Inspections are part of the foundation of Empire’s management structure. There are two types of inspections. The two-month inspection, which takes place approximately two months after the tenant’s first move into the home – and there is the six-month inspection. This occurs roughly every six months of the tenancy. Both steps are crucial if you want to properly manage your home, but sometimes they are simply not enough.
After the two-month inspection, six months can go by before the Property Manager sets foot on the property again. A lot can change in that space of time. Six months of not mowing the lawn, no weeding, and perhaps a few too many interesting projects that were started and never finished is more than enough to make your investment look like a disaster.
The Drive-By
To fill this enormous gap between inspections, we have the monthly drive-by. Each month the property managers drive by all the properties in their portfolio and take a picture of the front. This picture is uploaded into a task in our software that you, the landlord, can access at any time.
Of course, not all of our tenants are overly enthusiastic about the idea. It can be unnerving to see a car drive up and stop right in front of your home. To prevent confusion, our property managers normally notify the tenants at the signing of the lease. The tenants don’t mind the drive-by as long as they know it is coming.
Conclusion:
While the monthly drive-by can be time-consuming, Empire has found it to be the best way to ensure the condition of the home. It keeps us updated on the condition of the home, as the outside is always the first to suffer, and lets us know if the tenancy is beginning to deteriorate.
Happy Landlording!