Should I hire a home inspector while tenants are still living at the property

Question

Managing first rental property in Tulsa Oklahoma.  Tenants have been at the property for nine months.  Me and my wife are getting a second rental property ready to rent.  Since the renters have been at the property I have not had anyone inspect the house.  Getting ready to renew the lease for another year. Is it a normal practice to have a home inspector look over a property once a year?  If so, how do I go about getting one?

Joey Banasihan · Answer

Hey @Mark Trumble - our team for property managment does drivebys once a quarter, someone walks through the property twice a year for a visual inspection, and property owners do their own professional inspections every few years.  Our walkthroughs are done by our handmen and we have a detailed listed created by a management software they fill out on their phones as they walk through and check everything.  All of these are written within the lease and the tenants are made aware of these aspects.  We are managing millions of dollars worth of assests for investors, so we want to ensure we are providing incredible service for them.

Theresa Harris · Answer

If they are new (or new to you) tenants, it is important to do an inspection about 6 months in and again before the first lease renewal so you can see if there are any problems.  You give them 24 hours' notice and you do the inspection yourself.  This is not a house inspection like you do when buying it, this is to see the overall cosmetic condition of the place and ensure things like smoke alarms are working.  Most insurance companies want you to do this once a year.

Corby Goade · Answer

I'm confused- are you in the process of purchasing this new rental now and have not had it inspected during your escrow period?

Adam Bartomeo · Answer

No, normally owners do not have a home inspector check the property. It is very costly and will eat away at your margins. We have an in-house inspector that we have go out. Before that we would inspect the property ourselves.

Chase Busick · Answer

@Mark Trumble

Usually if managing yourself, I would just inspect yourself. You can find some generalized checklists of things to check from general condition, to how well all the locks work, condition of appliances, CO2 & smoke detectors, they're not smoking inside, nothing is broken, rules not being followed, etc.

You can do this quarterly, bi-annual, or annual depending on how much you want to be over & ensure your property is good, as well as them properly taking care of it.

You can also have any of your working order professionals take pictures throughout the period if have any Maintenance requests you need fulfilled & get their general thoughts on the condition of the home in its current condition (since it will be not as much of a notice & not cleaned/prepped to an official inspection)

Taylor Wilson · Answer

Completely normal to conduct an inspection during the lease! I actually include a specific date in my lease agreements for a "6 month walkthrough" so that the renters are aware it's part of the process. About a week before the walkthrough, I confirm the date and time and conduct the inspection myself.

Brian Teeter · Answer

After 30 years of owning and managing rental property, I fully recommend at least one walk through inspection per year.  No news is NOT always good news with tenants.  For example, in my early days, I had a tenant once who paid his rent like clockwork.  He never required maintenance or made any requests.  I did a random drive by on his rental one day and noticed several cats in the window. I knew he had not paid a pet deposit. So I stopped, knocked on door. When he opened the door, I was horrified to find he was a massive hoarder and had 6 cats living in the house with him.  He did not have his water service active and also hadn't taken the trash out in a very long time. I ended up spending close to $10,000 on the eviction and rent ready repairs. Luckily, in Little Rock, Arkansas, we have very friendly landlord laws. Usually takes no more than 30 days to get a tenant out.  But by then, it was too late! So yes, even an informal, quick, annual inspection is wise.

Peter Mckernan · Answer

It is normal to get inspections done, and if they ask why.. You can always say we wanted to make sure that the smoke and CO detectors are working along with other stuff (appliances if you cover those).

I don't think you need a full inspector/inspection company to go out there.. That is a little too much, but to do a walkthrough is always great as a landlord or a PM company that you have in place.

Jared Smith · Answer

@Mark Trumble once per yer is overkill in my opinion, residents aren't likely going to drastically change how they live from one year to the next, but prior to renewing the lease for the first time is a perfect opportunity. I would think ahead about how it is going to turn out and if you  have criteria for terminating the lease.its always a balance of what is happening in your rental vs. what you are will to put up with.

Should I hire a home inspector while tenants are still living at the property

Most Popular Reply