By Property Management Systems

PORTLAND, Ore. – Does your Portland Oregon property management company do quarterly inspections?

If your answer to this question is no, you may want to rethink who you have managing your property management company because, a quarterly inspection could potentially save you thousands of dollars in repair costs and keep your rental in habitable condition after your tenants move out.

Don’t Neglect Quarterly Inspections

Besides saving you potentially thousands of dollars per year in maintenance costs, a quarterly inspection is one of the most important parts of managing a home. It’s a good opportunity to verify the tenant is maintaining and taking care of your property. This is also your best chance to really take a look around and make sure there is no damage to the property or areas suffering from neglect.

Your tenants shouldn’t get offended when you request permission to enter the home for a walk through. As long as you have established a trusting and respectful relationship with your tenants, they will be willing to let you conduct your inspection. Always give them plenty of notice so they aren’t surprised by your visit. At Property Management Systems, we discuss our process of quarterly inspections with the tenants at the time the lease is signed. This way, they understand what we will be doing and why. It also gives them plenty of time to prepare for the first inspection.

Our quarterly inspection procedure is to walk around the entire property, both the inside and the outside. We talk to the tenant about any issues or problems as well as any concerns that the tenant might have. It’s also important to check for code violations; so inspect things like smoke detectors. We take notes and schedule any necessary repairs.we notify the owner and we communicate the problem with the tenant through a written notification.

If there is a lease violation that we notice on one of these inspections, That letter includes instructions on what to do to bring the house back into compliance with the lease. Any time there is something of concern at the property, we return and do another inspection to verify the problem has been taken care of.

Typically, a property manager does not charge owners extra for the quarterly inspections. It’s something that should be included in your maintenance fee, so make sure you discuss this with your property manager before signing a contract.

Quarterly inspections are essential for property managers. When tenants know the home will be inspected regularly, they are more likely to keep it clean and in good repair. If you have any questions about how we manage our inspections, or you need help developing your own inspection procedure, please contact us at Property Management Systems, and we’d be happy to help you.

What Other Inspections Should You Be Performing At Your Rental Property?

Quarterly inspections are important, without a doubt, but if you really want to have a firm grasp on the state of your rental property at all times you should be performing these other inspections during the year.

Move-In Inspection

The most important inspection is the move-in inspection. You must document the exact condition of the property before you give it to the tenant. Make sure you take lots of pictures, video and document in writing every aspect of the property’s interior and exterior.

Periodic Inspections

After your move-in inspection, you’ll want to do periodic inspections every quarter or six months. Visit the property, interview the tenant and make sure you take additional videos and pictures. Then you can assess any preventative maintenance that is necessary to avoid costly repairs in the future. Before the end of the lease, the tenant must give you a notice of renewal or non-renewal. If the tenant decides to stay in your property, go inspect it at that point. Make sure you look at how well the tenant has been caring for the home, and decide if you want the tenant to be there for another year.

Move-Out Inspection

The move-out inspection needs to be just as detailed as the inspection you conducted before the tenant moved in. Cover every aspect of the property, inside and outside. Take pictures, video and document in writing every single part of the house. The move-in and move-out inspections are what you’ll use to compare property condition. This will tell you if there is any damage that the tenant is responsible for.

Don’t forget to leave room for normal wear and tear. If there is damage, you have the right to claim it against the tenant’s security deposit.