How RAG Saves Property Managers 6 Hours Per Week
A managing agent handling 40 buildings receives between 80 and 120 resident queries each week. Seventy-four per cent are questions already answered in the lease, the articles of association or internal regulations. The question is how much time is lost searching for those answers manually — and how IgeraFincas RAG gives those hours back.
The calculation that changes everything
2h/day answering queries + 2h/day searching documents + 2h/day drafting communications = 6 hours a day or 30 hours per week. With IgeraFincas: 5 hours per week. The rest: free to grow the business.
-76%
Manual time on queries
71%
Automatic resolution rate
<8min
Average response time
0
Legal errors in 6 months
The breakdown: where those 6 hours go
Block 1: Answering direct queries (2h/day). "Can I sublet my parking space?", "What quorum do I need to challenge the AGM resolution?", "What is the deadline to pay the special assessment?". Each takes 5–15 minutes. With 10–15 queries a day, that is at least 2 hours.
Block 2: Document retrieval (2h/day). The manager knows the answer but needs the exact clause. Searching through disorganised PDFs, folders from previous years, scanned copies of articles of association. With 40 buildings, each with its own documents, searching can take longer than the answer itself.
Block 3: Drafting communications (2h/day). Service charge notices, post-AGM summaries, arrears reminders, formal responses to complaints. Each requires checking facts, consulting precedents and writing with legal precision.
The real case: Administraciones Garraf
Maria Garcia has been managing properties in the Barcelona metropolitan area for 15 years. Her office manages 43 buildings with 3,241 owners, with a team of three people. "Monday mornings were the worst. Between the weekend and Friday's meeting, I would accumulate 80 to 100 messages. It would take until 11am to clear the inbox."
After implementing IgeraFincas with the LPH, the Catalan Civil Code and 186 documents across 43 buildings, results after six weeks:
- The chatbot resolves 71% of queries without human intervention.
- Responses arrive in under 8 minutes (previously: 4–48 hours).
- Maria now reviews only the 29% of queries that require professional judgement.
- Management time dropped from 30 hours per week to 7 hours per week.
- Zero legal errors in the first 6 months of use.
How the two-layer RAG works
-
1
Public and legal layer (pre-indexed)
Full LPH, Catalan Civil Code, Urban Rentals Act. Available from day one — no uploads needed.
-
2
Private community layer
Articles of association, regulations, minutes and contracts per building. Each resident only accesses their own building's documents.
-
3
Operational layer
Maintenance contracts, incident history, approved budgets. Answers questions like "when does the lift service contract expire?" instantly.
| Saving category | Before | With IgeraFincas | Saving |
|---|---|---|---|
| Answering queries | 10h/wk | 2h/wk | 8h = £320 |
| Document search | 8h/wk | 1h/wk | 7h = £280 |
| Drafting communications | 6h/wk | 2h/wk | 4h = £160 |
| TOTAL | 24h/wk | 5h/wk | 19h/wk = £760/wk |
At £40/hour, 19 hours per week equals £3,286 per month. The IgeraFincas Professional plan costs €199/month. ROI: over 1,500% monthly. The investment is recovered on the first day of use.
Try IgeraFincas free for 14 days
No card required. No commitment. Upload one building's documents and see the difference within 48 hours.
Start freeReal case: resident query at 10:47 PM
Resident:
"Hi, can I put a security camera in the hallway outside my front door?"
IgeraFincas (23 seconds later, no human intervention):
"Good evening. Installing cameras in common areas requires a simple majority AGM resolution (Art. 17.9 LPH). Your building's internal regulations also require prior authorisation from the president for any installation in common elements. Source: Internal Regulations, Art. 8 — page 4 of your indexed document."
Secondary benefits nobody calculates
- 24/7 availability: residents get an answer even at 11 PM on a Sunday
- Consistency: all residents receive the same answer based on the same source
- Traceability: every response is logged with timestamp and source citation
- Fewer disputes: the resident can see the source and cannot argue the manager "said something different"
- Scalability: the office can manage 60 buildings with the same team of three
Frequently asked questions
How long does initial setup take?
The public layer is pre-indexed as standard. Uploading documents for 40 buildings takes 2–4 hours depending on whether PDFs are already digital. The IgeraFincas team supports the onboarding process.
What happens with queries the bot cannot answer?
The system automatically escalates to the manager with a context summary. The manager receives a notification and responds from the same dashboard. This affects 29% of queries — the ones that require professional judgement.
Do residents know they are talking to a bot?
That depends on the office's configuration. Some prefer full transparency; others use an assistant name. UK GDPR does not require explicit AI identification in informational contexts, but transparency is recommended.
Does it work with WhatsApp?
Yes. IgeraFincas integrates with WhatsApp Business API, the channel preferred by 78% of residents. It also works via email, embedded web and SMS from a single dashboard.
What happens when legislation or articles of association are updated?
General legislation is updated automatically. Private documents are updated when the manager uploads the new version. Previous versions are archived.
What does IgeraFincas cost?
Starter €99/month (up to 20 buildings). Professional €199/month (up to 60 buildings, WhatsApp included). Enterprise €399/month (unlimited, API, dedicated support). All plans include a 14-day free trial.
Joan Puig
Operations Lead, Igera Solutions
RAG case study specialist with over 50 implementations in the real estate sector.