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Updated about 1 year ago on . Most recent reply
What to look for during my walk throughs?
He everyone,
I currently did a walk-through of my properties I own in the midwest. For the most part, I know what to look for. For example, I have a rental with two military tenants. They're amazing. The house was in great shape. Nice furniture, maintained, clean, no signs or smells of cats, just pride of rentership. SOme of the other properties, were in just okay shape. Houses were dirty. No broken windows, or holes in walls, no damage overall, but just dirty. Sinks and bathrooms dirty, kitchen dirty, things of that sort. One tenant is a hoarder of shoes and hats. It's literally everywhere. Are these a red flag? No issues at all with paying rent, tenants responsive overall, no issues, no noise concerns. I guess what I want to know is what are the overall problems with a tenant that does not have an overall clean lifestyle. I'm just trying to make sure that i'm not missing any major details by ignoring the simple details. Do i kick tenant out risking picking another similar tenant. Do i make them pay for a detailed cleaning every quarter??
Thank you,
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The Number One thing you should be looking for when performing an interim inspection is any signs of unreported water leaks. Use a flashlight and check under sinks, including shutoffs, flex lines, and waste lines; around base of toilet and at the shutoff; tub to surround and other seam caulking; faucets that leak at stem when turned on; check ceilings in every room and closet for signs of leaks (bubbling, curling or bulging paint) or staining. Water is a LL's worst enemy...it does tremendous damage on its own, often slowly over long periods of time damaging a structure literally from top to bottom; and it attracts many of the critters you do not want to see...carpenter ants, roaches, and more.
Housekeeping certainly is an important issue, but tenants may not be as OCD as many LL's would like. I do not get concerned with organized clutter. Some people just have lots of stuff. If, however it truly gets out of hand to a point of creating a fire hazard or impeding the ability to make a reasonably hasty exit; or if they are completely blocking an exit or an electrical panel; or excessively stockpiling recyclables or flammable material; if food has been clearly left out for extended periods, with roaches crawling all over it or worse, and household rubbish is not being reasonably contained, I will give them ONE 30 day period to make dramatic improvement, a second violation would result in non-renewal or termination for cause. Yards and the exterior we require, for example, yard maintenance at a minimum every 2 weeks, with no "indoor" furniture allowed outdoors including on porches, and no stored items, no car parts, construction materials, or vehicles that are not currently licensed and operable.
You can also require annual professional carpet cleaning in the terms of your Rental Agreement. We usually only require it at move out.