EP. 1210 WATCH OUT Routine Inspections the forensic files

Have you ever wondered what goes on inside the world of property management during routine inspections? Prepare to be enlightened as I join forces with Cleo Whithear, a maestro of the Australian property scene with 17 years of experience, to unravel the mysteries behind these critical check-ins. Tenants will gain priceless knowledge on how to showcase their value and dedication through the presentation of their rental homes, while landlords will learn what to instruct their property managers to scrutinize to keep their investments in top-notch condition.

This episode is not just a rundown; it's an adventure through property management tales that range from the shocking to the impressive. We've advanced from the days of pen and paper to the digital age, with walkthrough videos bringing landlords closer to their properties than ever before. Cleo dishes out her top three tips for tenants, ensuring they ace their inspections, and provides landlords with insights into what really matters beyond the fluffing of pillows. Whether you're a seasoned investor or a renter aiming to impress, this conversation is brimming with actionable advice that will transform your approach to routine property inspections.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Tenants out there. Routine inspections when a property manager is coming through, what to watch out for. And landlords what your real estate agent should be looking out for. Stay tuned, we're going to talk about all things. Routine inspections.

Speaker 2: 0:29

I'm the ringleader, good morning.

Speaker 1: 0:39

One of the best property managers in Australia. Cleo Whittier Experience how many years?

Speaker 2: 0:48

Probably about 17 or 18. Now I know it's a long time.

Speaker 1: 0:55

So, when it comes to routine inspections, it's almost offensive what you've seen in the extremes.

Speaker 2: 1:03

It is a bit forensic sometimes when you get in there and you see things you weren't expecting.

Speaker 1: 1:11

You can't unsee those things.

Speaker 2: 1:14

You cannot and you get back to the office and you might, you know, exchange with a colleague. I can't believe what I just saw and it's like a little bit of green and tall, you know. But at the end of the day it's a very important process in property management when we go and look at the property for the owner to see how it's being kept.

Speaker 1: 1:35

So we're going to talk about a couple of key points of what to do when you're a tenant, a couple of key points of what to do look for when you're a landlord, and we're going to talk about a couple of things points of what to do look for when you're a landlord, and we're going to talk about a couple of things that you have not been able to erase from your memory over these years of doing routines and inspections.

Speaker 2: 1:56

Yeah, so when the tenant's given seven days' notice for the inspection, that gives them time to prepare, also time to show the property manager any issues that they might be experiencing in the property. That way we can have a look and report it for the owner. When I first started in real estate, we didn't do videos, we just did a handwritten report on clipboard. It's very old school we use pens back then no iPhones or iPads and we'd just look at the rooms and we'd check off tick, clean, tick, tick, undamaged, tidy, and then we'd write a little blurb at the bottom of the paper and then we'd send it off to the owner in the mail and that was their inspection.

Speaker 2: 2:39

Whereas now we video into a complete walkthrough and the owner can then virtually see that property, sometimes for the first time in five or six years, which is really good For tenants. They get the opportunity to present the property for their owner, so they know that they are good tenants, that they're going to be there a while and they'd like to stay. That's a good indication and that's presented really nicely for the inspection. Sometimes tenants forget and that's a very common thing, and that's usually when we come across things that we might not normally see, because we do give them a lot of notice and you know people get busy. You know in those instances we still text and call, but everyone's human. Sometimes we've made mistakes where we thought we SMSed a reminder and we hadn't, or whatever vice versa sort of thing.

Speaker 2: 3:39

And we don't usually report to a landlord when a tenant's really messy, when normally they wouldn't be, especially if we know they've been there a long time Like this is really out of the ordinary for them. We'd say, oh hi, we just popped by you. Um, I don't think you knew we were coming.

Speaker 1: 3:55

They'd be like oh my.

Speaker 2: 3:56

God was that today Can you come back, and we would, of course, you know, do that. So, um, that's it.

Speaker 1: 4:05

So your top three tips for a tenant would be probably don't forget.

Speaker 2: 4:13

Don't forget Present the property well, assume that your owner is coming through to the open home. So that's one thing, and leave a note if there's maintenance you'd like us to look at, because it's really good to see it when we're there.

Speaker 1: 4:31

Top one. Now over to landlords. When the landlords are receiving a routine inspection, what should they expect? What should they look for? What are the top three things?

Speaker 2: 4:43

I would as a landlord, and if I was watching my routine video, I would get through the aesthetics as much. Anyone can fluff up a pillow and just make the bed. Look at how the kitchen's being kept, the bathroom's being kept, those two key areas where things can be moldy in the bathroom, or you know they're not, you know taking the dust out of the ceiling fan and therefore it's created all this mold, things like that. Um, the kitchen, you know bench tops, how things like that look. Um, wear and tear is another thing.

Speaker 2: 5:20

Um, if you've got more people living in a property that you assumed, those sorts of things are the key things that I'd look out for as an owner. We went to a property with an owner last week, I think it was, and there was all this water on the bench and it's rotting her benchtop around the sink and the tenants had said it was because the mixer tap was leaking. But it looks as though because it's so extreme that they're just putting pots and things on the bench to dry when they're washing up and it's just ruined the bench. So you know things like that to look out for looking for trends like that.

