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One of the best way to protect your property and its condition is with routine inspections. At the minimum, a full inspection should be conducted before a tenant moves in and after a tenant moves out. You should also get inside the property at least once during the tenancy.
Zen Rent manages single-family homes, condos and townhouses in and around the Phoenix area, including in Mesa, Scottsdale, Chandler, and Gilbert. Today, we’re sharing some information on how we conduct rental property inspections, and what we look for.
Move-in and Move-out Inspection
The purpose of your inspection before a tenant moves in is to make sure everything is working properly. You don’t want to be running over there to make repairs and replacements within days of your tenant settling into their new home. Check everything in the property. Look under sinks. Test every outlet. Run the appliances and make sure the heating and cooling system both heats and cools the property. This inspection also allows you to document the condition of your property before the tenant takes possession. Pictures, videos, and detailed notes are critical.
After a tenant moves out, you’ll conduct the same inspection. Take your move-in inspection report and walk through the property, noting any differences. Normal wear and tear is to be expected. But, if you notice holes in the walls, broken cabinets and drawers, or missing light fixtures and window treatments, you can deduct the cost to repair or replace those things from your tenant’s security deposit. Again – pictures, videos, and documentation is essential.
Annual Walk-Through Inspection
We conduct a full inspection every year during the tenancy. Our renters know that this is a requirement of their lease agreement, and we provide plenty of written notice before we show up to inspect. During this inspection, we’re doing two things: we are looking for deferred or unreported maintenance issues; and, we are ensuring the tenants are following the terms of their lease agreements. For example, if we see a dog bowl and a leash but the tenants didn’t move in with an approved pet, we’ll have something to discuss with that tenant. If ashtrays are full all over the house and the walls are yellow from smoke, we’ll know the tenants are violating the no-smoking section of the lease.
We want to make sure that everything is well-maintained, clean, and in good working order. If we find any issues that need to be resolved or maintenance that needs to be done, we’ll get it scheduled right away.
Our team takes a lot of photos during inspections and puts together a full and detailed inspection report. We are always happy to customize our schedule of inspections depending on what our owners need for peace of mind. If you’d like to talk more about how often we inspect homes and what we look for once we’re inside, please contact us at Zen Rent. We’d love to be your Phoenix property management resource.
