Routinely inspecting your Antioch, CA rental property is vital to your success as a landlord. After all, a close inspection of your rental can reveal seemingly insignificant problems, which if left unattended, could end up becoming very costly. It also helps you keep tabs on your tenants to make sure they’re fulfilling their lease obligations.
The problem is tenants don’t like to be bothered with things like property inspections. They are living in your rental. They are calling your property home. And let’s be honest, no one likes people that invade their privacy. That’s why understanding how often you or your full service property maintenance team should be conducting inspections is important.
With the right balance, you’ll be able to keep your property in tip-top shape, as well as keep your tenants happy by performing enough property inspections to get the job done.
WHY PROPERTY INSPECTIONS ARE IMPORTANT
Rental property inspections are not something all landlords do regularly. In fact, the routine move-in and move-out inspections are all many landlords do. Yet, there are plenty of benefits to performing several maintenance inspections:
- Discover problems such as roof leaks, busted pipes, or rodent issues before they become costly
- Identify potential safety hazards and handle them before the property becomes inhabitable
- Find out if your tenants are breaching their lease agreement
- Ensure that your property is being well-cared for by your tenants
- Fix any minor maintenance issues and boost tenant satisfaction
Lastly, performing routine maintenance on your Antioch rental may help you boost the value of your property. If this happens, you’ll be able to command a higher rent rate and increase your annual ROI.
HOW OFTEN TO PERFORM MAINTENANCE INSPECTIONS
Now that you know how important it is to perform routine property inspections, you need to know how often to perform them.
1. WHEN A NEW TENANT MOVES IN
Any time a new tenant moves into your rental, you must conduct a property inspection. Also, you must document the entire inspection. This way there is no dispute at the end of the lease about the original condition of your property.
Be sure to conduct a move-in inspection after your tenant has signed the lease agreement, but before they move into the property. Move-in inspections will help you determine whether your tenants have damaged the property during their stay. It will also ensure your tenants that they will not be responsible for any existing damage.
2. WHEN AN EXISTING TENANT MOVES OUT
You or your property manager should always perform a thorough move-out inspection. This type of inspection helps you determine the current condition of the property. It also helps keep tenants in line throughout their lease because they’ll know you plan to look for any damage when they leave that they will be financially responsible for.
3. IN THE EVENT OF A LEASE RENEWAL
If your tenant is ready to sign a lease renewal, it’s a good idea to inspect the property before agreeing to one. After all, if your tenant isn’t caring for your property the way you’d like, now’s the time to move on and place a better-suited tenant in your property. This is true even if it means having a vacant property for a small amount of time.
If you perform an inspection and realize you don’t want to offer your current tenants a lease renewal, there is hope. With an experienced property management company on your side, your property will be aggressively advertised and a high-quality tenant will be placed in your property quickly.
4. WHENEVER THE SEASONS CHANGE
Though you don’t want to inspect your rental too much throughout a tenant’s lease term, a seasonal inspection is always a good idea.
There are many reasons why you might conduct a seasonal inspection such as:
- To look for any minor maintenance issues that need fixing
- To gather feedback from your tenants to ensure they’re happy leasing from you
- As a way to find out how well your property manager is doing in caring for your tenants and your property
- To conduct seasonal cleaning that will help keep your property value high
- As a way to show your tenants you care about them
The small things you do for a tenant can make a big difference when it comes to a lease renewal. For example, cleaning the rain gutters, wrapping the pipes, or even checking for worn weatherstripping are all things tenants appreciate. Doing this not only saves your tenants time, but it also has the potential to save them money on things like utility bills too.
5. DURING A MAINTENANCE CALL
One of the best times to perform an inspection of your rental property is during a maintenance request. This is especially true if the full service property maintenance company you use has an in-house maintenance crew.
During a maintenance call, your property manager or maintenance crew has an opportunity to take a look around the property while there. Plus, this is a great time for them to ask if there is anything else that needs fixing.
Sometimes tenants don’t call in maintenance requests for small things because they forget, don’t want to be a bother, or figure it’s no big deal. Unfortunately, experienced landlords know that small maintenance issues often become big ones that cost a lot to fix.
Having the chance to nix minor maintenance issues before they cause a lot of problems shows your tenants you care. It also saves you a lot of hassle and money in the long run.
6. AS AN ANNUAL EVENT
Landlords should always inspect their Antioch, CA rental properties annually to make sure the major systems in the property are in good working order.
Aside from what the tenant is doing in the property, an annual property inspection will reveal problems with the:
- Roof
- Landscaping and drainage
- HVAC system/unit
- Plumbing
- Drywall
- Electrical
- Interior and exterior paint
- Decking and sidewalks
- And much more
By having an annual inspection of your rental, that isn’t directly related to your tenants, you can make sure your property is in great condition. And if it’s not, it will afford you the time to make the fixes before you start losing value.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Looking for qualified property management companies in Antioch, CA? If so, contact us today and see how we can help with routine property inspections of your rental property.
At Blue Line Property Management, we work hard to make sure your rental is in great condition and the tenants leasing from you fulfill their lease obligations. But more than that, we take the hassle out of being a landlord. By offering things like full service maintenance and repairs, thorough tenant screening, and streamlined rent collection, you get to enjoy the benefits of being a property owner, without having to do any of the work.
