Not every property visit request deserves the same response time. A tenant reporting no heat in January and a tenant asking about repainting a scuffed wall are not the same kind of call, but treated identically on a calendar — first come, first served — they compete for the same slots as if they were. Sorting requests by actual urgency, rather than the order they arrived, means emergencies get today's slot and routine checks get scheduled at a pace that doesn't burn you out chasing every request as if it's on fire. This guide covers how to build a simple triage system so the calendar reflects real priority, not just request order. If you want a tool that helps sort incoming requests by urgency, book a demo.
Visit Triage
Not Every Request Deserves a Same-Day Trip.
Sort visits by urgency so emergencies get today's slot and routine checks get a time that actually works for your schedule.
Three Tiers, Three Response Windows
A simple three-tier system covers most situations without requiring a judgment call for every single request.
Emergency
Same Day
No heat in cold weather, active flooding, safety hazards, no working smoke detector
Urgent
24–48 Hours
Non-flooding leak, broken major appliance, lockout issues, partial utility outage
Routine
Within the Week
Cosmetic wear, minor fixture issues, scheduled quarterly inspections, non-urgent requests
Sorting a Request Into the Right Tier
Is anyone's safety at risk right now?
Yes → Emergency
Is the property actively being damaged?
Yes → Emergency
Is a major system non-functional but stable?
Yes → Urgent
Is it cosmetic or non-time-sensitive?
Yes → Routine
Sort by Urgency, Not by Arrival Order
HomeInspecto helps you tag and schedule requests by priority level, keeping emergencies from getting buried behind routine bookings.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if a tenant insists something is an emergency but it isn't?
Having a clear, consistent tier system helps here — you can explain the response window based on the actual criteria rather than making an ad hoc judgment call that feels arbitrary to the tenant.
Should routine visits still have a maximum wait time?
Yes. "Routine" shouldn't mean indefinite — setting an outer bound, like within the week or within two weeks, keeps routine requests from being pushed back indefinitely.
Can the same triage system work for owner requests, not just tenant ones?
Yes. The same three-tier logic applies regardless of who the request comes from — an owner's urgent concern still gets prioritized over a routine check elsewhere.
What happens if two emergencies come in at the same time?
Within the emergency tier, safety risks generally take precedence over property damage risks — but this is where judgment still matters even with a tiered system in place. Book a demo or start a free trial.
Let Urgency Decide the Order, Not the Clock
A simple three-tier system keeps emergencies from waiting behind routine requests.
