Do You Own a Rental Property? - Gilbert,AZ

My son does not like the dorm so he lives in my townhome. Every summer, I go pull plants, make repairs and anticipate when I've overstayed my welcome. So, not even my son likes when I inspect my own townhome, but who cares I do it.

I would make sure to know the specific laws about that before you do it.

Also, make sure the tenants know you are coming in.

In my early days of renting, the ONLY time an owner was inside my place was at the initial walk through before move in and the walk through inspection at move out.

I personally would not go "peeking" into their rooms. I see that as a violation. You turn to walk through would be when they move out and you access any damages and determine if you will keep the security deposit or not.

Why do you not know these young men? Didn't you screen potential tenants before you signed a lease?

We do own another property which is a condo. However, our daughter lives in it. We have an occupancy agreement with her.

STILL, I would never, ever just go over to her condo and inspect if she was not there and if she was not aware that I was coming over. I respect her too much to invade her space and basically "snoop" like that. She is well aware that any damages she causes will be coming out of her pocket. We will cover any damages/repairs that are normal and reasonable... such as we replaced all of the toilets, garbage disposal, garage door, tub drains, etc.

If you want to do a walk through without it seeming like a walk through then schedule a day to "check" the seals on all the windows. then you will be in every room in the house without it seeming to be an intrusion. and bonus your actually checking on something legit

We scheduled walk-throughs. It tends to let the tenant know that they are responsible to us even though it's their space. I had a tenant that I thought was a dream. Every time I went over everything was in order...so I quit going. When she moved out the place was trashed. We ended up taking her to court over the extensive damage. Sometimes accountability works in favor of both of you.

M.

I rented out a townhouse for about 6 years. I never came in. Even while waiting for a repair man in the cold, I waited outside in my car. I believe people are entitled to their privacy and that is part of what they pay for.

I would think you rented to reasonable adults who don't need supervision.

I own several rentals and I do a walk through when possible. If they are good tenants they wont have a problem with it (I have several tenants that have been there for years so they don't mind). Just be sure to give no less then 24 hours notice. I would let them know you are going to be all through the house/apartment.

You are the owner of that property and if it is in the lease there shouldn't be a problem. You can also ask if everything is working OK and that you just want to check things out.

***ADDED***
I wanted to add that the one home I did not do regular checks (like twice a year) ended up being the one that was the problem. They were growing pot in the upstairs bedrooms and the police had to break the door in (they changed the locks). The police did have a warrant and those tenants did major damage that the insurance policy did not cover. Most rental property insurance does not cover tenant damage so always keep that in mind. I understand people wanting privacy but if you rent the landlord has the right to inspect their property with proper notice.

It is nice to go with a reason. I like the suggestion of checking the window seals. Also since they are young it would be nice to let them know to contact you if there is an issue. Some new renters are scared to bother the landlord vs. a 45 year old divorced woman (good times). Let them know if they think there is a leak (toilet or sink) to contact you ASAP. A friend of mine told me there was a huge expense because of a leak that young (maybe 19 or 20 year old) tenant did not think to tell the landlord about. Also, some people remove the batteries from the fire alarm. Something else to check. I personally change the batteries myself. Another good reason to visit. It is nice to have a positive relationship with the renter.

There are so many things I know now that I did not think about when I was in college renting.

p.s. one of the comments is nothing like your question. You are not even hinting that you would think about going into their home without proper notice. That story is just crazy and that landlord deserved what she got. A rental property is a financial benefit and burden. It is awkward to do a walk thru, but important. Of course it is possible for them to hide something, but somethings could be obvious (smoking and/or drug use).

We have it written into our tenants' leases that we can do quarterly walk-thrus, with a 24 hour notice. We have no reason to do so with our current tenants, but if we are ever less certain of how they would be treating our property, we will schedule them.

ETA: My SIL is a horrendous housekeeper. The first apartment she had after moving out of her parents' house was so nasty after she lived there a few months. She never wiped down her backsplash behind the sink and she had MUSHROOMS growing out of it! EWWWW!!

I think you can tell a lot about them when you walk in the door. If it smells or looks messy they can do that. It's their home. They don't have to keep it to any sort of order.

But if there are holes in the walls, floors scratched or carpet has holes in it, then you can schedule in inspection.

I don't think landlords really should go into their tenants home unless there is valid good reason's. They sign a lease and have a Home, it's their space to live in like they want. So, if you see signs of damage contact them and ask them if you can come inspect. Otherwise, just go in where the service person is working and stay out of their privacy.

You have a deposit that covers any damage they don't take care of when they move. You really don't need to micromanage their lives.

I guess the reason I feel so strongly about this is a friend of mine had an aunt. She had a small house she rented out that was right by her elderly mom's house. Just a few doors away.

She'd go to her mom's every day and in that process drive right by her rental property. She'd see they weren't home and if the window unit was on she'd go turn it off, just walk in with her key and turn it off. It could be 113 outside and she'd go turn off their AC. She said they were wasteful, using up too much electricity, the bill was in their own names too. It was not money coming out of her own pocket.

I told her she couldn't legally do that, it was their home and she didn't have the right to walk in any time she wanted. She told me her name was on the deed and if she wanted to go sleep on their couch there wasn't anything they could do about it. I reminded her they paid her money so if she wanted tenants that stayed and took care of it she should respect them.

In just 1 year that I took care of her mom she had 7 tenants. Each one would be so mad when they moved out they would do damage to the house when they moved out. She'd have to pay so much out of her own pocket because they'd move out and not pay that other rent or for the damages. She would try to take them to court but truthfully, when she'd try to get money out of them all they had to say was she was coming in without their knowledge and invading their privacy. She got a really bad reputation with the court system and pretty soon she had to just sell that old house. No one would even come look at it.

Because of this crazy lady and her determination that it was her job to make her tenants miserable and her invasion of their privacy I have strong feelings that it's the landlords job to stay out of their tenants business.

We do own 2 rental properties. Both were trashed in the past, so now we scheduled walk-throughs with a 24 hour- notice. It is usually every 6 months. It is included in the lease.
When we started with the business of rental property, we didn't do that because we think that people are entitled to their privacy; unfortunately, there are many people who do not take proper care of the property, just because it is not theirs. It is hard to believe that people would trash a house or would not take care of it ( I am talking about holes in walls and doors,, heavily stained carpets, clogged bathrooms, heavily soiled areas, strong smell, just endless!), but the reality is that happens regardless property location, tenants' age, education, and so forth;, we didn't believe it until we had the experience, we just wanted to cry, really.
You have the right to schedule walk-throughs, do it respectfully and by written, and one more thing: screen your tenants thoroughly and do not be shy in asking for a security deposit. We did that lately, and worked wonderfully.

A. :)

Our property manager does this on a regular basis.