A property inspection takes place every six months in our world. A great property manager will stay consistent with inspections to ensure properties are well maintained. This is the maximum amount of time we feel comfortable not having a set of eyes and ears on the property. Most of the time, we end up looking at properties more frequently than this. But, if there’s a property where opportunities don’t pop up as regularly to conduct an inspection, we still like to schedule one every six months.
Conducting a Rental Property Inspection
We feel that this time period is also a good guideline for you as an owner who might be maintaining the property on your own. There are lots of little things that shouldn’t go longer than that six month period. For example, there might be a small leak under a sink. If you can catch that early, there may not be any water damage, and you’ll just need to replace a pipe or a seal and be fine. However, if you let that little leak carry on for a few weeks or months or even years, you’ll have a lot of damage. There will be significant water damage, mold, and a lot of liability on you as the owner. So, get out there and look at the property at least every six months.
Property Management Burlingame: Avoid Liability
Tenants don’t always report maintenance issues. They seem to think that no news is good news. But, any issues that pop up should be reported right away so they can be dealt with. If you find out later that there’s mold or other ongoing issues that haven’t been reported, it will put you in danger of taking on extra liability. This is another reason that a rental inspection is necessary; you can check in with your tenant and make sure there haven’t been any unreported problems.
If you have any Burlingame property management questions or you’d like to see our free rental inspection checklist, please contact us at Five Star Property Management. We’d also be happy to send you a copy of our inspection video so you have a guide on how to conduct them.