If you're confused about which place in Kansas to buy a property in, you should think about Wichita! The city has a sustainable population growth of just over 1%.
However, while you may be ready to find your property, you're not quite ready to find tenants. There's still one more step.
Have you seen if your property is in the right condition for your tenants? You'll need to conduct regular rental property inspections to ensure it's always maintained.
Here's what you should know.
What to Look for With Rental Property Inspections
Your first consideration is what you'd like to accomplish with rental property inspections. One of the reasons a tenant can break their lease is if your property isn't safe or has health hazards.
Here are a few things to include on your rental property inspection checklist:
- Mold and/or asbestos growth
- Standing and leaking water
- Stains
- Fading and chipping paint
- Rust in appliances, fixtures, etc.
- Faulty wires
- Broken appliances
- Stuck doors
Make sure your property is in full working order before showing it to potential tenants. You might even want to stay in the property for at least a week to get an idea of its condition.
How Frequent Should Inspections Be?
Now let's look at how often you should hold rental property inspections. If your property is vacant, consider having one every three months.
This should be enough to check if the property is in great condition. If you get your property cleaned often, you might be able to lower this frequency even more.
What happens when you have a tenant in your property? You can still conduct inspections while you have a tenant to ensure rental property maintenance. In your lease agreement, include a clause to allow these inspections.
During the tenant's stay, the inspections should work around their schedule. The tenant has the right to remain at the property during the inspection. Make sure inspections are always given with a day's notice. You mustn't hold too many inspections; otherwise, the tenant might feel this is an invasion of their privacy.
Generally, two inspections during a one-year stay should be sufficient. You might have to increase this if you find the tenant isn't doing a great job with maintenance. Or you might need more inspections if there's a serious hazard within the property.
If there are issues with the property, attend to them immediately. If it's the tenant's responsibility, then they must fix it as soon as possible.
You can conduct another inspection at a deadline you give them to fix the issue. Tenants will usually appreciate these inspections and are more likely to renew their leases.
Look After Your Property
You can now hold rental property inspections to keep your home well-maintained. Try to conduct them to work with your tenant's schedule. Focus on maintenance to reduce the number of required inspections.
PMI Wichita is the city's best property management company for landlords like you. We have had many positive stories from landlords across Wichita and we look forward to assisting you.
