Aha! The importance of regular/annual inspections

[Jack B.]

We had some rain storms recently in the Seattle area, For the past few weeks. I almost wanted to email my tenants and ask them if there were any leaks, as the roof on my primary residence which is only 11 years old leaked.

I decided to just book an inspection since I needed to get some pics of a water heater I need to replace (with the one tenant that has not been visited recently). Sure enough, the tenant says, oh, by the way, I was going to email you today, the Chimney leaked in the garage after the recent rains (roll eyes here, I'm sure she was going to email me today). Then she asks if I need to get into the daughters rooms, so she could have them pick their clothes off the floor.

I told her I would need to get in there for sure to make sure there are no other leaks. Sigh, I almost feel like I need to stop by every few months. My last tenants at another property didn't report a washing machine water pipe leak for TWO days. They admitted as much in writing. Good thing since if there is mold when I tear the carpet out to replace it in a few years, I may pursue a claim against them since my lease requires them to report things like that ASAP otherwise they will be responsible for the charges.

I get people don't want to trouble their landlord or have their landlord coming around for stuff, but when these people don't report it, it ends up causing far more damage. My lease allows me to charge them for it, but man, I guess people who have no skin in the game are just careless.

[Michael Boyer]

Nice points Jack! And often it is the tenant who is slippery or hesitant about an inspection or slow to alert you of an issue that causes the most concern. I find they could be covering up an unauthorized resident, property condition, or problem they fear they may be charged for......So it can compound a problem if you neglect these routine peeks in a unit. And, ironically, it can get more problematic with landlords good at retaining tenants for very long terms (i.e., landlords doing annual or semi annual turns get in the units and can go over them every inch, inside out, but not those with very long term tenants)... Good points all around. The tenant may not have the long term interest (skin as you mention) in the property condition so you have to protect your interest with these inspections. Best of luck..

[Dawn Anastasi]

Tenants should always have "skin in the game" namely the security deposit.

[Ralph Hunter]

I am in favor of regular inspections. Not only is it good security for the property owner but it is actually helpful to the tenant. It gives them a chance to mention any concerns or problems. Rather than being a "nuisance" call, I approach it as a chance to make sure we keep our units in the best condition to encourage our good tenants to stay. It makes the tenants feel all "warm and fuzzy" but gives us the chance to assess any damage. 

[Account Closed]

I think it's a good practice to check on tenants after a storm or inclement weather to make sure they are "safe" and don't have any issues with the property. I find that it instills trust with good tenants that you are looking out for the place they call home. But I also right into the agreement that quarterly inspections are required to maintain the unit with routine maintenance. You would be amazed how many people don't know to change an a/c filter.

[Nathan Gesner]

 I bought an existing property management company in 2010. One month after purchasing the company, I started inspecting properties because the previous property manager only inspected during turnovers. One of the first properties to inspect was a house located 30 minutes away that had not been inspected since the tenants moved in 11 years earlier. The previous Manager said they always paid their rent and it should be fine. I reviewed their folder and discovered they had bounced checks at least a dozen times in that 11 year period, so I wasn't optimistic.

When I called the tenant to schedule an inspection, it took many phone calls over a two-week period before they responded. Interestingly, they told me they had just bought a home and would be moving out the next week. This immediately raised red flags but I found no point in pushing it if they were going to be out one week later. It actually took them two weeks to get out. They called and told me the keys were on the counter, that the house was clean, and it was ready for the next tenant to move in.

Click on the link below to see my YouTube video of what I found. Needless to say, I have never gone more than one year between inspections and just because a tenant pays rent does not mean they are taking care if the property!

Worst Tenants

[Becky C.]

Oh my gosh Nathan, I just watched the video. Lesson learned I guess. How did the owner react to that video?

[Michele Fischer]

We inspect at least annually, the properties our property manager has are inspected every six months.  They are a pain to schedule and they almost always lead to some follow-up time and cost, but they are well worth the trouble.

We've also been amazed at how slow tenants are to raise issues.  We had one tenant with a leaky roof due to an unauthorized dish installation who never told us.  They moved out in the middle of the night in month 11, leaving dog poop all over the carpeting.

Part of it is probably laziness, part is probably not wanting to interact with the landlord, and part of it is that they don't have the skills to recognize what will become a bigger issue if left alone.  If they were particularly proactive, they would probably be home owners in most cases.

