Annual Inspection - tips for newbie?

Question

June will be 1 year since we bought a duplex (Calif); tenants came with the property. I guess it is time to plan for the annual inspection. Gulp! (Self-managed)

1. Leases are month-to-month. If I want to make any changes to the terms, I use an Addendum? For example, making backyard maintenance tenant's responsibility rather than Landlord's. Or is it better to sign a whole new lease. Will be keeping to MTM.

2. Do I just pick a date for the annual inspection? If tenant says they are not available, then I say that I will let myself in (per lease agreement language)? That just seems awkward.

3. I think lease says 48 hours advance notice. In reality, how much advance notice do you give?

Thank you in advance. This forum has been so helpful on so many different topics!

Nathan Gesner · Answer

Remember: the law requires you to give notice; it does not require you to get permission.

"Dear Tenant, I will be inspecting your rental on [DATE] at [TIME]. It should take no more than 15 minutes. Your presence is welcome, but not necessary as I have a key and can let myself in. I will document the inspection with pictures and/or video for my personal records. I need access to every room, closet, under sinks, etc. Please ensure your pet is kenneled or removed from the property during the inspection."

I'm a nice guy, so I typically contact them a week in advance and give them a couple choices regarding day/time, but that is completely unnecessary. If they tell me they're not available or it's not convenient, I tell them it's happening and I will inspect without them. If they refuse to let me inspect, I give them notice of termination.

Inspection should be of every space, including rooms and closets, basements, crawl spaces, attic, all yard space, exterior walls and windows, roof, etc. Record it with pictures. I try to take several pictures of each room to record the condition of every wall, floor, and ceiling. Take pictures of windows, screens, and window treatments. Front/back of every door and the spine on the doorknob side (most common area to be damaged by someone kicking it in). Look under sinks and around toilets and tubs for signs of water leaks. Check around furnace, water heater, pipes, air filter, attic space, crawl space, garage, or whatever.

If you see neglect or abuse by the tenant, don't address it in person where emotions can get in the way. Write them a letter noting what you found, your expectation to remedy it, a deadline for completion and passing another inspection, and consequences for failing to remedy the problem.

Lynette P. · Answer

Thank you for responses. So very helpful!@Afam Agbodike - thank you for reminder to review the lease. Will do!@Nathan G. - the letter template is awesome!! Thank you!@Michele Fischer - love the good cop/bad cop roles; I'll bet that my husband will want to be the good cop. LOL

Linda S. · Answer

@Lynette P.,

I sympathize, and it's always the houses that take the most $$$, are the ones that keep draining you!  I had a house this month cost me $10,000 in replacing HVAC and the sewer line!   That being said,   make sure the important stuff is fixed, as if it's not-- that's the real liability!

I'm beyond baffled that fire extinguishers aren't required by law.  You have to check them and I believe  it's recommended to replace them every 5 years.   I would ABSOLUTELY include one in each unit, multifamily or SFH-- if/when there is a fire, do you want your tenants to have the ability to put it out, or do you want to wait for the fire trucks to get there?    Personally, I want them to put it out ASAP so minimal damage is done to the house.     Fires happen--- and if something bad does happen, it's a heck of a lot better to say "well, I added X/Y/Z--- I did everything I could" then "well, I was worried a fire extinguisher was a liability."

Hope this helps!

Lynette P. · Answer

@Linda S. Thank you for your response. Gave me some food for thought! Mentally, I was perceiving this inspection quite in the opposite perspective. More like dreading hearing what is wrong and having to spend more $$$. Since we just got started, we are quite in the red. But maybe a longer term view is better. Never considered including a fire extinguisher with the units. Here, only properties with 3 units or more require landlords to include fire extinguishers. This is a duplex. I wonder if including one increases my liability. Like if there's a fire and the extinguisher doesn't function. Quite honestly, I was thinking of the inspection as a way to see how the property looks one year later, and whether or not I want the tenants to stay or leave (indirectly that determines whether to raise rent or not). Our lease doesn't specify inspections except for move-out but we were planning to give 3 weeks notice. We live out of town and not very flexible with the date/time.

Linda S. · Answer

@Lynette P.

1)  Anytime you make a lease change,you must give them proper notice-- say 30-days so they can adjust.     As long as you are direct and clear, and document everything--I don't think you have to re-do the entire lease.

2)  Yes, pick a date.   We always pick January--- even if someone just moved in-- all of our houses are inspected as of January.    You let them know  the date/time, and tell them you're coming, and you can bring a key if necessary.

3)  There are minimum state requirements, but if your lease says 48 hours-- that's what the tenant should expect.

The annual inspections are CRUCIAL, not just for the legality of checking to confirm smoke detectors, but it gives you a few minutes to touch base--- what's going on with the house?    Is anything wrong?  Make sure you have a fire extinguisher, I also give them a second one-- more resources the better!    People will forget to tell you stuff, but if you ask them in person-- magically they can think of 2-4 things they'd like fixed.     We also use this time to ask them-- what is an upgrade you'd like done, sometimes it's simple like a new exterior light, or  an old window replaced--- you want to continually upgrade the house, this makes turnover a breeze!    Communication with tenants is key, happy tenants don't leave!

Andrew Frowiss · Answer

1. I don't now what your Lease says or what state you are in, but I'm thinking getting a new fresh Lease may be better. I also My PM company put together an Addendum to be added to every Lease which lists all the Tenant responsibilities (move in/move out condition, lawn care and what that really means, carpet cleanings and all that good stuff. I would consider putting something together like this for your future Tenants. I find that sometimes there may be grey areas in your Lease so I like to spell things out for everyone involved.

2. I always try and coordinate with the Tenants a day that works for them. Even though the Lease says I can stop as long as I give notice, I would prefer to give them the option. I always try and keep my Tenants happy. If your Lease says a minimum of 48 hours you need to follow the Lease. I would call or email them a week or so ahead of time. I don't like doing things last minute, and your Tenants may be the same way.

I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors!

Michele Fischer · Answer

You are getting good advice.  The annual inspection is a good time to mention coming changes, but not the time to take care of that type of business.

We also had a few dates and times in mind, or ranges of times on certain days/evenings.  We preferred to have the tenant there, so liked to work with their schedule.  We would also give more notice than required.  May have given them more time to hide unauthorized pets, but also gave them more time to clean.

My husband and I play good cop bad cop.  He was good cop, talking to them, seeing how things were going and what concerns or observations they had.  I was bad cop, with my clipboard, almost ignoring them and working down a checklist to make sure I looked at all the critical things.  Between the two of us we got a great read on how things were going and generally had a few follow-up items to take care of.

Annual Inspection - tips for newbie?

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