Author: Michelle Wagner

Commercial leases refer to “fixtures” as those pieces of equipment inside the building which the tenant is entitled to use but that belong to the landlord. The HVAC system is not only the most expensive fixture in the building, but it also requires the most regular maintenance.

At the end of the lease landlords hope not to inherit equipment that has been poorly maintained, and tenants also want to avoid potential liability for major repairs when turning the space back over to the landlord.

Since the tenant continuously uses the HVAC system, the tenant is typically required to maintain it. But this naturally sets up a potential conflict. Especially as lease terms approach maturity, the tenant has less motivation to spend money to properly maintain the equipment or extend its useful life.

The only way to satisfy this potential conflict is for both the landlord and tenant to make sure a preventive maintenance contract is kept in place with a licensed and reputable HVAC contractor.

SMS’s HVAC preventive maintenance program ensures:

• Regular, seasonal preventive maintenance including full inspection, cleaning, lube and replacement of belts and filters
• Compliance with EPA regulations for Freon. 
• Inventory of all units detailing: manufacturer, serial number, age, service records and estimated remaining useful life
• Twelve-month projected costs of major repairs or replacements

And, most importantly for everyone’s benefit:

• Inspection reports provided upon completion of each visit

Learn more about how SMS can help take the worry out of your HVAC maintenance program.

Our uniquely American tradition – to gather with family and friends and to pause and reflect on our many blessings began 403 years ago when the Pilgrims and the Native American Wampanoag people celebrated their successful harvest. Far from the homes they left behind, one can imagine the deep sense of gratitude the settlers felt knowing they had enough food to make it through the winter.

“Pilgrims & Wampanoag join together for the first Thanksgiving dinner.”

In 1863, Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday. In the midst of the Civil War, how difficult must it have been for soldiers to find anything to be thankful for? Historian Tom Emery writes: “That year, Lewis Crater of the 50th Pennsylvania recorded in his diary that the soldiers were ‘issued three fine apples to every man.’ Despite the middling fare, Crater and others likely gave thanks that they had survived to see another Thanksgiving during the four bloodiest years in American history.”

Almost exactly 100 years later and six days after John F. Kennedy had been assassinated, Lyndon Johnson addressed the nation: “Yesterday is not ours to recover. But tomorrow is ours to win or to lose. I ask you to join me in that resolve, determined that from this midnight of tragedy, we shall move toward a new American greatness.” Then he reminded Americans that, despite the tragedy of Kennedy’s assassination, “more than any generation before us, we have cause to be thankful, so thankful.”

It’s easy to forget the struggles that our ancestors faced and that made possible the many comforts and conveniences we now enjoy.

All of us at Spectrum Maintenance Services are thankful for the food on our tables, thankful for those that came before us, and thankful to live and prosper together in this great country.

Happy Thanksgiving!

There are many cliches we could use to describe the attention an SMS Client Services Representative will give to your repair and maintenance needs.

SMS assigns a dedicated Client Services Representative to each of our accounts from start to finish. The CSR provides:

• Familiarity and knowledge of your property
• Ability to assess and quickly dispatch work orders to the most suitable technician
• Fast turnaround of proposal for service to be performed
• Follow up on progress and completion of the work order
• Finalize and close-out accurate billing of the job

Let one of our Client Services Representatives assist you with your property service needs from womb to tomb!

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How frustrating is it to find out that your service technician took care of one problem for you but completely ignored another at your property?

After an SMS technician completes a work order request for you he will drive around the property and take pictures of any other issues requiring attention. These will be emailed to you with a recommendation and proposal for addressing the problem.

Contact SMS so that we can go the extra hundred yards for you!

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When Bob Dylan penned this iconic song, the last thing on his mind was remembering to set his watch to standard time. This annoying ritual not only upsets our sleep patterns but creates some real problems for outdoor lighting on commercial properties.

As we move into the dark winter months, your outdoor lighting should be fully-operational at night to provide safe and secure conditions and off during daytime hours to avoid unnecessary utility expense.

This can best be accomplished by:

• Controlling all parking lot, under-canopy and wall-pack lighting as well as monument signs with photocells
• Inspect photocells annually and replace at the end of useful life to prevent avoidable failure

And don’t forget to set your clocks back on November 5^th when 3:00 am magically becomes 2:00 am.

Contact SMS today to schedule a full inspection of your outdoor lighting systems.

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