Regular Rental Inspections

[Valerie Couch]

Curious to see if homeowners/property managers perform regular (quarterly, semi-annually, etc.) property inspections.  We used to in the past but decided it may be a little invasive to tenants so have refrained.  However, we recently had to evict a tenant and found the house in horrible condition.  Could this have been remedied sooner had we visited the property? 

Is this normal business practice for anyone?

Thanks!

[Mindy Jensen]

As long as your lease addresses this, and you aren't intrusive or overly nosey when you're in the property, you should perform regular, scheduled inspections. Call them maintenance for less pushback from the tenants.

I have a friend who rents his property, and he is in it every month to change the furnace filter. This way, he knows it's getting done. People don't change them regularly in the homes they own - they certainly aren't going to take care of it in a rental.

Change the batteries in the smoke detectors twice a year when the clocks change - another thing that renters typically won't remember to do. 

When you add in things like this, it doesn't seem intrusive. Schedule the "routine maintenance" at their convenience, and it's even less so.