Why are Rental Inspections necessary?
Rental inspections are crucial to property management companies like RentWise Property Management and the owners themselves. Why they are important is either a question some property owners ask, or it's something that's a relief to hear when they find out this is a MUST in the property management industry. Some owners purchase a home and never see it again because it's purely for investment purposes. Some landlords own multiple properties and trust property managers like us to manage them, and they handle things as they come up. Because of this and many other reasons, tracking the home's condition is essential for record-keeping and making sure you're renting to quality tenants.To give you an example:
We like to compare this to a retirement type of account. You work and invest your earnings in an investment vehicle that you hope to gain from in the long term. Over the years of investment, you meet with a Financial Advisor to talk about how your account is doing, what type of profit or loss you are making, and discuss the need to change things based on the current market and how your account is doing.This is no different than a rental home.
The home you rent is your "investment account," The condition and property are the investments inside the account. And think of us, your property manager, as your Financial Advisor. We manage the property while tending to the tenant's needs, keep it occupied, keep the rent coming in, and hopefully a profit for you. But understanding how the property is doing requires rental inspections. Both when a new tenant moves in, bi-annually to make sure your tenant is keeping up with the property (especially if you live in an HOA) and, of course, upon move out.When are rental inspections done?
- When a tenant signs a lease, a move-in inspection is the first thing that needs to be done. With the help of good record-keeping and photos, we, as the property manager, already know the condition the property is in. However, the tenant has to confirm the condition. The move-in rental inspection also helps set a standard to how the tenant, at the very minimum, should be expected to keep the property throughout their lease. They also know if they are taking residence in an HOA community what to expect.
- Bi-Annual rental inspections are also done. For long-term renters, sometimes it's annual inspections. We want to ensure that they are tending to the minimum requirements stated in a lease. Also, to make sure they aren't neglecting any maintenance. If things are neglected, they can cost the homeowner more money to fix or correct later. Doing these rental inspections helps try to prevent serious issues down the line. We even offer tenant benefit bundle services to help avoid this. Some property management companies will even do more frequent drive-by inspections. These inspections are done to ensure that a home is being tended to for lawn and seasonal concerns as well.
- Lastly, we do move-out rental inspections. These are vital to ensure that your investment property is in good condition. We document the condition of your property when a tenant moves out. This not only protects you as the homeowner from damages, our tenants too. We like to keep records of their good or poor standing for future use.