Annual Inspections- How often do you check up on your properties?

Question

Good evening everyone.

How often do you (if ever) perform a full walk through of your rental properties? I own a 1-bedroom rental and I usually inspect the rental about once a year (without counting informal pop ins). I usually do it when my tenant is away on vacation, and I use that time to touch up the rental as well. I always inform my tenant that I will be in the unit as well, I am lucky to have a very responsible tenant and I like to give them that respect.

I always thought this was normal, until I spoke to a friend of mine who owns multiple rentals, and they mentioned they rarely ever check up on their properties. I found this to be unusual and might use this as a chance to manage their properties for them LOL.

SO, How often do you all check up on your properties?

Tyler Jahnke · Answer

Hey @Joseph Villani - this is an awesome topic! And a topic that isn't discussed enough.

I think a lot of investors kind of fall into the "set it and forget it" mode after the property closes and it starts performing. Especially for folks like myself who invest out of state and can't physically do a quick drive-by.

I'd personally recommend a check-in once every 6 months. Luckily one of my property managers does that for me as part of the contract. I'd also recommend checking in on the property right before Winter hits. It's always nice to get those gutters cleaned and check out the roof.

I was out in the Midwest over the Summer to check on my portfolio and found a few issues that my tenants didn't even bring up. One of them being...A HOLE IN THE SIDING!

So, long story short. Keep tabs of your rentals and perform preventative maintenance.

Russell Brazil · Answer

At turnovers, but Im in class A areas.

Peter Tverdov · Answer

My management company here in NJ does it 4 times a year. It's stated in our Lease. We inspect the inside and outside and take photos of any issues. Then we send a one page report to the owner.

I think it's important to be around the property and to let your tenant know you keep an eye on it as well.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

The frequency really depends on the class of property and tenant but every property should be inspected at least once a year. I base frequency on the risk of tenant. I use a score sheet when they apply that gives them a score of 0 - 30 with a higher score being better. The lower the score, the more deposit they pay and the more frequently I inspect.

My lower-scoring tenant will get an inspection 90 days after occupancy. If it goes poorly, we'll continue inspecting every 90 days and evict if it's so bad they are damaging the property. If it goes well, we won't inspect again until 90 days prior to lease expiration.

For tenants with high scores, we inspect 90 days prior to lease termination.

Inspections are also triggered by other bad behavior like being late on rent more than once or an unkempt yard or noise complaints.

We always inspect 90 days prior to lease termination. This enables us to determine if we want to keep the tenant in the rental. If they intend to leave, it enables us to pre-plan for maintenance and cleaning after they depart. And if they keep the clean, we can show it with tenant permission prior to vacancy and reduce turnover time. If they live like slobs, we'll wait until they are out and the unit is cleaned up before we market it again.

Bjorn Ahlblad · Answer

@Joseph Villani welcome to BP! We check once a year. Take pics, video etc. I had a PM who did not inspect-cost me a lot of money! We now self manage and give the tenants 2 weeks notice that we will be inspecting. That is also stated in the lease.

Joseph Villani · Answer

Thank you everyone for the insight! I was surprised when they told me they hadn't seen the property in a while, I am going to reach out to them soon!

Chuck H. · Answer

I collect rent, change air filter, and look around briefly every month.

Kevin Nickerson · Answer

Where you the rentals located? In Ca, we do inspections yearly, there is no way the state would allow us to inspect 3-4 times a year.

Kapil Sharma · Answer

Hi @Joseph Villani. Initially, I checked up every couple months but once I got the sense that my tenants were a good responsible family, I reduced the frequency to 6 months. These days, I go in once a year.

This isn't my standard operating procedure though. Before this family, I had a single guy who kept bringing in new roommates every few months so I used to pop in way more frequently.

Annual Inspections- How often do you check up on your properties?

Annual Inspections- How often do you check up on your properties?

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