Why should you conduct rental inspections?

 

No matter how thoroughly you screen tenants, routine inspections are a must for a professional property management company. Inspections are done to protect the property and the rental owners investment, not necessarily because you don’t trust the tenant.

 

Regular inspections benefit both the tenant and the owner/management. These inspections can help to identify any maintenance or issues that need fixing prior to becoming major expenses and/or damages.  You can also follow up on your residents to make sure they are complying with the lease agreement and conducting their maintenance responsibilities.  And of course, if any damage is being done to the property it is better to find it earlier than later.

 

3 types of inspections every property manger should be doing…

 

• Move-in Inspection:

  This inspection, of course, is conducted during the move-in process. With Vision Real Estate, the tenant will actually compete a move-in inspection form within 48 hours of being given the keys to the property. This way the tenant holds the responsibility for noticing the damages to the unit. Not every property is perfect upon move in, and tenants do accept the property as is at lease signing. But this is a great way to show that the red punch stain in the hallway was there previously so that the tenant doesn’t get charged for it at move out. It is NOT a required to do list that the tenant creates.  This inspection is not intended to be a wish list for things tenants want done to the property. Only noted so that there is a record of it upon move-out of the unit. It is a good idea that the tenant keep a copy of their move-in inspection sheet.

 

• Routine inspections:

  This is exactly what it says — a routine inspection, performed by the manager or owner to ensure that the property is clean and safe.  Regular inspections help find common issues such as: Unauthorized pets, deferred maintenance, additional occupants, illegal activity, and safety issues (to name a few)

   

  Vision real estate conducts inspections as often as every other month to at minimum, quarterly. Going any longer than that and we find that it is easy to loose control of the overall condition of the property.  Finding damages early, such as a loose hinge from a door being slammed, is much cheaper to fix than replacing the door that has been fully broken at the end of the lease. Everything in an inspection is documented, supported by pictures, signed by the manager. If there are any issues, the management can require the tenant to fix the problems or face eviction proceedings. A follow-up inspection will be conducted to verify that repairs or issues have been corrected.

• Move-out Inspections:

  The “move-out” inspection is the managements way to determine the overall condition of the property when the tenant(s) move out.   The lease agreement states that the tenants are responsible for returning the property to the save overall condition as when they moved in (minus normal wear and tear) It is important to do a move-out inspection as soon as you can after the tenant has returned the keys to do a preliminary inspection of the property. Keep in mind that some issues aren’t found until a week or two later when the maintenance department has found “unseen” damages caused by the tenant. This is why the state gives a minimum of 30 days to return a deposit disposition. Just in case there are additional damages and repairs that need to be made. Once the move-out inspection has been done and documented with pictures, it should be compared to the move-in inspection so that the tenant does not get charged for pre-existing damages.

 

Doing these regular inspections can save money for all the parties involved. It is a good sign of a good property management company. To find out more about Vision Real Estate’s property management services click HERE