What are the benefits of property inspections?
Never forget the importance of property inspections. An inspection of a tenanted property may only take a few minutes once you are there, but can give you peace of mind as a property manager and as a landlord.
So, you have found a tenant and done lots of referencing, the new tenants look great and everybody is happy! What could possibly go wrong??
Well, a lot of things…..
We have seen it over and over again, where tenants who look great and have passed referencing don’t turn out to be quite as clean-cut as the landlord might have wanted. Some of the agents that we work with are therefore doing the first property inspection after just 2-4 weeks of the tenants moving in. Allowing the tenants to unpack and settle in.
So what can a property inspection this early tell you?
Lots of things can be looked at, at this stage of the tenancy:
- how many people have actually moved in (is it more than what is named on the tenancy agreement?)
- do the tenants have a pet? Is this ok with the landlord and was it discussed beforehand?
- how clean is the property?
- have they caused any damage when moving any furniture in?
- are there any repairs that the tenants have noticed that need doing?
If an inspection is done after 3 or 4 months, and the tenant plans on leaving after the initial 6-month fixed period AST, it might be too late to address some of the issues.
Doing regular property inspections is the perfect opportunity to note any repair issues that need completing. Then arrange for us to go and complete them for you! Leaving these repair issues can lead to an unhappy tenant or a problem getting worse, such as a leak.
Addressing a small repair is easier and cheaper than a problem being left for a long period of time!
Tenants can sometimes get used to minor issues in a property and adapt to them without reporting the issue. Therefore it’s extremely important to ask them about the property when you visit, “are there any issues with the property that you haven’t reported, even small issues?”
If you have done a property inspection and need a quote for the works required, then get in touch. We cover all trades and complete works to a high standard.
