There are different options when it comes to real estate investing, and rental properties are among the most popular. With the right approach, you can make a good, reliable income.
One key thing you need to do is look after your properties. This will ensure they're suitable for tenants and help you keep the property value up. Rental property inspections are a vital part of this.
Keep reading for some information that will help you determine how often you should perform a rental property inspection in Southern New Hampshire.
The Purpose of Rental Property Inspections
The main reason for inspecting a property is to assess the current state of it. You can highlight any maintenance issues and determine what needs to be done.
You have various legal responsibilities to your tenants, and this includes keeping residences in a good state. If there are any major property maintenance issues, you should deal with them as soon as you can.
This typically relates to large work such as plumbing/electrical systems, damaged doors/windows, roof leaks, and more. The tenants themselves are responsible for smaller routine tasks like garbage removal and general cleaning.
Types of Inspections
You should do a moving-in inspection before any new tenants move in to assess the current state of your property. When they move out, you'll also want to do a moving-out inspection. These will help you see if they've caused any damage while living there, and you may need to use their security deposit to cover the cost of repairs.
Additionally, you'll likely want to do routine rental property inspections while the tenants are living there. Consider these as a kind of "check-in" so you can see if any issues have come up.
How Often Should You Carry Out Inspections?
The first thing to understand is that property entry laws vary by state. In New Hampshire, you need to give a tenant reasonable notice before entering a property, and this is typically 24-48 hours. It can be best to give them more than this simply out of courtesy.
With that in mind, there are no rules regarding how often you can carry out inspections. Doing them too often, however, can be a mistake.
Tenants have a right to "quiet enjoyment" of a property while living there. Frequent inspections could be seen as a breach of this, and they may not be too happy about it.
It's always beneficial to maintain good tenant relations. Doing so will make them more likely to renew their lease at the end of it. Overwhelm them with too many inspections and they'll be more interested in moving.
Bear in mind that you can enter a property without any notice if there's an emergency. This could be smoke coming from the property or a burst pipe that's leading to a flood, for example.
Rental Property Inspections in Southern New Hampshire
Rental property inspections are a key part of property maintenance. It can be best to have a professional property management company take care of these and the other operating tasks of your properties.
PMI Granite State provides a full range of property management services in Southern New Hampshire. We operate as part of PMI, one of the biggest property management companies in the US. Take a look at our property management page for more.
