Whether you are new to the rental business or you have been renting out homes for years, you always want to follow some steps before allowing new tenants to move in. Your rental property should be a place that you would want to move into yourself if you needed to. Be sure to take good care to insure that your tenants will be safe and happy in their new home.
Before you hand your new tenants a set of keys, be sure to give the property and the house a thorough check. Start with your building inspection and see if there needs to be any resolutions to issues they found while inspecting. Fix those first and then move on to cleaning the house. Cleaning the house can reveal other problems that may have been missed previously.
Start from the top and work your way down so you do not miss anything. Clean all the windows and floors and dust mop the walls and ceilings. If there are any surface cracks in the paint, spot treat the areas. If any room needs a fresh coat of paint, go for it.
Walk the perimeter of the property to make sure there are no problems with the driveway or other areas. Fix any driveway or sidewalk issues that may cause accidents in the future. Check the roof and clean the gutters to make sure there will be proper drainage when it rains.
Of course, talk with your rental property insurance agent to see if there are any other things you should be doing before your tenants move in. Also find out how much coverage you currently carry for your rental property and make sure you are up to date with premium payments so that you will have coverage for anything that could possibly go wrong.
