How Often Should a Landlord Conduct Rental Property Inspections
Rental properties are considered a significant real estate investment. Therefore, it is imperative that you keep your rental property in as good condition as possible. One way to ensure that your rental property remains in its best condition is to conduct regular property inspections.
As the name suggests, a property inspection is a routine procedure that helps you ensure the fact that your property hasn’t been damaged in any way by the tenants.
Moreover, if you do not live near your rental property, you can also hire the best property management companies in Orlando Fl to professionally look after your property.
Why Are Regular Property Inspections By A Landlord Important?
The best property management companies in Orlando Fl suggest that conducting regular property inspections is a great way to check out the condition of your property and ensure that it’s in safe hands.
Usually, landlords conduct two inspections. One inspection at the time when a tenant moves into the rental property and the other one at the time when the tenant moves out of the rental property.
As per the best property management companies in Orlando, Fl, these inspections help to assess if any damage has been incurred to the property by the tenant throughout the rental period.
The results from these two inspections are compared to gauge the degree of damage. Some landlords also conduct inspections to check whether the safety features of their rental property are working well or not.
This includes checking the fire alarms, whether the fire extinguisher is working or not, checking if the smoke alarms are in a good condition, etc. Furthermore, as a landlord, you also have certain legal rights to conduct regular property inspections as you please.
That said, you must specify the frequency of such inspections in the rental agreement itself before signing it along with your tenant. Furthermore, a landlord also needs to give prior notice to the tenant before stepping into the rental property for the inspection.
How Often Should A Landlord Conduct Property Inspections?
Landlords often falsely assume that since they’re still the proud owners of their rental property, they can go for an inspection whenever they want.
However, this is nothing but a myth. The local government of the area your rental property is situated in has certain rules and regulations about how often a landlord can conduct property inspections.
Therefore, before you draw a rental agreement, you must always read about the state government’s rules and regulations about property inspections. The best property management companies in Orlando Fl can help you read the fine print and draw a legally abiding rental agreement in such a case.
Based on the rules and regulations laid down by the government, you may decide the number of times you want to inspect your rental property based on the following factors:
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Your Relationship With Your Tenant
Even if you have a healthy relationship with your tenant and are able to communicate freely with each other, the tenant might not like you coming unannounced to the rental property. That is why you must hire one of the best property management companies in Orlando Fl to handle property inspections professionally.
Before you sign the rental agreement with your tenant, ensure that you freely communicate about the number of property inspections you’d like to conduct and see if they agree or not. To maintain professionalism, ensure that you stick to the mentioned frequency of such visits and do not invade the privacy of your tenant too often.
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Define Your Purpose Of Entry Into The Rental Property
One of the main determinant factors when it comes to conducting regular property inspections is your purpose of entry into the rental property. Usually, a landlord surely conducts a property inspection at the time the tenant moves in and at the time they move out.
However, if you want to conduct a quarterly or yearly survey of the property, then you must mention it in the rental agreement.
Furthermore, sometimes you may want to visit the property without any intention of conducting a survey. In such a case, the best property management companies in Orlando, Fl suggest that you must define your purpose of entry and give prior notice to the tenant about your visit as well.
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The Right To Privacy Of The Tenant
This is a universal right that is available to the tenant the moment they rent out your real estate property. It is important for you to understand that sometimes property inspections can be a tiny bit excessive and make the whole process highly uncomfortable for the tenant.
The best property management companies in Orlando, Fl can help you understand the fine line between the rights of the landlord and that of the tenant.
They can help you conduct regular property inspections without them being too excessive and uncomfortable for your tenants.
Wrapping Up
The exact number of times that a landlord can conduct inspections on their rental property depends strictly upon the rules and regulations of property management in that area. However, as a responsible landlord, you must follow the three golden rules stated above and take the help of the best property management companies in Orlando Fl to conduct regular inspections at your rental property!