Every day, essential multifamily maintenance workers undergo career-ending surgeries, sustain major injuries, age out of their work, or simply experience too much wear and tear on their bodies to continue working onsite any longer.
Many of these technicians don’t want their careers to end like that. They want the opportunity to continue to solve problems and make an impact on residents’ daily lives. Previously, there was no other option for multifamily maintenance technicians—either you worked onsite, became unemployed, or you had to pick a completely different path.
Happy Force is changing that reality, one technician at a time.
We’ve assembled a team of remote techs with decades of multifamily experience whose lives have changed for the better since we’ve given them the opportunity to work from home. Here are a few of their stories.
Meet 7 of Our Happy Force Technicians
Larry is the leader, heart, and soul of the Happy Force team and currently serves as our Maintenance Operations Manager. After working in the multifamily industry for 35 years as a Maintenance Supervisor, Property Manager, and Portfolio Manager, he started his own business doing home improvement and apartment maintenance for local property management companies.
In August of 2021, HappyCo asked whether he thought we could fix things in apartments remotely.
“I said, ‘Hell yeah! I’ve been doing that for 30+ years already!’ We spent several months recruiting and assembling the Happy Force team of experienced multifamily technicians and now here we are… providing a high level of customer service, elevating the resident and maintenance technician experience, re-capturing the experience of industry technicians that can’t work onsite anymore, and fixing issues remotely!”
Daniel is from Sacramento, CA, and has been in multifamily and healthcare maintenance for 23 years, 16 of which have been as a supervisor. Two years ago, he underwent surgery to treat two bulging discs in his back—after that, his doctor told him that working onsite maintenance was no longer an option.
He found himself in a tough spot—with his disability running out, he applied to become a remote tax accountant, something he had little interest in doing. The opportunity at Happy Force was a game changer.
“Getting this job was a dream come true because I didn’t have to change my career path. I’ve accumulated all this experience over the years, and I get to continue to use it to help people,” he shared.
Known to the team as “Senior,” Michael was introduced to Happy Force by his son, “Junior,” who started on the team before he did. Based near Pittsburgh, PA, Michael has 25+ years of maintenance experience, and prior to Happy Force, he worked as a supervisor.
After undergoing multiple surgeries on his back, neck, and shoulder, Michael can’t lift anything over his head, making maintenance work impossible—until Happy Force.
“When I interviewed with Larry, I told him, ‘This job can’t be for real, it has to be a hoax.’ But, it turned out to be one of the best moves I ever made. I am so happy to be here.”
Also known as “Junior,” Mike is Michael’s son who has been in maintenance for over 11 years. When he first heard about Happy Force, he thought it was too good to be true, but he applied on a whim.
Though he’s still physically capable of doing onsite work, Mike has just welcomed a newborn baby, and he cherishes the opportunity to stay home and watch his child grow.
In 2018, William discovered two bulging discs in his back, and in 2020 he had a maintenance career-ending spinal fusion procedure.
However, he didn’t want his 15 years of residential maintenance experience to go to waste. He shared, “I’m very fortunate that HappyCo provided me a way to use the knowledge that I’ve gained, and I’m very grateful to be here.”
Robert started his career in HVAC in 1992 and transitioned to maintenance in 1996. Living and working outside in Austin, TX, the heat and humidity were absolutely brutal on his body. He was struggling to spend long periods of time outside—so much so that it made him sick.
When he heard about Happy Force, he thought, “‘Remote maintenance technician, this has gotta be some sort of scam or something!’ But, I’m really happy, and I really do appreciate the opportunity.”
When Happy Force started in 2022, Chris was one of the first people to join the team. He’s from Charlotte, NC, and has been a technician and supervisor for seven years.
He stumbled upon Happy Force after having invasive ACL knee surgery that put him out of commission for onsite work. When asked about his experience so far, he said, “I’m really glad I reached out and they gave me a chance!”
Creating a Strong, Versatile Team of Techs
Larry (and the entire HappyCo team) couldn’t be more proud of the adaptable, knowledgeable team we’ve put together. Everyone on the team is happy to log in to work every day and make a positive impact on residents’ lives.
Are You Looking For a Remote Maintenance Technician Job?
Join our expert team of Happy Force technicians, who assist residents remotely and strive to elevate the maintenance experience for residents in multifamily.
Ever since she was a kid, Ebby has always loved reading, writing, and storytelling. After graduating from College of Charleston in 2018, Ebby started a career in marketing for start-ups and scale-ups and never looked back. She's thrilled that she now gets to share HappyCo's stories across formats and channels for a living.
