What should be inspected?

[Jayro]

G'day all,

Just wondering what should be inspected during a qaurterly inspection? I recently desided that (on the advice of others and things that iv been reading) once a yr I would go to one of the inspections to keep my PM on her toes and just to keep myself at peace that all is well with our IP.

My main issue was that EVERY inspection the PM gives the tenants a 9 or 9.5 out of 10. So im thinking it would want to be bloody nice for a 9.5/10.

Anyhow the inspection was on Monday. Great 2hr drive from newcastle to quakers hill, lol. The PM just took me on a VERY quick look through the place. Didnt look at ovens or cook tops or check anything worked etc. Is this normal, is this what the inspection should be? Just a basic check for major damage???

I said to the PM "gee the carpets are stained" and she replied "yeh they will need a clean soon, i'll keep an eye on them" Lawns were not mowed, cobwebs around the ceilings (which I know is not an issue as its not damage etc) a light fitting removed as she had to change a globe and hasnt put it back up yet.

So anyway I didnt say too much to the PM and I thought I would just see what her report comes back with. But if she thinks thats a 9.5/10 then I think ill be asking her to adjust her scaling for my property

Dont get me wrong, the property was in good condition as far as holes in walls or anything like that. But I just thought surely if you knew an inspection was happening wouldnt you do a little cleaning. When I rented for 6 months before we settled on our PPOR and if we knew there was an inspection we would make extra effort dusting and cleaning, vaccuuming etc.

On the plus side we did up the rent in June from $280/wk to $300/wk and the PM just advised me to up it to $315/wk. I agreed but told her to wait till the new yr as I dont think its fair to raise the rent just before Xmas. So she agreed that early Jan she will give them the appropriate notice. They are very good tenants as far as paying the rent goes so im happy just going the 5% rise at this stage. PM was confident of another mid next yr.

Anyhow interested in peoples thoughts regarding the inspection.

Jayro

 

[kaf]

I try to go along on inspections once a year - I clear out the gutters at the same time. I wouldn't expect to do checks on appliances in working order etc. as you'd expect the tenant to tell you about that. Also a clean oven is an exit report issue - can't really force the tenants to clean it regularly. Same with spider webs, dust etc.

I do want to know if there is any water anywhere (leaking shower, cracked tiles etc.), holes in wall, anything that might be dangerous and to check the place is termite safe (no cardboard boxes / wood under the house) etc. Fact is that no-one will look after your IP as well as you will and this issue keeps me thinking that I should self manage... Not while I'm working full-time and renovating at the same time though.

kaf

 

[Jayro]

sweet. That puts my mind at easy alot then. The major things are taken care of throughout the yr. Blocked gutters, a/c waterleak, etc etc issues are raised immediately and I have them fixed by the father inlaw (lives nearby) straight away.

So basically if they want to live in a dusty environment then thats up to them. As long as nothing is being damaged (which it isnt) then just ensure its cleaned before they leave the property and alls good. Sounds fine with me.

Thanks for the reply.

Jayro

 

[Dazz]

Anyhow interested in peoples thoughts regarding the inspection.

The big difference is Jayro, you are only interested in one house and one inspection....yours. Your PM has probably 150 or 200 on her books, and yours is but a fly speck on her radar.

My wife used to work for an agency as a PM, and she managed to pump through 14 per day, for the full 5 day week to get through half the rent roll. Honestly, how much attention to detail and effort do you think they put into it ?? The detailed inspection and keeping the tenant up to spec with the exact wording of the Lease is not the real issue for them. You obviously think it is and you are paying them good money for it to be....but they have an entirely different agenda, as dictated by their boss - the principal of the agency.

My wife's agency charged $ 95 to each Landlord per inspection, that's a nice little earner for an agency when paying some highly qualified (intense 5 day full course ) person $ 25 / hr. And that's just the inspection fee, let alone the much larger management fee rolling in every day. Insist that you must perform one of these every 3 months and kaching kaching.

9.5 / 10 ensures he gets his extra revenue out of the Landlord and you don't have a whinge back in their ear. Excellent tactic I would have thought for the Principal of the Agency...obviously works for them.

When things are unclear, I always find it instructive to pop the other guy's hat on for a change and see it from his business perspective. Normally the answers are staring you in the face as to why they do things certain ways.

 

[marg4000]

I try to attend an inspection of my IPs once a year.

I don't care how untidy the place is, I am only interested in the condition of the walls and fixtures. It's amazing how some people choose to live. A lot of issues are addressed when the tenant leaves. We had one property where the photos were shocking, the place was an absolute mess, junk all over the yard etc but at the end of the day they left the place in good condition.

I would like more info from my PMs on looming problems, i.e., carpet will need replacing in about 12 months etc rather than wait until replacement is overdue before letting me know. Keeping an eye on upcoming maintenance is my main reason for attending inspections.

Our PMs reports are a tick the box type, but they always send about a dozen photos which helps, particularly if the photo relates to a problem.
Marg

 

[Xenia]

The idea is not to invade the tenant's privacy nor to bully the tenant and act like a parent telling a 10 year old child to clean his room. Tenants are partners in your wealth creation plan and should be treated as such. They are you clients!

