experience integrating with AppFolio, Buildium, and RentManager. It creates a new work order, populates all required fields, and returns the work order number to the tenant on the call. The entire process, from answer to confirmation, takes less than 90 seconds.
The final system is deployed on AWS Lambda, providing near-infinite capacity to handle call spikes. All call data, transcripts, and outcomes are logged to a Supabase database using structlog for clear, structured records. For a portfolio of 400 units, typical monthly hosting costs are under $30.
What Are the Key Benefits?
Answer Every Call on the First Ring
Your AI receptionist operates 24/7 and can handle dozens of concurrent calls. A full maintenance request is processed and logged in your PMS in under 90 seconds.
One-Time Build, Not a Monthly Fee
A single, scoped project cost replaces a perpetual $1,500/month answering service. Post-launch hosting on AWS Lambda costs pennies per call.
You Own the Source Code
We deliver the full Python application to your company's GitHub repository. You are never locked into our service and have full control to extend the system.
Graceful Handoff to a Human
If the AI cannot understand a request with 95% confidence, it automatically transfers the call to a human and sends a Slack alert with the transcript.
Direct Integration with Your PMS
Work orders are created automatically via API in systems like AppFolio or Buildium. This eliminates manual data entry and reduces error rates from 10% to under 1%.
What Does the Process Look Like?
Week 1: Scoping and Data Analysis
You provide access to maintenance tickets or call logs. We map your top 5-7 call flows and deliver a technical plan detailing the integration with your PMS.
Week 2: Core Agent Build
We build the conversational logic using Python and the Claude API. You receive a secure link to a working demo to test the primary conversation paths.
Week 3: Integration and Deployment
We connect the agent to your PMS API and deploy it to a live phone number. You receive the production system documentation and access to the monitoring dashboard.
Weeks 4-8: Monitoring and Handoff
We monitor live calls for 30 days to tune for edge cases. Upon completion, you receive the full source code repository and a detailed system runbook.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How much does a custom voice AI receptionist cost?
- Pricing is a fixed, one-time fee based on project scope. The primary factors are the number of distinct call flows to automate (e.g., maintenance, leasing, payments) and the quality of your PMS's API documentation. We determine a fixed price after our initial discovery call, so you know the full cost before the project begins.
- What happens if a tenant has an emergency like a fire?
- The system is designed to detect emergency keywords like 'fire', 'flood', or 'gas leak' within the first few seconds of a call. If detected, it immediately stops its normal script and transfers the call to a designated 24/7 emergency line you provide. This transfer happens in under 2 seconds. This fail-safe is the first thing we test.
- How is this different from a RingCentral IVR or phone tree?
- A RingCentral IVR uses a rigid menu ('Press 1 for X'). Our system uses natural language understanding. A tenant can just state their problem conversationally, and the AI understands the intent. It's the difference between navigating a confusing menu and having a direct conversation with a competent receptionist who can take immediate action in your other software.
- Can the system handle calls that are not maintenance requests?
- Yes. We can build additional conversation flows to answer common questions about leasing, office hours, or rent payment status. For payment questions, it can check the status in your PMS and provide an answer. For leasing, it can ask qualifying questions and schedule a showing. Each new flow is a defined module we can add to the scope.
- Do we have to change our main business phone number?
- No. You have two options. We can port your existing phone number to the new system with no downtime, or you can keep your number with your current carrier and simply forward all calls to the new number we provide. Most clients choose the call forwarding option as it is faster to set up and provides an easy way to revert if needed.
- What if we change our maintenance intake process later?
- The system is built to be maintainable. If your process changes, for example you now need to ask if the tenant has a pet before scheduling a visit, that is a small code modification. The runbook we provide documents how to make these changes. For clients on our flat monthly maintenance plan, these kinds of updates are included.
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