Routine property inspections are designed to help landlords check on the status of their property. Are your tenants adhering to the lease agreement? Do you have issues with the property that need to be repaired? Maintenance is needed from time to time for landlords to ensure the property is up to code, and tenants are given some updated appliances and living options. Use this guide from Keyrenter Property Management Chattanooga, TN, in order to learn what to look for during maintenance inspections.
Look Everywhere
It is important to look around everywhere to ensure everything is intact. As a landlord, you need to walk around every room, look in and around appliances, in the bathroom, check on the flooring, replace the furnace filters, check on the smoke alarms, and more. Property managers need to get in the habit of doing routine inspections to make sure there are not leaks under the sink in the kitchen and bathrooms. Another thing to look for includes pests! Check around for mice droppings or indications of bed bugs and cockroaches. Let your tenants know what your maintenance inspection will entail so they know what to expect. Sometimes the maintenance inspection takes a few minutes, but it can easily take a few hours depending upon the state of the property.
Performing an Inspection
It is important to know that property inspections need to adhere to certain legal requirements. It does help to contact an attorney if you are concerned with tenant rights and maintenance inspections. Here are some do’s and don’ts when it comes to property inspections:
Do give prior notice. You need to make sure you are aware of the laws pertaining to property inspections and provide enough notice.
Do encourage your tenant to be at home during the maintenance inspection. The tenant can let you know if there are appliance issues, issues with pests, smoke alarm concerns, and plumbing leaks.
Do tell tenants why you need to perform an inspection. Tenants need to know why you are visiting the rental property and doing some repairs and upgrades.
Don’t take pictures of any of their personal belongings. You need to make sure you do not take pictures of children, pets, and more. The most important thing is to focus on making sure you are respecting their privacy.
Don’t get into an argument. When you are working with tenants, you need to make sure you are cordial and do not get into an argument or confrontation. If the tenant has a complaint, note the complaint and let them know you will look into the issue. If you notice issues like holes in the wall and other damage, the tenant could become combative and argumentative about the damage they have caused. Address serious issues in writing and not in person as it can lead to confrontations with the tenant.
Dealing with lease violations can be challenging, but a necessary part of managing your rental property. Contact Keyrenter Property Management Chattanooga, TN, for assistance and help with your real estate investment. Keyrenter provides residential property management services to landlords of single family homes, duplexes, condos, and small multifamily units. We are not large apartment managers. Our purpose is to help landlords maximize the return on their investment property while eliminating the stressors associated with being a landlord (including bad tenants and maintenance issues). Services we offer include: property analysis, setting rent, tenant placement, leasing services, maintenance coordination, tenant relations, property inspections, rent collection. We offer superior customer service. Because we know how to find quality tenants that can meet the terms of their lease agreement, using Keyrenter’s 14-point tenant screening process, our eviction rate is below 1%.