When you rent out a home or an apartment, there is much more that you can look forward to besides income. Renting out a property means that you are entitled to many more benefits than you may realize, including getting a rental inspection before the tenant signs a lease and moves into the home. For many reasons, it’s a good idea to get the place you want to rent checked out before entering a lease. Knowledgeable property managers in Las Vegas can provide six good reasons why you should consider having your rental property inspected before signing a lease.
Why Get a Routine Property Inspection?
A routine property inspection is a home inspection that is performed at least once per year. Usually, this type of property inspection occurs when the tenant is on the premises. As the best property managers in Las Vegas will tell you, a home inspection should be mutually beneficial. It allows the property owner to look for any damages to the property, and it gives the tenant the opportunity to point out any problems with the rental property. If the tenant does find any issues with the property, he or she can request to have those issues addressed before moving into the home. The inspection will be performed by the person who is in charge of the rental property, which is generally either the landlord or a Las Vegas property management company.
Many benefits can come from this routine inspection, including:
- Improved landlord-tenant relationship
- Accountability
- Regular maintenance
- Exterior property inspection
- Check for lease violations
- Damage inspection
- Improved Landlord-Tenant Relationship
One advantage of getting inspections regularly is that it can improve the relationship between the landlord and the tenant. As property managers in Las Vegas will tell you, having a good relationship goes a long way in making sure that the property is in top shape and that both parties feel equally at ease and empowered to let the other know if something is wrong. By scheduling routine property inspections, property managers can make sure they take the time to get to know the tenants who are renting out their property on a personal basis. Otherwise, the only interaction that the landlord and tenant usually have is when issues arise with the property. Conversely, tenants are more likely to take better care of the property when they have a chance to meet the property manager and get to know the landlord as a person instead of someone who just collects their check on time each month.
Accountability
Tenant accountability is another good reason to consider having the property inspected regularly. If tenants know that someone will be coming in periodically to check on the property, they will be more likely to care of the property and even help maintain it. Tenants who know that the landlord will be stopping by regularly will not want to face an angry landlord if they leave the house in disarray or otherwise cause problems. Since accountability can help prevent damage to the home, property owners won’t have to spend as much time and money on repairs. Both parties will also benefit from an improved relationship and a stronger sense of responsibility when taking care of the property.
Regular Maintenance
Maintenance, any Las Vegas property management company can tell you, can be a costly part of owning and managing a home. A critical aspect of maintaining a home is maintaining inspections and physically inspecting the home periodically. That’s why inspecting the home regularly is vital. If you go for a year without visiting a home, you may be in for an unpleasant surprise when you set foot on the premises for the first time. You may not have any clue about issues occurring with the property unless you visit the home in person. That includes small problems that a tenant might not consider all that significant, but that are actually problems that need to be addressed.
Exterior Property Inspections
While many people may be focused on the home’s interior when conducting inspections, the home’s exterior also deserves some attention. It may be easy to overlook the home’s exterior problems that can easily become worse over time and cost more money. Sometimes, in cases where the home has an attached yard, the homeowner may choose to assign the tenant the responsibility of caring for the yard or hire a landscaping company to take care of the exterior maintenance work. As the landlord, you have the power to say something if you are unhappy or less than satisfied with the quality of work performed on the home’s exterior. You can also initiate a conversation with the landscaper or the tenant if you find that the exterior maintenance is not to your liking. If you are dealing with a tenant, you can show him or her the proper techniques for managing the yard so that you can improve the exterior and quality of the home’s care.
Lease Violations
For several reasons, a tenant may violate a lease on the property you are renting. Many home and property owners think that as long as they are getting a lease payment on time, they don’t have to worry about potential issues with the property. However, neglecting the property may result in lease violations that go unnoticed unless the homeowner takes action. If you let lease violations go, you are essentially allowing the tenant to break the rental agreement. A landlord may encounter many different types of violations, including a tenant unlawfully subletting the house, having pets on the premises, or engaging in other kinds of illegal activity. If you spot a violation, it’s a good idea to start by talking with the tenant. You won’t necessarily decide to evict the tenant based on the behavior, but you should let him or her know that the behavior in question is not appropriate and that an eviction or more severe action may result if the tenant continues with the behavior.
Damage Inspection
For the landlord, checking on the home occasionally is also an excellent way to make sure everything in the house that is the landlord’s responsibility is working properly, including the light bulbs, smoke detectors, and carbon monoxide detectors. If you notice any problems that are the tenant’s responsibility to fix, you can also document the issues by taking photos or making notes of the problem. If you encounter a problem with the home that needs repairs, it is good to have the problem addressed as soon as possible to avoid additional issues.
It is wise to have your property inspected periodically every year if you are renting it out for many reasons. If you are unsure of how to go about scheduling and conducting maintenance on your home, you can count on the best property managers in Las Vegas to help you out. Call The Mor Group today or visit the company’s website to learn more about what services you can look forward to.
