When potential clients talk to me about professional property management services, one of the biggest things they are concerned about is tenant damage. It’s an important subject because you have a valuable property and you don’t want people to destroy it. Today, we’re talking about some of the things you can do to avoid tenant damage.
Tenant Screening
The most important thing to do is thorough tenant screening. If you do a good job checking credit, past rental history and criminal background, you can be certain you’re getting a tenant who isn’t going to harm your property.
Move In Inspection
Do a video or take a lot of photographs that document the condition of the property before your tenants move in. This will give you a physical recording of how the property looked when you gave them the keys.
Set Expectations
When a tenant moves in, provide a letter that explains how you expect the property to be treated and what you expect to be done prior to move out. Then, once they give notice at the end of their lease, provide another letter reminding them about how you want the home to look when they vacate. With this kind of communication, everyone is on the same page and there are no surprises.
Move Out Inspection
After your tenants move out, you need to take another tour with video and pictures to show how the property was left. You can compare your move-in documentation to your move-out documentation, and if there are any issues, it’s easy to charge the security deposit correctly.