The idea of an inspection is to look at maintenace issues and comment on what needs immediate attention (ie leaking taps, broken dishwasher etc) and look at what would need replacing in 6 months, one year etc. Ie carpets waring thin. Paint would need to be touched up etc. The landlord needs to get an idea of what to budget for in the future. Any damaged caused by tenants should be billed to them off course but dishes in the sink and laundry baskets of clothes not folded are not things that should be noted (some pm's actually waste their time looking at these things and writing them down). Have some respect for the tenants, it's their HOME and how they live is no ones business (unless it is causing damage to the house).

Again the aim is to give the landlord an idea of present and future expenses to budget for!

 

[redsquash]

Perhaps you have it wrong.
Maybe the tenants did make an extra effort and cleaned up.
What you saw were the results of their efforts .

I think Daxzzling got it right.

I am with a smaller agency, husband and wife, having been peeved by the larger agencies.
They do a great job ..........I could never say that about any of the half dozen agencies I went through. .

Ask your pm when a report would get a 5,6 or 7
Find out how many inspections are done daily to compare with Dazzlings insights

 

[BayView]

Personally, I think the inspections are a waste of time, and my money.

What good comes from them, other than a bit of extra "churning" for the PM?

You find out that the property is (supposedly) in good condition, and so it should be; the tenant has this obligation.

Or, it needs work that the tenant may have caused and isn't letting on about. If this is the case then they should repair it at their cost; good luck. How many renters have a spare $1 to their name? The Bond and/or Landlord's Insurance will cover it.

If it is wear and tear, or a repair that needs to be fixed, you can be sure that the tenant will bring it to the PM's attention quick smart, and they will tell us.

 

[Superstitionist]

Agree with L.AAussie, the inspection is a waste of time (for me, not for the PM).

Have been to a routine inspection with the PM once for an one bedroom unit.
- 2 mins to find the right keys to enter,
- 2 mins to inspect
* 0.5 min for bedroom
* 0.5 min for bathroom
* 0.5 min for kitchen
* 0.5 min for living room)

Final report with 1 sentense....."...kept in execellent condition besides the normal wear and tear..."....

Super.

 

[wylie]

We never inspect our IPs. I self-manage and our tenants let us know if there are problems that need fixing.

I would hate someone walking through MY house and I will not do that to someone else.

On the rare occasion when we have worries about a tenant, there are numerous ways to get a look inside without "inspecting" them, ie. need to check for termites, etc.

Wylie

 

[Superstitionist]

I would hate someone to walk through MY house as well, but I think I also want to know the conditions of MY property...

Super.

 

[Bombtrack]

Inspections are a waste of time? The primary reason you do them is to ensure that the property is not being trashed.

Twice a year is minimum, you can drive past all you want, but you will not know the condition inside unless you do R.I's.

 

[wylie]

I use the same gut instinct as I use to chose tenants. It rarely lets me down.

As I said, if I am unsure of things, there are plenty of reasons to have a walk through the house, annual termite inspecting being just one.

Having said that, our IPs are local so we drive past them in our day to day running about and keep an eye on things, so it is not like the place could be going to rack and ruin without us having a clue.

I also notice that DESPITE regular inspections by the professional managers, there are plenty of landlords here on SS who are shocked by how a house is left.

Wylie

 

[Jayro]

Thanks everyone for your replies. Appreciate it.

Im not sure if im reading right. Do some PM's charge for these inspections????

I dont pay for my inspections so maybe they arnt doing too bad a job. The PM carries out 4 inspections per yr as part of my 7% fee. And look at the end of the day I am very happy with the condition of the property and as a few have mentioned its up to them how they choose to live, as long as no damage is being caused which it isnt. I was just curious as to what things I should expect to be checked during an inspection as I had not been to one before.

Now there's a thought Redsqauash, maybe the inside HAD been cleaned for our inspection Surely im not the only one that HATES filthy dust and cobwebs etc hanging from ceilings. Dont get me wrong my home is not SPOTLESS but gee I do like a clean house to live in. Ah well we are all different I guess. Keeps the world interesting.

Jayro

 

[skater]

Im not sure if im reading right. Do some PM's charge for these inspections????

I dont pay for my inspections so maybe they arnt doing too bad a job. The PM carries out 4 inspections per yr as part of my 7% fee.

Jayro

You have to remember that this forum attracts posters from all over the country.

You tend to find that PM's charge differently in different States. In some States it is common for the PM's to charge a lot more percentage wise & then add extra charges on for every little thing they do. From memory, I think WA are the worst culprits. I used to have property in Tassie. It was common for the PM's to charge around 11%. Most of my property is in NSW. I get charged between 5.5-7.5% & no extras for any of them.

 

[Jayro]

Ok thanks for that Skater. Gee 11% is a bit rich isnt it. Ah well whatever is the going rate then thats what it is I guess.

Jayro