Doing thorough property inspections at move in and during the course of occupancy is very important to landlords. When you have a resident moving in, a written report is essential. You have to include pictures and/or video to go with your report. When you do this, you will be able to document the condition of the place and take note of any changes that happen to the property between the resident’s move in and move out dates.
Conduct interim inspections as well. You can make sure the resident is not having any problems and you can also check for any unreported repairs that might be needed on the property. For example, if a toilet is leaking or there is a water leak under a sink, the resident might not have noticed that and if the resident doesn’t tell you about it, you have no way of fixing it and there could be further damage. Interim inspections also keep you connected to your residents. At PURE Property Management, we find that our residents like having us touch base with them. We go out to the property three or four months after move in, walk through it and check the place out. We look for deferred maintenance and we take the opportunity to remind residents to change the furnace filters or the smoke detector batteries. Usually, residents are good about keeping up with these things, but sometimes all it takes is a quick visit and a reminder.
During the inspection, it is important to have pictures. Pictures have become invaluable, especially if there is ever a dispute after a resident moves out of a property. If there is a dispute, you will have pictures showing that the blinds were new or the stove was clean at the move in point. Your move out photos might show the stove is filthy, and then the dispute is over. This helps our owners avoid any court disputes and it also helps our residents, because they will know that we are not trying to cheat them, we are simply trying to keep the property in the same great condition that it was when the resident moved in.
Knowing the condition of the property at the time of move in helps with the interim inspection and the move out inspection. When the same person conducts them and does a thorough job, it is easy to remember what the place looked like initially, and whether anything has changed to the condition of the house.
If you have any questions, or need some help with your property inspections, please contact us at PURE Property Management.
