Tenants call about leaks, prospects call about the sign out front, owners want an update and a vendor is running late. VVOXA answers your office number on the first ring, day or night, works out who's calling and what they need, and puts the real emergencies through to whoever is on call.
$1,000 setup, then $500 a month. First month free. No per-minute charges. See pricing
By VVOXA in Cape Coral, Florida. Updated . Questions? Email Matt, our founder, at info@vvoxa.com.
Saturday, 7:05 AM: the AC in unit 213
A tenant calls before the office opens. At this sample company, an AC that stops cooling is a message for maintenance, while water coming in would go straight through to the on-call person.
A sample call, written out
Palm Row Property Management (sample)
James O. · (239) ••• ••64
Sat 7:05 AM
Message
Why they called
AC not cooling in unit 213 at the Del Prado building
What VVOXA did
Checked the unit number and took a message for maintenance to call him back
Ringing
CaseyPalm Row Property Management, this is Casey. What can I help you with?
CallerHey, the AC in my unit stopped blowing cold. I'm at the Del Prado building, unit, uh, two-thir…
CaseySorry, I didn't catch the unit number. Was that 213, or 230?
CallerTwo-thirteen.
CaseyGot it, unit 213. Is the number you're calling from the best one to reach you?
CallerYeah, that's right.
CaseyAnd can I get your name?
CallerJames Okafor.
CaseyThanks, James. So that's the AC not cooling in unit 213 at the Del Prado building. I'll pass it to maintenance, and they'll call you on this number.
CallerOkay, thanks.
A sample call, written out to show how VVOXA handles it. The business and the caller are made up for this page.
On a phone line, 213 and 230 sound alike, and a wrong unit sends your tech to the wrong door. When it isn't sure what it heard, it asks, as Casey did. Moments after the call, the summary, the transcript and the recording are in your account.
Who's calling, and what it does for each
Each kind of caller needs something different. On the setup call, you tell it what to ask each one.
Tenants with a repair
It asks for the property and unit, what's wrong and since when, and anything else you want on every work order, like pets in the unit or permission to enter. Then it checks the problem against your emergency list: put through now, or written up for the morning.
Tenants with a question
Office hours, where to drop off keys, how to pay rent. If the answer is in its facts, it answers. If not, it says so and takes a message.
Prospects
It answers from your facts: available units, rent, deposit, pet rules, how to apply. With booking switched on, it books a showing into an open time. It can't see your listing software, so keep its list of available units current.
Owners
A question about a statement, a vacancy or a repair gets a message marked for you, with their name and the property. It can't see owner accounts, so it doesn't try to answer.
Vendors, neighbors and everyone else
A plumber running late, an invoice question, a noise complaint: it takes their name, the property and what they need, and writes it up for your office.
You decide what counts as an emergency
Every company draws the line in a different place. On the setup call you give it your list, and the number to put those calls through to. For example:
Water coming in now. A burst pipe, a leaking water heater, water through the ceiling. It tells the caller to turn off the main water shut-off if they can, then puts the call through.
Sewage backing up into a unit.
No AC in the summer heat, if you want those calls at night. Or make them a message for the morning, as in the sample.
A door that won't lock after a break-in, or a broken window on the ground floor.
Lockouts, if you handle them after hours.
Gas and anyone in danger go to 911. If a caller smells gas, it tells them to get out and call 911 or the gas company from outside. If someone is in danger, it tells them to call 911. It can't contact emergency services or send help, so keep your own way for urgent callers to reach a person (Terms, section 6.3).
One number, and what happens if nobody picks up
It puts urgent calls through to one number. If your on-call person changes each week, use a number that always reaches whoever has the on-call phone, or ask us to change it. If nobody picks up, the caller can leave a voicemail.
Each person on your account can turn on phone alerts in the VVOXA app for new messages and voicemails. An alert is a nudge, though, not a way to reach someone in an emergency. Putting the call through is.
What it won't decide, promise or give out
These are calls for you and your team, so it leaves them to you.
Whether a unit is fit to live in. Beyond your list, it doesn't judge how serious a problem is.
Spending. It can't approve a repair, send a vendor or promise a hotel night.
Arrival times. It says someone will call back, never when maintenance will get there.
Application decisions. Whether an applicant is approved is a message for your leasing team.
Legal opinions. A lease or deposit dispute gets a message for you, with no opinion attached.
