The process of searching for a home can be worrisome for many people. After all, if they make the wrong call they may be faced with a significant threat to personal finances or even safety. No one likes to be taken advantage of.
Here are 4 things that tenants are likely to be worried about in a home inspection. If you keep these common concerns in mind, you can work them into your conversations with prospective tenants. There is no substitute for hard work and honesty, but there is no reason to make your job any harder than it has to be. Digital property management software can help you to be thorough in your home inspections, something that will reflect positively on you during interviews with potential tenants.
The Inspector Will Overlook a Hazard
Environmental hazards can pose very serious threats to health and well-being. Parents will be particularly concerned about their young children. After all, everyone has heard of lead paint, and how childhood exposure to it can cause developmental problems. Asbestos and radon are additional environmental hazards that can be quite significant. Mold and vermin pose potentially serious threats to health.
However, danger can lurk in unexpected places, even in plain sight. Writing for U.S. News & World Report, Kimberly Palmer warns that one thing for the parents of babies or very young children to look out in older homes is the railings. In homes built as recently as the 1950s, railings were spaced more than six inches apart, sufficient room for a baby to crawl through.
When talking to prospective tenants, be forthcoming about the status of a given property with respect to common hazards. A good property management inspection app can help you to keep track of what to check for.
The Inspector Will Overlook Significant Damage
In addition to environmental hazards, some of which may be the result of damage, there are kinds of damage that can severely compromise the livability of a home. Roofs are case in point: in many cases, roofs are surveyed from the ground or from another building during a home inspection. However, it is often easy to miss roof damage unless one actually climbs a ladder to take a look.
The Inspector Will Be Untrained or Unprofessional
This one is most applicable to professional home inspectors, but property managers are likely to encounter it in some form as well from time to time. There are still some states that do not require any kind of certification for professional home inspectors, and there are other states that do not set a high bar. For property inspectors, savvy house-hunters will likely try to gauge the level of professionalism and customer service.
This is another area where digital property management software can make a big difference. A good app can help you to be thorough during home inspections, and you can rely on that thoroughness in addressing a prospective tenant’s concerns.
The Inspector Will Be Dishonest
Some prospective tenants may be worried about unscrupulous inspectors who only care about the bottom line. Unfortunately, there are people like that in both the home inspection and property management industries.
Thoroughness and complete honesty are the best ways to try to win the trust of prospective tenants. Again, digital property management software offers an excellent way to ensure that you are thorough during home inspections.
