As we continue to practice social distancing, property managers and landlords are adopting new procedures for rental management tasks in order to keep tenants safe and prevent the spread of germs.
Online solutions have become an essential tool for effectively managing your rental properties. Online rent collection, lease signing, property marketing, and inspections are all tasks that can be done remotely through online tools designed for property management.
Property managers and landlords are using mobile inspection apps, like zInspector, to help tenants safely complete important inspections for their rental properties.
Rentec Direct’s president, Nathan Miller, joined Lisa Noon for NARPM Radio to discuss virtual inspections during COVID-19. Check out the podcast here: Virtual Inspections in a Virtual World.
Rental Property Inspections
A key property management task when renting a home or apartment is performing move-in or move-out inspections with your tenants.
A move-in inspection documents the condition of a rental property prior to the start of a lease. Inspections are used as a baseline to understand who is responsible for repairs or damage during the lease and upon move-out.
Inspection documentation protects both renters and landlords by showing when damage might have occurred, who might have caused it, and who is responsible for the repair.
Virtual Inspections with zInspector
zInspector helps you significantly reduce the number of in-person inspections your team performs, keeping everyone safe.
zInspector is one of the best rental inspection tools on the market and continues to release great features to help landlords, property managers, and renters during the pandemic. We are such big fans of zInspector at Rentec Direct, we partnered with them back in 2017 to connect your property management software to zInspector to give you instant access to your inspection reports.
We spoke with Andy Wallace at zInspector who shared how you can use the mobile inspection tools within the app to protect your properties, your tenants, and your team.
Contactless Move-In Inspections
Move-in inspections can be performed by the landlord or manager and sent to the tenant for verification or can be performed by the tenant themselves.
Manager Initiated Inspections
Property managers or landlords can perform a move-in inspection and then send the report to incoming tenants for a remote signature and feedback. Your tenants can optionally add photos or comments
Tenant Initiated Inspections
Invite incoming tenants to perform their own move-in inspection on their smartphone with the Tenant Move-In app.
New updates to the Tenant Move-In app include:
-Increased ease of access for tenants — a few taps to start inspecting!
-Enabled inspection customizability by the property manager.
-Improved data upload reliability.
-Enhanced device-friendliness.
Routine Inspections and Maintenance Requests
By performing periodic, routine inspections during the lease, you can stay informed on the condition of your property. You create the inspection request and your tenant completes the inspection of the property, following prompts in the app. You are able to view the completed inspection and photos.
Tenant Completed Periodic Inspections
-Invite tenants to perform periodic or routine inspections.
-Request tenants complete specific tasks in the inspection, like documenting a filter replacement or a tenant performed maintenance.
These tools allow you to remotely evaluate the condition of your property, prioritize maintenance, and only send essential vendors to the property when really necessary.
View zInspector Inspection Reports in Rentec Direct
You can easily connect your zInspector and Rentec Direct accounts for complete access to mobile inspections and reports. These reports can be shared with your tenants in the Tenant Portal and with your owners in the Owner Portal.
The zInspector and Rentec Direct Connection
-Sync your Rentec Direct properties, tenants, and leases to your zInspector account.
-Inspection reports upload back to your Rentec Direct property records automatically.
-Portfolio changes sync automatically to zInspector over time.
-Share complete reports, photos, and notes with tenants and owners
For more information on how to view zInspector reports in Rentec Direct visit: Property Inspection Report from zInspector
Final Thoughts
Property managers and landlords are relying on online tools and great communication to stay in touch with their tenants and complete important tasks like rental property inspections.
Giving your tenants an easy way to complete virtual property inspections helps everyone stay safe while ensuring that the integrity of your properties are maintained and maintenance does not get neglected.
Tools like zInspector provide the best solution for completing remote rental property inspections and maintaining great inspection records.
After Covid-19 and the restrictions it placed on social contact, businesses have been forced to find digital solutions to keep their business running. The market is flooded with visual support software like zinspector, TechSee, and even Blitzz which I found to be the most user-friendly with features that are very helpful for remote inspections, particularly field agents, insurance agents, or renters.
Thanks for your feedback, Katie.
Indoor air quality (mold) is often overlooked during, “virtual inspection.”
Which is in Violation of local Warranty of Habitability Law.
Hi Mary, can you tell me what state and county you’re in as I would like to do a little research on the specifics of those regulations in your area. In the meantime, I’d love to brainstorm some ideas on how landlords and tenants can work together to ensure good air quality and mold issues aren’t overlooked in virtual inspections – would love to hear if you have any suggestions.