Codes. Anything in its facts is something it may tell a caller, so keep gate, lockbox and alarm codes out.
Rent, balances and payments
It tells callers how and where to pay, from what you give it: your tenant portal, the office drop box, your late-fee policy as written. It can't take a payment over the phone, and it can't see a tenant's balance or whether this month's rent has arrived. A balance question becomes a message for your office, with the tenant's name, unit and question.
Your property software, honestly
VVOXA doesn't connect to AppFolio, Buildium or Yardi. It won't open a work order in your system or look up a lease. Here's what it does instead.
Every call written up.
Your office copies each repair request into your system, with the unit and the details already gathered.
Showings on a calendar.
Into open times in your VVOXA calendar, with Google Calendar kept in sync, so it never offers a time you're busy there.
Your contacts list.
HubSpot (in beta) adds callers as contacts and logs each call. GoHighLevel adds callers as contacts and keeps the calendar in step.
A web address of your own.
Sends each call to Zapier, Make or n8n. We haven't tested that route with AppFolio, Buildium or Yardi, so ask us before you plan around it.
Sign-ins for your team.
Up to 10 people, each with their own sign-in and a role: Admin, Editor or Viewer.
Your account shows your newest 500 calls, and each recording is deleted 90 days after the call. If you keep call records for your files, copy what you need before then.
Hear it before you decide
Put your number in on our home page and VVOXA rings you in about twenty seconds. Talk to it the way a tenant would.
The first of the month costs the same as the fifteenth
Calls bunch up: rent questions around the first, AC calls through the summer, the weeks when leases turn over. VVOXA is $500 a month however many calls come in and however many doors you manage, with no per-minute or per-call charge. See pricing for what's included and when you pay.
What to have ready for the setup call
Setup is a phone call with Matt, our founder. These answers make it quicker. Print this list or copy it into a note.
Your properties.Names and addresses the way tenants say them, and how the units are numbered.
Office hours and holidays.And what tenants should hear when the office is closed.
Your emergency list.Exactly which problems go straight through, day and night, and whether summer AC is one of them.
The on-call number.One number that reaches whoever is on call.
What to ask on every repair call.Unit, problem, since when, pets in the unit, permission to enter, the best time to reach them.
Available units and showings.Rent, deposit, pet rules, how long a showing takes, and whether it should book them.
How to apply and how to pay.Your application link or office address, your tenant portal, your late-fee policy as written.
What it should never say.Codes, owner details, anything about another tenant.
Who else needs to see the calls.Leasing, maintenance, the office manager: up to 10 people in all.
More on the setup call, forwarding your office number and what happens on each call: how it works.
Questions property managers ask
Can it tell a real emergency from a routine request?
It follows your list. On the setup call you tell it which problems go straight through, like water coming in or sewage backing up, and everything else is written up as a maintenance message. It doesn't make that call on its own. A caller who smells gas is told to get out and call 911 or the gas company from outside, and anyone in danger is told to call 911.
Does it connect to AppFolio, Buildium or Yardi?
No. It won't create work orders or look up leases in them. Each call is written up in your VVOXA account with the unit and the details already gathered, ready for your office to copy in.
What happens when it can't answer a tenant?
It says it doesn't know, takes their name, number, unit and question, and marks the call for you. It won't make up a policy, a fee or a time someone will come out.
Will it know a tenant who has called before?
Yes, by phone number. It keeps caller history, so a tenant calling back about the same leak isn't asked for everything again. Caller ID can be faked, so it never reads past messages back to a caller.
Can it book showings?
Yes, when booking is switched on. It books prospects into open times in your VVOXA calendar, with Google Calendar kept in sync, so it never offers a time you're busy there.
Can it take rent payments?
No. It tells callers how and where to pay, from what you give it, and takes a message for anything about a balance.
Should I use a live answering service or an AI?
A live service gives callers a person, and it's often billed by the minute or by the call. VVOXA answers on the first ring from your own facts, for one flat price, and puts the calls that need judgement through to you. If most of your after-hours calls need someone to decide something there and then, a live service may suit you better.
What does it cost?
$500 a month, the same however many units you manage and however many calls come in. Setup is $1,000 once and the first month is free; see pricing for the details.
Hear VVOXA answer it the way it would answer your tenants. Put your number in on our home page and it calls you in about twenty seconds, or ring our demo line on (650) 754-4948 and book a practice appointment.