Why a Move-in Property Condition Checklist is Important | Los Angeles Property Management
Inspecting your property condition before a tenant moves in is critical to protecting your investment and holding tenants accountable for any damage during the lease period. Investors need to hold their property managers accountable for a thorough, detailed, and effective move-in inspection checklist. You should expect to see a detailed report that documents the condition of your property.
A move-in checklist ensures everyone is on the same page in terms of the property’s condition.
Inspect for Maintenance Needs Before Move-In
We conduct a thorough walk-through of your property to make sure everything is functional and ready for the tenant. The first thing on any checklist should be any repairs that need to be made before the move-in date. We’ll focus on taking care of even the little things. Chipped paint will be addressed and we’ll run every sink and test every outlet. Each appliance is turned on and we run the heat and the air conditioning.
Good property managers will do this even before we begin marketing your property. But, we do it again before the tenant moves in so we can note on the condition report that everything is in good working order. This will also eliminate any early maintenance requests and show your new residents that the care and condition of your property is important.
If there are any repairs that need to be made, we will get our licensed, insured, and affordable vendors lined up before the move-in date. All work will be completed before your tenant takes possession of the home.
Property Condition and Cleanliness
A clean home is important, not only because tenants deserve to move into a property that’s free of dirt and debris but also because we expect to get the home returned in clean condition at the end of the lease term. The move-in condition checklist can be used to confirm that floors, sinks, tubs, and toilets are free of dirt, debris, and dust.
We recommend hiring professional cleaners to take care of every detail before the tenant moves in, and we make sure our checklist reflects that all standards of cleanliness have been met.
Agree on Property Condition with Your Residents
The most important reason to use a move-in checklist is that this will allow us to document the condition of your property. This is essential, because we use the same checklist to compare how the property looks at the end of the lease term. This will impact whether the security deposit is returned in full, in part, or not at all.
Taking excellent pictures and even videos is part of our checklist process. We will write up descriptions and make notes. We’ll also share the checklist with your tenants when they move in. This gives tenants the opportunity to make any of their own observations on the condition of the property at move-in.
A move-in checklist protects you and it protects your property. It also helps your residents because they shouldn’t be held responsible for pre-existing issues that may be present in the home.
If you’d like some help with the leasing process or moving your Los Angeles tenants into your rental home, please contact us at MGMT Group, Inc. We can ensure an efficient leasing and property management process.