How to Systemize Your Initial Property Inspection to Avoid Surprises<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nHere’s what you should have in your property inspection toolkit:<\/h2>\n1. Flashlight<\/h3>\n
Properties that you walk through may not have the power on (for example if they have been foreclosed on). \u00a0Even if they do have the power on, you may want to check attics\/basements\/corners where there may not be any light. \u00a0These are places where issues can hide, so make sure to check them. \u00a0In a pinch you can use the flashlight on your phone, but I recommend a little bit of money on a nice bright flashlight.<\/p>\n
2. Tape Measure<\/h3>\n
All houses are different. \u00a0Some rooms are shaped odd, some have had poor work in the past. \u00a0I always find the need to measure something. \u00a0In an early inspection, measuring distances of electrical outlets might give me an idea of if the electrical codes were followed. \u00a0I can also do some initial planning to see if we could do something like add space for a laundry hookup (if the house is lacking one). \u00a0These items are important as part of an early inspection.<\/p>\n
Later when we are creating a Scope of Work (SOW), it is essential to be able to give specifics on sqft of rooms and a multitude of other tasks.<\/p>\n
3. Recording System (Paper\/Tablet)<\/h3>\n
As you walk through the property you will want a way to record notes. \u00a0If this is my first walk-through a potential property for purchase, I will want to keep general notes about the property, issues and potential ideas. \u00a0If this is a property that we own but don’t have utilities on, I will walk to get a little more detailed so that I can prepare the Scope of Work (SOW) that renovations that we will make.<\/p>\n
In addition to simply a way to record this information, I would recommend a spreadsheet or app that allows you to run through a checklist of things to consider. \u00a0This way you can go room by room, make sure you cover everything, and if you have doing a SOW have a organized sheet to then get estimates on afterwards.<\/p>\n
4. Camera<\/h3>\n
In addition to taking notes, to use the clich\u00e9, “a picture is worth a thousand words”. \u00a0Especially if we are going through several properties, a picture can really help us remember each property. \u00a0Additionally you can go back and reference details or questions after the fact. \u00a0If there are major problems that you identify with the property, pictures will also allow you to remember\/go back and reference after.<\/p>\n
5. Multi-Purpose Respirator<\/h3>\n
You may not know the condition of a property that you are walking through. \u00a0Especially if is an older have and\/or has been vacant, there could be dangers that lurk inside such as lead, mold, asbestos, fecal matter or other less than pleasant\/safe items. \u00a0That is why I recommend having a nice multi-purpose respirator in your toolkit.<\/p>\n
6. Phillips & Flathead Screwdriver<\/h3>\n
There may be situations where you can to unscrew something in a house. \u00a0Having a set of screwdrivers will allow you to dog deeper. \u00a0Additionally, they can be used to pry as well as poke through different materials. \u00a0If you are worried about a weak spot in a wall, you can poke and prod with a screwdriver.<\/p>\n
7. Utility Knife<\/h3>\n
I own ~143 utility knives. \u00a0I have them everywhere. \u00a0Like a screwdriver then can be used to poke, but obviously they can be used to cut. \u00a0You never know when you may need to cut, chip or slice something as part of an inspection to dig deeper (no pun intended).<\/p>\n
8. Electrical Circuit Tester<\/h3>\n
If the power is on, a good initial check it to test a few out the outlets to verify that they are working and wired correctly. \u00a0That could give you an idea as to any electrical issues that could be hiding.<\/p>\n
9. Appropriate Clothing<\/h3>\n
Inspections can be dirty, depending on the house, season, part of the country. \u00a0You may be walking through a vacant property that is run down, walking in a dirty basement, crawling through a crawl space or many other scenarios. \u00a0I recommend a nice sit of boots\/heavy duty clothing and a hat (for spider webs).<\/p>\n
There it is, a basic list of what a property inspection kit for real estate investors consists of. \u00a0This kit is to allow you to take the first pass at a property or help prepare a SOW. \u00a0A home inspector will have many more items in their kit to do a full and thorough inspection.<\/p>\n
Do you use a toolkit for inspecting properties? \u00a0Is there anything that you would add to this?<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you are a real estate investor (or would like to become one), it is more than likely that you will walk through many properties. \u00a0I recommend that anyone looking […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1302,"featured_media":55570,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4241],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-estate-business-management"],"acf":[],"comment_count":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1302"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55535"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55535\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}