Pub. 1 2016 Issue 3

11 ISSUE 3 2016 䌀吀䄀䄀 吀䠀䔀䌀伀一一䔀䌀吀䤀䌀唀吀䄀倀䄀刀吀䴀䔀一吀䄀匀匀伀䌀䤀䄀吀䤀伀一  LAST ISSUE “What city became the capitol of West Germany in 1949?” “Bonn” was the correct answer answered by Fatima Lorusso. Congratulations Fatima! CURRENT TRIVIA What does it mean for a bowler to score a turkey? Please send your submissions to sbennett@servproofmanchester-bolton.com Good Luck! someone is with you the entire time, then you can both vouch for each other if necessary. You will be looking for two kinds of problems during routine in- spections. Some problems might have been caused by tenants, and some problems are going to be maintenance issues that are your responsibility to x. Have a form so the inspection is consistent and thorough, take any pictures that might be necessary to document a problem, and give a copy to the tenants. Do not take photos of any personal items, however. You do not have the right to photograph people, pets, valuables, or personal posses- sions such as computers or pictures. Avoid confrontations during routine inspections as much as possible. If you nd a serious problem and get upset with a tenant while talking face-to-face, the results could be bad. O ended tenants could do any of the following: • Move without warning. • Complain about you to other people, including new potential tenants. • Start legal proceedings of some kind against you. What you should do instead is try to be as diplomatic as possible, and if you need to communicate negative information to a tenant, use a letter instead. Not only does this allow you to keep things both formal and civil, it also provides evidence if matters turn negative enough for lawyers to get involved. After the routine inspection is over, make sure you follow-up on any repairs that are necessary. No matter who is responsible for a repair — you or a tenant — it is de nitely your job to make sure the repair is taken care of in a timely way. Tenants are more likely to be cooperative if they know you will promptly take care of any problems that are your responsibility, so make sure you don’t put your side of the responsibility on hold. DRIVE-BY INSPECTIONS One great advantage about drive-by inspections is that you don’t need to schedule them with anyone. You just drive by the property. is is a great opportunity to nd out whether some- one has a pet at a pet-free property. If you see anything that bears further investigation, you should schedule a routine inspection so you can investigate the situation more deeply. MOVE-OUT INSPECTIONS It is imperative that you conduct a move-out inspection, with one or more of the tenants, at the same time you get the keys back from your tenants. If tenants drop o keys at the o ce or mail keys to you then they will be able to deny that they left the rental in bad shape. ey can blame you for any problems they nd. If possible, have tenants initial a form to show the results of the inspection. Some tenants might refuse to sign anything because they think it removes their liability. ey are wrong. Make sure you take pictures of any damage. If it’s possible to see the damage in a picture then that makes it harder for someone to deny knowing about the problem if you have to go to court. It is always less expensive to x a small problem than a large one, and so catching problems while they can still be categorized as small is a key strategy for maximizing resources instead of wasting them.