[Jack B.]

Results :

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/52/topics/256696-hmmmdid-an-inspection-at-one-of-my-rentals-today

Not terrible, but not spectacular "I want these people to live here forever" feeling. The mothers bedroom with in suite master bath was fine. Cluttered, these people are slight hoarders. Cat had just pissed on the carpet, within an hour. Girls rooms had some stains on the carpet, and just cluttered. My girlfriend said it didn't look that bad from the pictures I showed her while I was venting. Alas, I'm glad I went out and know what's going on in my house. I might step inspections up to twice a year, as these are C area neighborhoods.

Oh, and according to the roofer, the brick chimney sucks in water and there are classic signs of that happening here. Sealing it will have to be done almost yearly he states. I had asked for a quote for the roofing job while he was at it. About 10K + tax for 30 year compositions shingles by CertainTeed, for 24 squares.

[Kevin Harrison]

Originally posted by @Nathan Gesner:

 I bought an existing property management company in 2010. One month after purchasing the company, I started inspecting properties because the previous property manager only inspected during turnovers. One of the first properties to inspect was a house located 30 minutes away that had not been inspected since the tenants moved in 11 years earlier. The previous Manager said they always paid their rent and it should be fine. I reviewed their folder and discovered they had bounced checks at least a dozen times in that 11 year period, so I wasn't optimistic.

When I called the tenant to schedule an inspection, it took many phone calls over a two-week period before they responded. Interestingly, they told me they had just bought a home and would be moving out the next week. This immediately raised red flags but I found no point in pushing it if they were going to be out one week later. It actually took them two weeks to get out. They called and told me the keys were on the counter, that the house was clean, and it was ready for the next tenant to move in.

Click on the link below to see my YouTube video of what I found. Needless to say, I have never gone more than one year between inspections and just because a tenant pays rent does not mean they are taking care if the property!

Worst Tenants

I watched the video, to be honest its not that bad for being left unattended for 11 years with renters in it. Now that's not to say you would ever catch my house looking like that. I venture to say that the way you found it was the cleanest it had been in years and the people that left most likely honestly thought that was "clean".

[Nicole A.]

@Nathan Gesner Are there special laws in Wyoming when it comes to how/when you can enter the property? Why did you have to wait for their response before you went?

FYI to anyone reading/wondering in general, lots of places, it's just a 24 hour notice of entry/inspection. And the landlord is not asking for permission...the landlord is informing the tenant that they're entering. I send my notice and that's it. No response needed. Of course, know your local laws.

[Nathan Gesner]

@Becky C. the owners acted like the could care less. I tried for several months to motivate them to let me take the tenants to court, but they refused. After a few more months they were clearly stressing and started blaming me for their problems. I fired them and haven't heard from them since. I met a guy two years ago that was renting it and it sounds like they haven't put a dime into it.

@Kevin Harrison my claim of "worst tenant ever" is hyperbole but it is the worst I have personally had. I've taken over properties that were worse and I've seen worse online. I estimate $15,000 - $20,000 in repairs and lost rent. That's pretty bad for any investor except a slum lord.

[Nathan Gesner]

@Nicole A. I only owned the company for a few weeks when I started calling to schedule inspections. I had over 100 rentals to inspect while simultaneously fixing the accounting, the forms, missing files, etc. The company was a mess, so I couldn't dedicate my time to inspecting this one house 30 miles away.

I called the tenant several times over a two-week period before they finally responded and told me they were in the process of buying a house and moving out. This was a red flag but the property was 30 miles away and I was VERY busy. Yes, I could just give them 24 hours notice and drive down there, but they had been in the home for 11 years so what difference would it make?

By the way, I conducted more evictions in my first six months than I have in the last 52 months of ownership! This was just one of my inherited problems.

[Kevin Harrison]

@Nathan Gesner while you are right about that being a nice chunk of change to have to cough up, I still cant get past the 11 years issue. I wasn't saying it was a nice place but after that amount of time and neglect from ownership I kinda figured that's what you would expect, or worse. I wasn't trying to take a dig at you for the way you put it, sorry if it came across that way.  

[Nathan Gesner]

Nope! I understood. We're just victims of miscommunication via a message board!