Monroe is a profitable property investment destination. It has a stable economy, good employment opportunities, and a low rental vacancy rate. While this is excellent news for property investors, you'll still need to put in a lot of hard work to keep your investment properties profitable.
Rental property inspections are just one of the tasks associated with owning an investment property, and they're an important one.
Read on to discover how these routine tasks can help you maintain the success of your rental business.
Rental Property Inspections Ensure Compliance
Under New Jersey law, a landlord must maintain their property in a safe and habitable condition. If they don't, tenants may break their lease without incurring any penalties.
Some of the items you must inspect regularly to ensure compliance include:
- Plumbing
- Windows and doors
- Building structure
- Fire safety equipment
- Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors
Property inspections are ideal opportunities to perform minor maintenance work, like replacing the filters on the HVAC system or testing the batteries on safety monitors.
Additionally, routine property inspections can reveal whether the tenant is contravening the lease agreement, e.g., by allowing pets or exceeding the maximum occupancy of the unit.
Prompt attention to property maintenance issues ensures tenant convenience and keeps them happy. It's one of the best ways to ensure lease renewals.
Communication with tenants is vital for successful property inspections. You must give them sufficient notice of your intention to enter their home for inspections as well as routine maintenance tasks.
An online owner-tenant portal works very well for effectively communicating with tenants about pending maintenance work and for keeping track of any maintenance done on your properties.
This technology can also streamline maintenance and repair requests, so you can act on them quickly. If you're struggling to keep up with these demands, it's time to consider hiring a property manager.
Routine Inspections Have Financial Benefits
Reducing costly vacancies is one way routine property inspections can help you financially, but they're also vital for ensuring your property retains its value. When you conduct regular inspections, you can act fast to prevent small issues from escalating.
It's always cheaper and less time-consuming to handle routine maintenance instead of extensive repairs.
Move-out inspections are vital for determining if the tenant has caused any damage. You must return the tenant's security deposit within 30 days of them moving out, so it's important to identify any allowable deductions from this amount before then.
If you don't, you won't be able to recoup any of the costs for damages incurred by the tenant.
These inspections are also a good opportunity to look for maintenance issues so you can attend to them before your new tenants move in.
Streamline Your Rental Property Inspections
Hiring a property manager to manage important landlord responsibilities helps you save time and money and avoid legal complications.
PMI Turnkey NJ is backed by decades of real estate experience. Our property management services include rental property inspections, maintenance coordination, and tenant screening.
Get your New Jersey rental properties on track by signing up for a full-service property management package today.
