It may seem like moving tenants into your San Antonio rental property is as easy as collecting the first month’s rent and handing over the keys.
There’s a lot more involved, actually, and if you want to get your relationship off to a good start, you’ll make sure the move-in process is smooth for your tenants. You’ll also want to carefully and accurately document the condition of your home before those tenants take possession.
This is where a move-in property condition checklist comes into the picture. It’s an essential part of leasing your home, and you need it to make sure the property is ready for occupancy.
Here is how that checklist helps.
Establishing Maintenance and Listing Repair Needs
Before your tenants move into your property, do a complete inspection of it. With your checklist, you can note what is in perfect condition and you can also mark those things that might need some attention before move-in day. Note any light bulbs that need to be changed. Install a clean air filter. Test the outlets and the faucets and make sure all the light switches are working. If anything is in need of a repair or a replacement, note on the condition report that it was noticed and taken care of. When larger issues are present, get your vendors and contractors into the property as soon as possible to take care of whatever is wrong. This is important because you don’t want your tenants to have something break as soon as they move in. It doesn’t make them feel great about their new home, and it leaves you scrambling to make repairs early in the lease term. Be proactive during the move-in inspection and take care of any potential problems before your tenant can identify them.Checking and Documenting Cleanliness
Another reason that your move-in property condition checklist is so critical is that you want to provide a clean home to your new tenants. They’ll expect it, and they’re entitled to move into a property that has been professionally scrubbed and polished. More importantly, providing a home that’s perfectly clean means you can expect to have that home returned to you in an equally clean state. You’re setting some expectations here, and when your tenants sign off on the condition report with you, everyone is agreeing to the state of the property when the tenants took possession. Use your checklist to ensure everything has been adequately and professionally cleaned: tubs, tiles, sinks, counters, floors, and windows.Supporting the Checklist with Photos
You’ll need to document everything that’s been checked off as clean and functional.
Take photos of everything. You should have hundreds of pictures included with your move-in checklist, including photos of ceilings, doors, windows, closets, floors, and even cupboards and drawers. This may seem like excess now, but at the end of the lease term, if there’s a dispute about security deposits and tenant damage, you’ll be glad to have this documentation. You’re establishing the property’s condition, and you’re doing it with photos that cannot be disputed.
Once you and your tenants sign the checklist, file it away until it’s time to conduct the move-out inspection. We’d be happy to help you with any of this or your San Antonio property management needs. Feel free to contact us at OmniKey Realty. We work with rental property owners in Dallas, Houston, and surrounding areas in Dallas County, Collin County, and Houston County.
