Rental property inspections are a smart idea for renters who are considering signing a lease for a home. Most renters don’t realize that they can get inspections on a rental property before deciding to become an occupant.
Just like typical home buyer’s inspections, rental inspections are designed to help provide clarity on the property and to rule out or discover any defects.
Here are five reasons why you should get a rental inspection.
1. An inspection determines the condition of the property
While most rental properties are owned by people who take good care of them, especially if it’s managed by a professional property management company, some other landlords do not take very good care of their properties.
In addition, there are owners who take good care of their property, but have renters who do not care and wreak havoc on the home.
Either way, an inspection can help you decide if the property is in good living and working condition or not. There can be hidden issues that you might not notice when doing a tour of the property but that a home inspector will be able to find.
After having lived at a property for a little while, people typically start to notice problems. Once they are already living there and paying rent, getting the landlord to fix problems can take a while unless they are urgent issues.
2. Damage detection
If there have been previous renters who did not take care of the property, the inspector will find the damage that has been done and take note of it.
While the owner may decide not to fix it, you will still have a record of the damage that was there before you move in. This is important for when your lease ends, because you have proof that it was there before and that you are not the cause of the damage.
This information can also be used as a negotiation tactic with the homeowner and can be a reason for a lower monthly rent, or a lower security deposit.
If the homeowner is not willing to budge on price, you can negotiate with them on a move-in date after the problems have already been fixed, and not before.
3. Safety purposes
Home inspectors are professionals, and have been trained and are experienced in looking for any unsafe elements in a home. While there may be no visible damage, there can be underlying problems that are hidden from view.
These problems can include:
- Foundation shifts, causing the house’s structure to become unstable and increasing the potential of collapse.
- Trees that are old and too close to the home.
- Flammable building materials used in the construction of the home.
- Faulty electrical wiring that could cause a fire.
A home inspection will give you peace of mind that a house that looks fine really is.
4. Health
Home inspectors also look for health hazards when doing an inspection. Mold, termites, and radon are some of the most common findings in home inspections and can be very harmful to health if left untreated.
Mold can be undetectable if it is growing inside of walls, but is still very dangerous to breathe in constantly. If there is mold in a home, the homeowners might not even know about it. Mold can begin growing on the outside of homes and then creep itsway inside through the cracks and drywall.
Radon is an invisible, tasteless, and odorless gas that can be lethal when concentrated in a home. Radon is one of the most dangerous things that home inspectors can discover in a home.
However, radon can only be detected by specialized equipment and certified radon inspectors, so you might never know that it is there, until it is too late.
5. Peace of Mind
In the best case, the rental inspection will come back without any defects, and the home will be good to go!
Not only will this give you peace of mind, but you will be able to have a record of everything that the home inspector may have found to show the homeowner.
This will make getting any repairs done quicker and easier, because your requests are backed by a professional and recorded in an inspection report. There are many reasons to get an inspection report, but the biggest reason is that it is a tool for buyers to use to help them make a decision.
Oftentimes, renters find a property that has everything that they want, but they still have trouble deciding for fear of being stuck in a lease with a problematic home. An inspection will allow renters to find out everything they need to know before making a decision.
Although many renters don’t realize that they can get a rental inspection, it is becoming more popular as people learn that there are tools like home inspections that help them be safe with their money.