Catch the leak early: 4 OC rental inspection checks

General Landlording & Rental Properties
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Catch the leak early: 4 OC rental inspection checks

Leo SteinBusiness Member
Property Manager · Orange County, CA · Member since 2025 · 171 posts · 39 votes

A small drip that sits for a month is usually cheaper as a plumber visit than as drywall, paint, and flooring. Four places we check on every Orange County rental walk:

  • Washers and under-sink lines. Cabinet floors and baseboards show slow leaks early.

  • AC drip pans. A clogged pan overflows into the ceiling below.

  • Roof and attic after the first real rain. Soft spots and new stains mean call a vendor.

  • A set inspection cadence. Same rooms, same photos, then a fast vendor call.

What else is on your routine leak walk for LTR stock?

https://www.rpmoptimal.com/?utm_source=biggerpockets&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=omni

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  • Richard (Ryszard) Cieplechowicz
    Member since 2026 · 143 posts · 38 votes
    5d

    Good list. One thing I'd add to a set inspection cadence is a log. Keep a dated photo of each spot every time you check it, so you can see slow changes like a stain growing or a pan that never fully dries.

    It also gives you something to show a vendor or an insurer if a leak turns into a claim.

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    • Leo SteinBusiness Member
      OP
      Property Manager · Orange County, CA · Member since 2025 · 171 posts · 39 votes
      4d

      Great add, Richard. We do the same thing on our inspections, with the same angle on the same spot every visit, so slow stains or drips are obvious side by side. It's saved us more than once when an insurer asked when a leak started.

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  • Ryan IrwinPro Member
    Investor · Ankeny, IA · Member since 2022 · 160 posts · 129 votes
    4d

    Great post @Leo Stein . A simple roll of rosin paper can be beneficial to lay down in areas where a leak might be suspect. Sometimes it's hard to see a small drip but that paper will make it obvious (plus potentially protect the surface a bit). Water always wins so good to stay ahead of it!

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  • Daniel Jung
    Member since 2026 · 45 posts · 17 votes
    3d

    We run water during the walk instead of only looking for stains. Turning on each faucet and flushing each toilet while someone watches the lines underneath catches the drip that only appears under pressure, which a dry cabinet floor hides. Two spots I would add to your list: the toilet base, checked for any rocking or softness in the floor around it, since a failing wax ring leaks where nobody sees it, and washing machine supply hoses, which age quietly and fail all at once. We also teach tenants what to watch for between visits, a toilet that refills on its own or a water bill that creeps up, and we thank them when they report early. The cheapest leak is the one a tenant flags the week it starts.

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  • Leo SteinBusiness Member
    OP
    Property Manager · Orange County, CA · Member since 2025 · 171 posts · 39 votes
    3d

    Great additions, Daniel. Running the water during the walk is a smart way to catch drips that only show under pressure, and the toilet base and washer hose points are good ones to add. Teaching tenants to flag a toilet that refills on its own or a creeping water bill is a nice touch too. Do you have a rough schedule for swapping washer hoses, or do you go by age and condition?

    [email protected]949-391-1019
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  • Rosina Persaud
    Member since 2023 · 58 posts · 6 votes
    1d

    Leo, one more for the walk: the water heater and the main shutoff. On our turns in Memphis the heater gets photographed — age, pan, drain line — on the same cadence as your sink checks, because a heater that lets go between tenants costs drywall and days, not just a plumber visit. We also turn the main shutoff and the fixture stops on every walk. A valve that has not moved in years usually fails the one time you need it, mid-leak. At 236 doors, mostly older single-family, those two checks ride along inside our 21-day turn schedule — same rooms, same photos, same order.

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    • Leo SteinBusiness Member
      OP
      Property Manager · Orange County, CA · Member since 2025 · 171 posts · 39 votes
      1d
      Quote from @Rosina Persaud:

      Leo, one more for the walk: the water heater and the main shutoff. On our turns in Memphis the heater gets photographed — age, pan, drain line — on the same cadence as your sink checks, because a heater that lets go between tenants costs drywall and days, not just a plumber visit. We also turn the main shutoff and the fixture stops on every walk. A valve that has not moved in years usually fails the one time you need it, mid-leak. At 236 doors, mostly older single-family, those two checks ride along inside our 21-day turn schedule — same rooms, same photos, same order.

      Rosina, good additions. Photographing the water heater's age, pan and drain line, and working the main shutoff and fixture stops on every walk, are cheap checks that catch the failures that cost drywall and days. A valve that hasn't moved in years is exactly the one that sticks mid-leak. Do you replace water heaters by age on a set schedule, or by condition at the photo check?

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    • Richard F.
      Honolulu, HI · Member since 2008 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
      1d

      Replacing with ball valves eliminates the stuck valve issue. For household plumbing fixtures quarter turn ball valves (and anti-burst SS flex line) should be standard if not already in place. All control valves, at water heater, for irrigation, and house main or zone valves should all be replaced anytime the existing fail or the system is under repair for other reasons.

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    • Leo SteinBusiness Member
      OP
      Property Manager · Orange County, CA · Member since 2025 · 171 posts · 39 votes
      1d

      Thanks, Richard, that's a good point. Ball valves and braided stainless supply lines are inexpensive upgrades compared with the cost of a burst or stuck valve mid-leak. Swapping the old valve whenever a repair opens up the plumbing makes sense. Do you replace them all at once on a turnover, or only as each one fails?

      [email protected]949-391-1019
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  • Richard F.
    Honolulu, HI · Member since 2008 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    1d

    Automatically on vacant rental preps, and occupied units at first occasion when necessary to shut down the unit/zone/building, unless they are found inoperable at an annual. In that case we typically change all within the specific unit. All Faucets, icemaker/water lines where applicable, and toilet. Water heaters, irrigation supply, exterior house main, at failure or other R&R opportunity.

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  • Rosina Persaud
    Member since 2023 · 58 posts · 6 votes
    22h

    Leo, condition at the photo check — we do not run a set age schedule. The photo set is what makes that work: age, pan, and drain line on every walk, same angle, so you are comparing the unit to itself last time, not guessing. A heater with a clean pan, a working drain line, and no change at the connections keeps running; rust at the base, a stained pan, or a drain line that will not clear moves it onto the turn list while the house is already in the schedule. At 236 doors, that is the practical point: replacing on condition inside a planned 21-day turn costs a plumber visit; replacing after a failure between tenants costs drywall, paint, and vacant days on top of it.

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  • Leo SteinBusiness Member
    OP
    Property Manager · Orange County, CA · Member since 2025 · 171 posts · 39 votes
    19h

    Richard, replacing everything in a unit at once on vacant prep, and the whole set when one fails at an annual, is a clean rule that avoids repeat visits. Rosina, replacing on condition and comparing each heater to its own photos from the last walk makes sense, especially rust at the base or a stained pan. For both of you, when a heater moves onto the turn list, do you swap it before the next tenant moves in or schedule it right after?

    [email protected]949-391-1019
    Real Property Management Optimal 514 Reviews
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