Speaker 1: 5:57

I, I see, um, in bathrooms. Often people don't mind a wet bathroom floor uh, and I'm talking a really wet bathroom floor and just walk out and then the bottom of the cabinetry will start to puff out over time, you know, due to extremes. So sometimes, as a landlord, you know next cabinet that goes in making sure it's done differently, giving the tenant a bit of a heads up. Tenant, can you open the window please? You know when you're having a shower. They do, you know they will, but they just need you know some of these guys have never been in a property. That's required that. So they sort of don't know. Know why the mold's appearing or why the cabinets are blowing out. So yeah, just a bit of, sometimes a bit of training if your property manager, your landlord or your property manager has to train your tenant. Any other things you'd recommend to a landlord?

Speaker 2: 6:51

oh, you know you can rely on your property manager. When we go through we'll be able to tell if the tenants smoking inside or if something's arrived that we're not gonna be happy long-term. We will let you know and make those suggestions and we also look at things that could improve the property long-term. So light fittings, blinds, paint, carpet. It's a good time to report on those things to an owner. It doesn't mean when we're telling you you could replace the carpet, you have to do it now, during this tenancy. It's more so you can plan for the future.

Speaker 1: 7:28

Yeah, I think that planning thing is a great one, because you can get a bit blindsided when your tenant moves out how different a property can look with no furniture. Your tenant moves out how different a property can look with no furniture. So I think in the routine inspection if you're looking for some items paint, carpet or things that you can do when that comes you can mentally get ready for it, financially get ready for it when the exit of the tenant comes. Now, cleo, over to my favourite part of my favourite part. What are the things that have burnt into your memory when you've done routine inspections that you'll never be able to unsee, ever again?

Speaker 2: 8:08

Well, I mean, apart from the really messy and gross bathrooms and just filth, you know, and just feel um. But you know, I had a tenant. He left out all those sex toys on the coffee table when I got there and that was quite confronting to see, especially. Um, yeah, just that they were out in plain sight and I glazed over. I was like what is that? Is that? And then I was like oh my God, and I just felt like I needed to tiptoe out of there and not come back again.

Speaker 1: 8:42

No, and you often find people asleep.

Speaker 2: 8:46

Yes, we've done inspections where people have been asleep. Oh my God, it is the worst. I had another property in Mona Vale many years ago and we sent the letter and the tenants were away and they were in the bedroom together and I knocked. They didn't hear and I opened the door and they were in their bed like the two of them. I was just like.

Speaker 1: 9:08

Oh, how awkward. But you know people don't think about it, but we are. I think this is people's homes and as property managers, we've highly got to respect that. You know they are paying rent for privacy. They are paying rent to do what they like in their homes, but when a routine happens, it's out of out of guard, like it's out of um, you know, sometimes a tenant will forget uh, that's probably where it would come undone the most, um. But you know, I guess, as property managers, the sinister things that you're looking for are, um, bad habits or bad trends, aren't you? I guess, if they're damaging something and it's going to get worse and worse, or what are the when you, when you, those things that you know that you can't unsee, I sort of get it. Do you know what I mean? Like, there it's, you know, and I respect it. What are the other things that you've that you've seen, which have freaked you out?

Speaker 2: 10:14

I'm just. You know, I saw a person that was elderly living on his own. That really shouldn't be like. He should be in care. The way that he was living was just extreme and it was just awful. Actually, we we had to do a welfare check a few times and we thought to ourselves the family are just paying for rent, but this person really needed to be in some kind of facility where you know his health was failing and he needed that support from medical attention and things and he was trying to muddle through life the way that he could and it was really sad. So sometimes you see things where you know we need to help, like as part of the community that we are in.

Speaker 2: 11:01

Um, it's not just um, yeah, just rocking up and and just checking things like yep, yep, yep you know, um, on the lighter note, I didn't expect any more of those of us who grew up on the beaches you know the surf culture and living by the beach, like I did, this complex, which is, you know everyone left their doors open and they had sarongs hanging from. You know it was cool. Anyway, I knocked on the door. The guy was in there playing his guitar and, you know, didn't work. Anyway, turns out, I wasn't even his real estate, it was a different company, a different agent and I got the wrong door and he just let me come in and do an inspection anyway, oh, it happens, it happens.

Speaker 1: 11:57

So, cleo, there's a for people who haven't had much experience around routine inspections, speaking with someone with a lot of experience around routines. There's what we watch out for, what a landlord watches out for, what a tenant should experience around routines. There's what we watch out for, what a landlord watches out for, what a tenant should watch out for. It's a bit of a whirlwind and I guess for some people that are not in that world that want to learn about it. There you go. That's a day in the life of a property manager with routine inspections.

Speaker 2: 12:26

Have a great week everyone. What's left in a lovely long weekend with Easter.

Speaker 1: 12:33

Happy Easter. Happy Easter, what are you doing for Easter?

Speaker 2: 12:38

Well, we're going to do the classic Easter egg hunt and everything else, but I'm Greek Orthodox, so we'll celebrate again and we like to, as you know, get the eggs cheaper from coals and woolies after Easter.

Speaker 1: 12:52

How good is that? And same with Serbs, I think. I'm not sure about Russians, though.

Speaker 2: 12:57

Yeah, they are. There's Russian Orthodox as well. Yeah.

Speaker 1: 13:00

Great Serb. They're all that Orthodox. It's later, but have a nice everyone. Drive carefully if you're travelling in or out of Sydney. And happy Easter and we'll see you on the other side. We'll see you, everyone, on Tuesday. That's a long, long weekend.

Speaker 2: 13:20

It's like a honeymoon. Almost Forget about it.

Speaker 1: 13:23

That's a cracker. You're a legend. Thanks, cleo, take care Bye.