How often do you inspect your rentals?

Question

Allstate just denied a claim stating lack of due diligence/protection of my property due to insufficent inspection on my part. The adjuster told me that I should inspect my rentals every month or two! Is he crazy? It turns out that the damage (water leak) came from the upstairs unit. My utility closet is located on a balcony and the hvac filter is accessed from inside the unit. In other words, I doubt it would be checked unless the hwh or hvac weren't working. The water was a slow leak from the unit above which caused a mold issue in my unit.

So, anyway, what is your inspection schedule and do you inspect outside utility closets if everything is working?

Cheryl C. · Answer

I contacted Allstate because my HWH " went" over the weekend, flooding the downstairs unit.  I was surprised that Allstate said that I had no liability for the damage (significant) downstairs.  Then they looked at my unit for the mold damage/issue and denied coverage due to my lack of inspection.  I told the upstairs guy (slow leak on HWH) to contact his agent (Allstate - of all companies!) and my tenant to contact his insurer.  The smell of mold was pretty overwhelming when I walked into the unit and he is required to report damage/maintenance/repair issues to me immediately.  An indoor closet adjacent to the utility closet is covered with mold.  Tenant claims that he hasn't opened that door for 3 yrs.

update - my tenant just e-mailed that the floor of the upstairs utility closet just collapsed into my utility closet.  The fun never stops!

Ryan M. · Answer

That's a new one, anyway they can weasel out of paying they will take it.

Please let us know how this shakes out.

Karen Rittenhouse · Answer

Hi Cheryl:

I've never heard of that as a reason for denying a claim. However, could be!

We inspect annually, at lease renewal, and try to do at least once more during the year. Why? To protect our investments. (Going forward we may add satisfying insurance adjusters to our reasoning!)

We sometimes find damage and neglect and the tenants are given a short window to correct it or move. We also change air filters at this time as so few tenants will (even though we provide filters free of charge).

The more often you can inspect, the better. Yes, finding work that needs to be done adds to your out of pocket expense. We have found over time, however, that spending a little bit more often saves us from larger repair costs down the road.

Good luck to you!

Nicole A. · Answer

I don't know too much about this subject, but I state in my leases that I may do an inspection *at least* quarterly. Do you live far away from your property(ies)?

Also, look through all the fine print of your AllState insurance to see where in there it says anything about not covering claims due to lack of "due diligence", "protection", or "insufficient inspection". Be sure it actually says that and the guy isn't just trying to get out of paying out a claim.