Rental Property Inspections

As the owner of an investment property, it is essential to perform both initial and routine property inspections.

For each tenant, before signing a lease or having a tenant move in, doing a thorough screening and background check will save you many headaches. Condition Inspection Reports should be standard for when a tenant moves-in and when they move-out, but doing quarterly, semiannually, and annual inspections is extremely important. If you don't care about your property and how it is maintained, why should the tenant feel they need to?

After tenants move in, staying on top of the condition of your property and the tenants residing there is an ongoing task, best when managed consistently and done in a professional manner. Your tenant may seem friendly and respectful, especially in the honeymoon stage, but routine inspections can prevent minor problems from developing into major ones down the road.

A good landlord-tenant relationship will require mutual respect, cooperation, and communication, especially for rental property inspections. While this is what we do at Nicholls Property Management, as part of our Rental Property Caretaking, here are some tips for performing them yourself, so let's break them down.

First of all, what is a rental property inspection?

Rental property inspection is arguably the best way to track the condition of your property. The landlord or property manager will regularly inspect the property inside and out, using a standard format to grade the state of the property, such as the Condition Inspection Report form, updated from the original and subsequent ones.

The key here is to be emotionally-detached, do not get angry, or get into an argument with your tenant, you are running a business, so professionalism is paramount.

Conduct Rental property inspections when the tenant is there (recommended), point out issues and concerns as they come up, and write them down, taking photos as you go, review everything in summary when you are done, discuss issues in context, and hopefully agree to a timely resolution. You could be identifying a problem that is either the landlord's or the tenant's responsibility. Both parties should have reasonable deadlines set for resolution and conduct a secondary or follow-up inspection if deemed necessary. Both the landlord and the tenant should sign a copy of the report and a copy should be sent to the tenant.

Why is it essential to perform regular property inspections?

At the very least, rental property inspections can help you account for any deductions taken from the tenant's security deposit if the damage to the property is beyond reasonable wear and tear. Starting with the condition inspection report to establish the baseline of the property's condition before the tenant moves in and having that as a reference for when they move out is essential.

However, regular property inspections give you a deeper perspective. Have you noticed a change in the behavior of your tenant and how they're treating your property? There could be more going on; possibly they have lost a job, had something else happen in their lives, and it affects how they're treating your property. Therefore, it is crucial to impress upon them the importance of maintaining the property, and to not add to their problems by letting their responsibilities slide. There are certain basic things that tenants are required to do; not keeping up with things could cause for eviction if they are not behaving correctly and taking care of your property in the required manner.

When should your Regular Property Inspections be done?

Move-in inspection: conduct this to set the baseline for your property and complete it with the tenant before moving in. For this, you should use a good move-in checklist or a condition inspection report and grade the condition. This report will document any problems, damage, or defects with the property, and It is best to accompany these items with photos. Both parties should sign and date this document with a statement noting that you both agree that this represents the property's current status.

Move-out inspection: This section will help you determine the property's condition when the tenant moves out. Schedule this walkthrough on the day your tenants vacate and hand over the keys. Have them sign off on any damage and if you mutually agree to an amount to hold back from their damage deposit, then have that clearly written out. If it is more damage than their deposit can cover and they agree to the amount of the difference, you should have that written and date when they will pay you.

If you do the move-out inspection too early and damage occurs in the last days or before moving out, you could be out of luck. Comparing the move-out inspection results to the move-in inspection results will give context and hopefully culture an agreeable settlement on any damage that is not reasonable wear and tear. If you have to pursue the tenant for damages and go to arbitration, these documents and the photos accompanying them will be your evidence for your testimony; everything else is hearsay.

Routine property inspection: conduct this inspection every three to six months, ensuring the property is in good condition. Furthermore, it allows you to address any maintenance issues as those are your responsibility, and it demonstrates to your tenant that you care about the property; if you care, they will care too. It also gives the tenant a chance to correct any damage they have caused before it worsens with the expectations set to complete the work before your next visit.

The do's and don'ts for performing a rental property inspection

There are laws to protect tenant rights regarding inspections, so make sure that you are acting accordingly. Consult the tenancy branch or other governing body to identify what rules apply to you. These guidelines will help maintain a good relationship and a happy tenant, resulting in less likelihood of early tenant turnover.

Do give proper notice - if the ruling is 24 hours, then give them 24 hours but again, to be certain, consult the governing body or an attorney or other legal source to understand your rights and obligations.

Do encourage your tenant to be at home for the inspection - Have the tenant sign documentation about the property's condition and discuss with your tenant any needed repairs, and point out damages that they will need to fix before your next visit or before the lease runs out.

Do explain why the inspection is necessary - providing reasons like testing smoke detectors, doing water shut off in the fall, turning the water on in the spring, checking for water leaks under sinks, etc. Then, they will understand that it benefits them as well as you.

Don't photograph their personal items - supporting written documentation with photographs is well recommended. Still, for privacy, it is essential to keep tenants' personal effects out of pictures, including people, pets, and valuable items like jewelry or computers.

Don't get into an argument or confrontation with tenants. - If you have trouble separating your emotion from your property, as it is a business, then it may be wise to have a third party conduct the inspections. Keeping your emotions in check can be very difficult if you take great pride in your property especially if you see damage beyond reasonable wear and tear, but you must remain calm and stay professional. Address problems in writing, keep it factual and avoid sarcasm or written liable comments.

Walking through the property with your tenant gives opportunity to both of you to understand what, if any, deductions will be taken and provide the tenant time to repair the damage properly. Not all damage can be deducted from the security deposit, so know the rules and understand what will fall into the ordinary wear and tear category.

Conclusion

Rental property inspections protect yourself and your assets and help you retain the necessary amounts from your tenant's security deposit to pay for repairs.

Being an investment property owner comes with risks of damage to your property, rent turnover, evictions, and sometimes long vacancies. Therefore one of the best ways to protect your property from expensive damage, lost revenue from bad tenants is to start with a comprehensive tenant screening. First, check all of their references independently, including previous landlords, their employment, income, and any other information that you can get. If your tenant has good credit and a clean, civil, criminal, and eviction record, and if you are savvy, you will have also checked on their social media too; then you have several reasons to trust that they will pay their rent on time and treat your property with respect.

Now you can move forward with confidence towards developing and maintaining the relationship by conducting regular property inspections.

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If your rental property is in Delta, B.C., (North Delta, Ladner, or Tsawwassen), South Surrey, B.C., or White Rock, B.C., contact Greg at Nicholls Property Management; and have a stress-free investment property experience as a landlord and have happier tenants.

Nicholls Property Management

+1 (604) 749-4676

Greg@NichollsPropertyManagement

www.NichollsPropertyManagement.com