Flag Football Scouting & Rental Home Inspections: Worth it?
I was at one of my son’s flag football games and noticed that his coach was calling out the opposing team’s plays in advance based on how they lined up at the line of scrimmage. The players on his team would then shift their defensive formation and consistently stop the other team from gaining yards. I was impressed! This coach is much better than I am!
I asked my son about it after the game and he shrugged and said, “It was exactly what Coach Roberts said would happen after he scouted that team last week.” What? Coach Roberts was scouting 10-year old flag football games? I had never heard of such a thing.
Apparently, Coach Roberts would go and scout the next team on their schedule weekly. Most of the time that was easy; the games were either right before or after the game on the same or a neighboring field. He would go and figure out what offenses and defenses the other team utilized and who their best players were. Wielding his clipboard, pen, and binoculars, he would studiously examine this youth game where he knew no one involved.
When I was doing my no-scouting coaching, it typically took the best player on the other team to have a few long runs before I changed the defense to double-team him. Coach had them in that defense from the start! I couldn’t deny the advantage it created for him when he knew before the next practice that their opponent had only one superstar player or that they always threw it to the tight end on their goal line play.
Knowledge is power. Applied knowledge is even better!
In Charlotte property management, there is a version of “scouting” called on-site home inspections.
Now there are naysayers (and I used to be one of them…) who might think it is a waste of time to check in on tenants and visit the homes during the lease. The argument would be that the home is going to look the same regardless when the tenant moves out. A 10-minute walk-through is not going to change a tenant’s lifestyle dramatically. But my thinking has evolved on this issue.
Knowing things early has its advantages:
- If air filters are not being changed, any HVAC unit service visits could potentially be charged back to the tenant. Plus, it’s a good time to emphasize their importance and ask for pictures of the filter change.
- If something crazy is going on, it’s good to know.
- Are there unauthorized pets? It’s good to nip that in the bud early.
- Do the smoke and CO detectors still work? It could save lives.
- Is there any evidence of smoking? The longer it goes on, the more ingrained the smell will be in the house.
- Do the keys still work? It’s good to be able to get in when needed.
- Are any recent repairs up to snuff? Pictures and tenant feedback aren’t always overly revealing and, if not, vendors can be sent back out to complete the work properly.
When tenants know the landlord is paying attention to what is going on in the house, we’ve found that homes tend to be treated and maintained better.
Kudos to scouting and Coach Roberts! Smart coaches and landlords can gain a competitive advantage applying knowledge that most people wouldn’t take the effort to get.
Happy Landlording!
Learn More3 Tips for Effective Rental Home Inspections
What’s going on in my rental home and how does it look?
Typical Landlord Query
You do want to know, but you don’t want to know. It’s one of those paradoxes in life.
If you do want to know, it’s important to have some type of methodology. Here are 3 tips to making the most of your rental home inspections:
- Spot checks won’t lead to lease extensions. And, in the South, they may get you shot. Being that I usually don’t prefer it when people show up unexpectedly at my door (even people I really like!), most tenants are not going to like it if a property manager shows up unannounced (they might not even like the property manager- I’ve heard this happens sometimes…). Prior to tenant move-in, let the tenants know what type of inspection schedule you are likely to keep (annually, bi-annually, quarterly, monthly (gasp!)) so expectations are set in advance. Don’t feel the need to schedule the inspection when they have company in town; it can be a good idea to give the tenants at least a week notice of your visit. And the tenants don’t need to be there, but make sure they muzzle their pets. Don’t undervalue injury-free inspections!
- If you ask for nothing, don’t be upset when you get it (and you usually will!). Smart property managers want the tenants to know exactly what they plan to look at. But isn’t that like giving students the answers to the test beforehand? Yes!! Having the home in good condition is the desired test effect (even if they have to cram for the test). We send them the exact checklist we are going to fill out a week before we visit. This checklist lets them know we’re looking out for unapproved animals, dirty air filters, smoke smells in the house, cleanliness, lawn care, that our keys work, functional smoke & CO detectors on each home level, and any other things that really stick out (we provide ourselves a little latitude to comment on items not on our checklist). Then we snap 4+ pictures (no bedrooms) and e-mail the filled-out checklist and pictures to the owner.
