Why Property Evaluations Should Be Performed Regularly

Property management can be a tough task, especially if you are performing it all on your own. For many investment property owners who are first starting out, the first management task overlooked is regular property evaluations. Yet by not making these a priority, you do a disservice both to yourself and to your residents. One of the key reasons that we have become the leading property management company is that we conduct regular Raleigh property evaluations of both the inside and outside of the properties that we manage. Doing so often saves time and money.

When our property management professionals perform property evaluations, we do so correctly. While at the rental home, we make sure that your investment property is in good condition through evaluation and verification of the below aspects:

• Plumbing – look for any noticeable leaks, and make sure the water heater is working correctly
• Appliances – guarantee that furnace, air conditioner, and any other major appliances are in good working condition
• Proactive Maintenance– attend to necessary repairs before they become worse and then become more expensive
• Ensure Lease Compliance– confirm the number of occupants, number and types of pets on the property, and check for smoking (if not allowed)
• Check to see that detector batteries are fresh
• Replace filters
• Document any lease compliance issues after the evaluation

Performing regular property evaluations demonstrates to tenants that management cares about the property. As a result, tenants likely care about the property, too, and treat it well. Residents can be informed of the evaluation schedule when the lease is signed. With advance notice, many residents will be fine with going through an evaluation because this helps to keep their living space in good working condition.

The first evaluation will happen during the move in. We prefer to walk through the rental house with the new resident and document any existing damage and take pictures to keep on file. The pictures that we take during our Raleigh property evaluations are uploaded to the owner and tenant online portal to help keep communication transparent.

During the regularly scheduled evaluations, our property manager experts verify lease compliance, look for any new damage that may have happened to the property, and look for maintenance issues that need attention. These evaluations should be done regularly and can take place at least semi-annually.

When a resident is ready to move out of the property, a final walkthrough is done with the resident and the condition that the rental home is being left in is noted. Supporting pictures and notes are taken again and recorded in the homeowner and tenant online portal.

By making regular Raleigh property evaluations part of the rental agreement, property owners can assist in protecting their investment rental homes from damage and assist in keeping residents’ content.

Would you like to learn more about Raleigh property evaluations? For more information contact us online, or call us at (919) 827-1107 today.