Buying your own house has fewer risks than investing in rental property. This is because unintended property damage by tenants can result in longer vacancy times and possibly increased turnover. Regular property inspections are one of the best ways to safeguard your rental property against potentially expensive damage, helping to maintain the growth of your home’s value and the health of your cash flow.
The Purpose of Rental Inspections
The landlord or property manager inspects the rental property to determine its current condition, inside and out. The landlord is typically present during inspections so that they may alert you to any problems or concerns and vice versa.
A professional win-win relationship can be created by including the tenant in rental property inspections. The tenant will learn that you are concerned about the house they reside in and that it is their responsibility to keep the property clean and in good condition. You may also validate and maintain your asset in good condition before, during, and after the rental period by inspecting your properties. You can also conduct Denver rental license inspections to ensure the rental housing units’ quality, protect the value of the properties for the landowners, and ensure the safety of the tenants of these units.
Five Types of Rental Inspections
Your property manager needs to conduct these five different types of inspections on your property. Each rental license inspection in Colorado aims to find concerns that already exist while also, and perhaps more crucially, assisting in preventing minor issues from growing and becoming costly:
Move-in Inspection
A move-in inspection is usually performed with the tenants. A move-in inspection is also sometimes called as a walk-through inspection. This inspection is performed after the tenant has signed the lease and before they have officially moved into the house. A rental inspection checklist in Denver is used by your representative during this inspection, along with videos and photos that document the property’s current condition. The tenant then signs the checklist, becoming an addendum to the lease. A move-in inspection checklist also assists in separating the normal wear and tear from the unusual damages that are costly enough. These damages might raise a need to deduct the cost from the security deposit when tenants move out.
Quarterly Inspection
After every few months, routine rental property inspections usually are done. In cases where tenants are suspected of violating the lease terms and conditions, these inspections will occur more often. It is important to obey your local landlord-tenant laws and understand that the tenant legally has the right to “quiet enjoyment” of your property. So you shall give the tenant a prior notice before you enter for a routine inspection. Some tenants often think that they are being accused of doing something wrong when there is a routine inspection scheduled. At the same time, this misunderstanding can be sorted out by you when you explain to them that every three to four months, the interior and exterior of the property are checked to ensure that everything is in good condition. This also allows the tenant to fix and clean the damage they might have caused before a home inspection report indicates it.
Drive-by Inspection
A drive-by inspection is usually performed to inspect the outside of the property, visually at different times every week or month. One of the few advantages of a drive-by inspection is that your property manager or you can notice out-of-ordinary things. The next advantage is that you can get to meet the neighbors and get resourceful information about the behavior and conduct of your tenant. Unlike a routine inspection, a tenant is not required to be notified in advance as you will not be entering the property for a drive-by inspection. However, it is essential to ensure that you are not violating your tenant’s privacy through this.
Move-out Inspection
In ideal situations, as your tenant will renew the lease year after year, you won’t have to perform too many move-out inspections. But when it is time for your tenant to move out, you will need to schedule a move-out inspection the day the tenant vacates the premises. If you are waiting too long to conduct this inspection, they will claim that there was no damage when they moved out. And, so, it is a better idea to have your move-out inspection scheduled with the tenant in advance. You shall also remind the tenant that until the inspection is completed all of the utilities must be left on, and the refund of their security deposit will be provided if the house is in the same condition as it was when they moved in.
You may also bring a copy of the move-in checklist as it can help you in comparing the present condition of the property to the day when the tenants moved in, and the pictorial evidence that you documented that day might also help in noticing the damage, if any, has been made,
Change in Ownership
Suppose you intend to hire a new property manager or change the management companies when you own the property. In that case, it is better to let the new manager inspect the property from the inside and out. This is a way a new property manager won’t base his future judgments on the reports compiled by the previous manager or management company. Instead, he will have an updated assessment.
When you decide to conduct a rental property inspection when you are changing management companies is the same as the inspection that was done when you initially bought the property. This sort of inspection is very detailed compared to a routine inspection and gives you an idea about your property’s current condition. You will also know about any repairs that might be needed to be done now or in the future.
