It’s important to inspect your rental property while it is occupied, and today we’re explaining why. A lot of times, tenants move in and the landlord doesn’t see the property again until those tenants move out. In some cases, they are left with big problems that they didn’t expect. It’s interesting because a lot of times we have seen otherwise great tenants leave a lot of damage behind. They might have been responsive and paid rent on time and stayed quiet so that the landlord thought everything was good, but then at move out they might discover the house was destroyed because the tenant neglected necessary maintenance and repairs.

Checking for Lease Violations

There are two things we look for with these inspections. First, lease violations. We want to make sure there’s not someone living in the property who isn’t on the lease. Tenants have been known to move people in after the fact. We need to screen and approve those residents. If something were to happen while a person was living there who isn’t on the lease, it would be a liability issue for all parties involved. We also want to make sure there are no unauthorized pets in the property. A lot of times tenants will tell us they don’t have pets, but then we’ll discover a dog at the home or strong evidence of a dog.

Check for Maintenance Needs

We also conduct these inspections to look for maintenance issues. Any maintenance issue that can turn into bigger issue down the line is something we want to take care of right away. Sometimes, tenants won’t call about small leaks, they won’t change their HVAC filters, or they’ll take down smoke detectors. They think they’re doing you a favor by not bothering you, but you want to avoid the chance of small problems becoming more expensive and complex. You’ll also know if the tenant is taking good care of the property. That will tell you if you want to renew a lease.

If you any questions about inspecting your southern Maryland rental property, please contact us at Real Property Management Gold.