Apartment Inspections
Graceland Home Inspections perform apartment inspections in New Castle, PA and Youngstown, OH and surrounding Lawrence County and Mahoning County areas. These inspections can be conducted for either the owner of the rental unit or for current or prospective tenants.
Should Renters Get an Apartment Inspection?
It’s becoming more and more common today for renters to pay for an apartment inspection. Especially if they’re dropping a substantial security deposit, pay a relatively high month-to-month rent, and own a lot of personal belongings.
Apartments often look good cosmetically – with nice clean carpeting or beautifully stained hardwood floors, freshly painted walls, and new windows – but many times renters unknowingly move into a property with the following issues:
- Bad wiring or electrical outlets that aren’t grounded
- Leaky sinks or roofs
- A basement or storage area susceptible to water damage
- Termite or pest infestation
- Problematic HVAC systems
- Fire hazards
- No working smoke or carbon monoxide detectors
- Cracked or broken windows
While repairing such issues are your landlord’s responsibility, not yours, it’s your life, health, and personal possessions at risk. Many times issues do not arise until you’re settled in. Tenants then often find themselves waiting for the landlord or property management company to address critical repairs. This can be frustrating if you’re suffering through a Western PA or Eastern OH winter with a broken furnace, your bedroom window doesn’t open on a hot August day, or your possessions have been ruined by water damage.
An apartment inspection prior to or shortly after moving in can also protect tenants from being held accountable at the end of their lease for pre-existing conditions. Many times, landlords or property management companies will withhold a tenant’s security deposit funds citing issues like cracked toilets, window glass or sinks, damaged window screens, plaster damage, etc. An apartment inspection early on can prove that these damages already existed and potentially absolve the tenant from financial responsibility.
Should Property Owners Get an Apartment Inspection?
While most landlords will do a quick walk-through of a rental unit at the conclusion of a tenant’s lease, the focus of this walkthrough is to observe damages visible to the human eye. Even property owners must be careful to not place too much trust on appearances alone. Just because a tenant did a spectacular job spot cleaning an apartment prior to moving out, doesn’t mean electrical, plumbing, and HVAC systems weren’t abused or compromised.
Many times what seems to be “the perfect tenant” is also someone that’s keeping things from you. They may seem to be problem-free, never calling you with any issues, but they’re also not telling you about a leak in the bedroom ceiling, a slow drip in the bathroom sink, a new crack on the front porch, termites on the deck, or handyman work they attempted themselves on your electrical or plumbing systems.
An apartment inspection at the end of every lease will ensure your rental unit is habitable for the next tenant and document the condition of the structure from one tenant to the next. Necessary repairs can be made prior to the next tenant signing their lease and an investment property owner can justify the rental price they’re asking for by presenting a prospective tenant with a copy of a recent apartment inspection completed by a certified, licensed, and experienced Western PA and Eastern OH home inspector. This ultimately helps land better tenants.
Contact us today for New Castle and Youngstown area apartment inspections
Whether you’re an investment property owner or a current or prospective tenant, our Western PA and Eastern Ohio home inspectors are available for apartment inspections throughout Lawrence and Mahoning counties. Call us today at (724) 614-2198 to schedule your inspection.