I’ve often had property owners who have come to us say “Well, I really never did inspections or went to the property much because my tenant paid their rent on time so I figured everything was fine.”
Scary, right? No matter how good a tenant may seem, it’s critical that you do regular inspections during the tenancy for many reasons - things like making sure there are no pets that shouldn’t be there. And making sure there are no maintenance issues like leaks that they never mentioned or even noticed. Making sure no illegal activity is going on there- people may pay rent on time and never call you for maintenance because they don’t want you to come over! Believe me, that happens.
So what can you do?
Well for starters, absolutely do thorough move-in and move-out inspections.
It’s important that you really take the time to thoroughly document the condition of the property by using photos. Take pictures of everything! Take photos of walls and ceilings and open all drawers and cabinets too. Photograph the inside of the oven, refrigerator and bathroom vanities. These are all places where damage can occur and you may not see it. With extensive “move-in” photos, it will be easy to compare the same series of “move-out” photos and assess any damage charges to the tenant. Without photo documentation, it becomes a game of “he said, she said”. Make yourself a good detailed checklist- room by room- and use it for both before and after pictures so you get the same photos to compare and it will make the process much easier for you.
So now you’ve developed your "move-in" and "move-out" inspection process but you still need to plan your interim inspections. If you have a one year lease, make sure you do one inspection at least halfway through the lease- so at about 6 months. This is critical. If you have other repair requests before or after that which take you to the property, you should do a quick look around but at the 6 month mark, you should do a more thorough check.
Here are some things you may want to look for during your interim inspection:
- Roof, fascia board, soffit
- Grass and shrubs
- Look for dog poop or small dead patches in the yard (maybe a tenant has a pet they didn’t tell you about? They can hide dog bowls and such but poop may still be in the yard!)
- Handrails on deck
- Non functioning lighting
- Missing or torn screens
- Drainage issues
- AC pipes and wiring
- Insulated exterior hose bibs
- Look for trampolines, swingsets, above ground pools, unauthorized pets (these are an insurance risk)
- Look to see if there is a grill and is it too close to the house
Interior:
- Water infiltration
- Check AC filters to see if they have been changed regularly by the tenant
- Missing door stops
- Look for “interesting” tenant repairs
- Cracked caulking
- Non functioning smoke detectors
- Any illegal activity
- Holes in walls or any cracks that need attention
- Unsecured interior hand rails
- Exposed wiring
- Signs of mold
Lastly, if you are in the area, do quick driveby inspections from time to time and see how the house looks from the outside. Are they mowing the lawn and keeping up the house at least from the outside.
Don’t just assume everything is fine because your tenant doesn’t complain and pays the rent on time. It’s your asset and it’s important to stay on top of your inspections!