- If no one is keeping score, no one cares. Sharing the inspection results with the tenants is paramount. They need to know that the property manager is paying attention and cares how they treat and maintain the home. We send them the exact, filled-out checklist we had used on their home. We let them know what corrective actions need to be taken and ask them to get back to us when they do correct any issues. However, the first thing we do is compliment them on the items that are correct. We want the tenants to know we appreciate the things they are doing right, prior to asking them to correct the items they could be doing better.
In short, schedule courteously, announce beforehand what will be inspected, share the results, and praise/correct accordingly. Rental home inspections, when thought out well, can be a positive experience for both the property manager and tenant (and the home itself!).
Brett Furniss is the President & Owner of BDF Realty (Charlotte Residential Property Management), the trusted real estate advisor for Charlotte landlords & Home of $100 Flat Fee Property Management. BDF Realty utilizes their innovative Pod System for exceptional customer service in residential property management, home repairs, and home sales (including Rent-To-Sell) for single-family homes, condos, and town homes in the Charlotte-Metro Area. Contact Us Today!
Learn MoreCharlotte Property Management Weekly: Are Monthly Rental Home Inspections Desirable?
I was asked recently if our property management company provided monthly rental home inspections for houses under management. I assume what was meant was the kind of inspection where we go into the property, check everything out, eat dinner with the tenants, and then help any young children with their homework. Then we’d set a time to visit again the next month before hugging goodbye. Smiles would be all around.
This type of inspection would work if we were renting out the “Little House on the Prairie” and the harvest was plentiful that fall. But I’m not even sure how welcome we’d be if the rain wasn’t coming and Pa had to sell one of their prized cows to make ends meet. And I’m not sure how happy they would be to have another mouth to feed when we stopped by for our monthly inspection; we’d, of course, be slightly embarrassed that dinner conversation would focus on the eviction our clients, the Olsen’s, are ordering us to execute on them (“If rent isn’t paid, file for eviction on the Ingalls’s promptly on the 11th! No more famine excuses!”).
Unfortunately (and fortunately), modern life isn’t like this anymore. Tenants don’t want the property manager coming around; they’re busy and don’t want their property managers tied into their social life (usually).
However, rental home inspections are sometimes necessary. But how often should they be conducted? Let’s examine the pros and cons of a monthly visit:
Pros of monthly inspections:
1. Knowing what the tenants are up to
2. Lease violations would be quickly recognized and dealt with
Cons of monthly inspections:
1. Become a preferred rental vendor of the old KGB and Gestapo
2. Limited benefit for costs associated with frequent visits
3. Tenants will be hateful and not rent from you
4. Pushback from tenant privacy issues
5. Forced to deal with issues that arise- do you evict? Tough decisions and ultimatums have to be handed down, and then they need to be carried out.
More on #5. The “sometimes ignorance is bliss” is a tough one to explain. “I always want to know what is going on in my rental house!” Do you?
If violations are found, are you ready to evict? If the tenant is paying on time and in full every month, do you want your property manager looking for reasons to get rid of the tenants? Eviction is expensive! And when the tenants are being evicted, no one is paying the rent anymore. That’s a double whammy on costs.
Well, warnings could be issued. “If this happens one more time, then you’re out!” If there is evidence that it did happen the following month, you really do have to evict them now. If not, what is the purpose of these monthly inspections anyway? Inspections are not meant to paint the owners into a corner. At the end of the day, you want paying tenants to stay, right?
Inspections can be useful; some violations need to be dealt with immediately. However, even the Ingalls’s wouldn’t think it was rude if you stopped by on a much less regular basis!
Brett Furniss is the President & Owner of BDF Realty (“Charlotte’s Most Innovative Property Management & Investment Company”), and Rent-To-Sell Realty (“When You Need a New Solution to Sell Your Home”) which specialize in rent-to-own (lease options) and rent-to-sell homes. His newest book, A Real Estate Agent’s Complete Guide to Representing Rent-To-Own (Lease Option) Tenants (Delight Clients, Fill Vacant Homes, and Earn $2,250* Upfront! (*Minimum!)
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