Do you take photos for move in and move out?

[David L.]

Do you guys take photos and document the condition of your rentals when a tenant moves in and also moves out? If so, why or why not? 

Do you allow the tenants to see those photos if they ask or dispute a charge when they move out?

When I previously rented a place I would take my own photos as a tenant but curious if it's in my interest as a landlord or a property manager to do the same. I imagine pros would be having some sort of proof that the tenant damaged the place under their watch and having some sort of recourse for it. Cons would be having to keep track of all the photos and stuff.

So what do you guys do for it? Do property managers do this for you or are there prop management apps that include this feature on top of managing tenant payments and stuff? 

Also would love to hear if you are a prop manager or just a regular landlord who's handling their own rentals. I plan on managing my own.

[Richard F.]

Aloha,

I take photos when a property is acquired, whether occupied or not, and if vacant, once it is rent ready. I also take approximately annual photos of all occupied units, including under sinks, overall views of ceilings, or anywhere there are (or could be) the slightest sign of leaks; and of any items needing repair, whether tenant or owner responsibility, and whether they have been previously reported or not. At move outs, I generally focus on areas noted in need of repair or cleaning, although I also take overall views for the benefit of the owner. For large repairs or renovations, I also take NUMEROUS progress photos at least weekly, if not daily, depending on the project. If it is a roof, or crawl space job, I have the contractor send me photos, before, during, and upon completion. RTR pics will include views appropriate for advertising, including amenities and possibly street view. It is quite surprising how many prospective tenants see my properties and exclaim "Gee, it looks just like in the pictures...the last couple properties sure did not!"

The quality of images you can take with a cellphone is great...once downloaded on your 32" desktop you can go full screen and zoom in to see excellent details, documenting your findings. Even inside a wall when investigating pipe leaks! I often complete my "move in" condition form from the RTR images prior to meeting tenant for the inspection, as it saves a lot of time. It is simple to reduce the size of a group of images if you are going to email them. I always send owners most, if not all, of the pics I take at their properties, and I always write up my repair recommendations for them directly from the photos.

The key to taking useful pics is to have an organized system of HOW you will routinely walk through a property. You need to be thorough, but also be clear about where you are (without having to make new filenames for every pic!). For unique projects or repair issues, you need a wide view that easily identifies what part of the house you are looking at. Usually the narrow area of interest would be more or less centered in the wide view, then you can take closer views to show more detail. Typically the very first pic I will take at a property (or apartment) will be of the address or apartment number on/next to the front door for easy ID when moving to folders. For most rooms, a view from the doorway, followed by a view back TO the doorway from opposite corner generally will show the entire room. Add detail views for that room before moving to the next room. Generally, you are trying to tell a story with pics, not just taking a bunch of random photos. To be clear, I typically spend no more than 15 to 20 minutes for full RTR pics (which includes in every cabinet and drawer, under sinks, inside of appliances), and usually 10 minutes or less on annual inspections and moveouts. Depending on size of the unit, this will be 30 - 200 images.

My cellphone backs up photos to a cloud service, which I then download to my desktop when I return to the office. I keep files for each property by address, with a subfolder for each individual unit, which in turn have subfolders named RTR, movein (if any discrepancy IS noted by tenant at walk through inspection), moveout, or specific incident (water leak) followed by six digit date they were taken IN THE FILENAME (separate from the file date generated by your system). With this system, I can quickly and easily refresh my memory when a tenant calls about an issue, or to recheck the movein condition of a specific area or element at the moveOUT. I can also send a pic of their appliance to my appliance repair person so they are prepared on arrival for most common issues. Same for plumbers, I can send them a pic of the water heater installation (usually with the model tag readable) or other pertinent information for the task at hand. I never provide pics to tenants, but do advise them they are welcome to take their own for their records.

I will also have a "tenant" file, which will have subfolders for each household group, containing copy of their rental docs and any letters sent to them over the course of their tenancy. If there are House rules or other docs for an entire building with multiple units, I will just have one copy in the property address folder that I can print or email whenever necessary.