Conversations That Feel Human
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The Problem
Why Property Managers Are Moving to an AI Answering Service
A burst pipe or a no-heat call doesn't wait for office hours, and neither do the tenants reporting them. A traditional property management answering service can take a message, but it still leaves emergencies sitting in a queue and routine maintenance requests waiting until Monday. Retell answers on the first ring, tells a real emergency from a routine one, and dispatches your on-call vendor immediately, so nothing waits that shouldn't.
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Comparison
Retell VS. A Traditional Property Management Answering Service
Hours
What You Pay For
Wait Time
Busy Periods
Consistency
Languages
Handing Off To You
Setup
Your Tools
Traditional Answering Service
Business hours, or a paid add-on for nights, weekends and holiday emergencies
Per minute and per call, with hold time and monthly retainers on top
Callers hold for the next free operator
Limited by how many operators are staffed; a real emergency waits behind routine calls
Varies with whoever picks up
Usually English, more languages cost extra
Takes a message and relays it to the property manager or on-call tech the next morning
Write scripts, brief operators, wait for training
Messages relayed by email or portal
Every tenant call answered 24/7, including maintenance emergencies at 2 a.m.
Usage-based from $0.07/min, $10 in free credits to start
Answered on the first ring, no queue
20 concurrent calls included, so a leasing call and a maintenance emergency get answered at the same time
The same triage and answer quality on every call
More than one language handled the same way
Triages emergency vs. routine, then warm-transfers or dispatches to your on-call vendor with the full transcript attached
Start from a template, sync your knowledge base, go live
Connects to your property management software and acts during the call
Cost per minute
$0.07-$0.31/min
LLM: gpt-5
$0.040/min
TTS: platform
$0.015/min
Voice Engine
$0.055/min
Background speech removal
$0.005/min
Safety Guardrails
$0.005/min
Buyer’s Guide
How to Choose a Property Management Answering Service
$0.07-$0.31 Per Minute
You pay for real call time, nothing else.
$10 in Free Credits
Try it before you pay anything.
No Monthly Retainers
Nothing extra for nights, weekends or busy periods.
Lower Bills Overall
Routine calls clear on their own, so spend drops.
Capabilities
What Our Agent Does on a Call
Triages Every Maintenance Call:
It tells a true emergency, like a burst pipe, no heat, or a lockout, from a routine repair request, and acts accordingly.
Emergencies get dispatched to your on-call maintenance team or vendor immediately, following the escalation order you set.
Routine requests are logged and handed off with the full transcript for scheduling during business hours.
Answers from Your Own Knowledge Base:
It stays in sync with your property details, so callers hear current answers about availability, pricing, and pet or parking policies.
It can look up a tenant or unit record mid-call and tailor what it says.
It can pull from your property management software over secure webhooks while the call is live.
Setup
Live in Four Steps
Step 1
Build
Set the agent up in a no-code dashboard or with the API, and point it at your property listings and maintenance procedures.
Step 2
Test
Run it against the calls you really get, maintenance requests, leasing questions, tenant complaints, and confirm it triages and hands off cleanly.
Step 3
Deploy
Connect your line over SIP trunking or take a new number, then go live on voice, SMS and chat.
Step 4
Monitor
Track resolution and transfer rates and caller sentiment from the dashboard, and refine over time.
Value
Why Businesses Choose Retell
A Clean Handoff to Your Team
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Reporting You Can Act On
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Built for Sensitive Data
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Overview
Built to scale with you
From quick-start simplicity to enterprise-grade security, compliance, and support. Retell meets you wherever you are.
Put Your Business Answering Service to Work Today
Start from a template, sync your knowledge base, and connect your line or take a new number. Try it on your real calls, then go live on voice, SMS and chat.
FAQ
Common Questions
How does Retell know if a maintenance call is a real emergency?
Retell asks the caller what's happening and matches it against the emergency criteria you set, things like flooding, no heat, no AC in extreme weather, a gas smell, or being locked out. A true emergency gets dispatched to your on-call maintenance team or vendor right away. A routine request, like a squeaky door or a filter change, gets logged for scheduling during business hours.
Can Retell dispatch a call directly to my maintenance vendor?
Yes. You set the escalation order, on-call tech first, then a backup vendor, then you, and Retell follows it automatically. It can call, text, or transfer the details so whoever is on call knows the unit, the issue, and how to reach the tenant.
Does Retell handle leasing inquiries from prospective tenants?
Yes. It answers questions about availability, pricing, pet policies, parking, and application requirements from your listings, and it can capture the prospect's contact information and schedule a tour or hand them to your leasing team.
How much does Retell cost?
Retell is usage-based, starting at $0.07 per minute, and you get $10 in free credits to try it before you pay for anything.
Can Retell answer calls in more than one language?
Yes. It handles multiple languages at the same quality level, so tenants and prospects who don't call in English still get a clear answer.
How fast can I get a property management answering service live?
Most teams start from a template, connect their property and maintenance details, and go live the same day. There are no scripts to write or operators to train.
What happens when a tenant needs to talk to a person?
Retell warm-transfers the call to your team with the full transcript and any tenant or unit record attached, so whoever picks up already knows what's going on.
