When you're a rental property owner, housing inspection needs to become a top item on your priority list. Why are they so important? Because your property is your investment. If the quality of it diminishes, so does the value of your investment.
While regular rental property inspection is important for maintaining its value, it's also imperative that you provide your tenants with a safe, warm, dry, and hygienic place to live. If you're new to the world of property ownership and have yet to conduct an inspection, check out this quick residential inspection guide.
What Does a Housing Inspection Entail?
These inspections are usually conducted by the property owner, who is the landlord. As mentioned, they are essential for assessing the condition of the home and what needs maintenance or replacing.
The landlord does a thorough walkthrough of the property and assesses things like landscaping and curb appeal. They also look at HVAC and other sources of heating, plumbing, fire alarms, smoke and carbon monoxide sensors, and general home safety checks.
The most common types of rental inspections include:
- Move-in inspections (also called walkthroughs)
- Move-out inspections
- Bi-annual inspections
- Drive-by inspections
- Quarterly inspections
- A change in ownership of the property
An inspection must be pre-scheduled with a tenant. It's also important the tenant is present during the inspection.
Important Steps in a Rental Inspection
A rental inspection is a big deal for your tenants - so you must give them a fair warning before you plan on conducting a walkthrough. Here are some of the most important residential inspection guidelines to follow:
- Take some time to understand your local laws and your lease agreement. This is important in terms of understanding the legality of scheduling inspections and how often to conduct them
- Always make sure the tenant is present during an inspection. This is especially important during annual or bi-annual inspections as it gives them a chance to bring up any issues
- Keep a record of everything and always inspect with a real estate inspection checklist. This allows you to keep track of what needs maintenance and allows you to document the inspection itself for your own records
- Ensure you take plenty of photos (you can use your smartphone for this). It's imperative that you have both a written and photographic records of everything
With all of this in mind, how often should you actually conduct rental inspections? This is completely a personal choice as a landlord. It also depends on the types of tenants you have.
If you have tenants who take great care of your property, you can conduct an inspection annually. If not, it's generally wise to conduct an inspection every quarter or bi-annually. Keep in mind that it's best to conduct inspections more regularly with newer tenants. This gives you a chance to get to know the type of tenants they are and establish trust over time.
Looking for Professional Property Inspection Services?
If you're a landlord but just don't have the time or capacity to conduct your own housing inspection, this is where PMI Bay State comes in. As a full-service real estate asset management company, we provide every service you can think of when it comes to managing property.
Whether it's property inspection, scheduling home maintenance, tenant screening, or rent collection - we do it all. Want to learn more about how we service the greater Boston area? Check out our services overview, here.
