If you want to reduce maintenance costs, there are a lot of advantages to doing property inspections.
To begin with, they give you valuable information that makes the stressful maintenance decision-making process much easier and straightforward.
But we all know that proper inspections involve more than just walking around a property looking for potential issues. There are tons of property inspections that don’t do much to help the manager and owner. And there are a few successful standouts.
Here’s how to put your property inspection into the second category.
#1: Start with standardized methods
Successful inspection programs are built on a foundation of excellent standardized methods. They help improve consistency from inspection to inspection over time. That way, you can reliably compare results from a current inspection to past ones. Our recommendations include:
- Taking several pictures of each component’s condition — don’t try to rely on notes from inspectors exclusively
- Using a condition rating scale — keep ratings as simple as possible
Sometimes folks are tempted to start doing inspections first, then figuring out how to record the data later. That’s a recipe for expensive mistakes and a less-than-awesome inspection.
#2: Instructions matter
Successful inspections leverage
Starting with standardized methods will get you a good way down this road, but if your team needs some more help, make sure to provide them with written instructions they can review.
Even if your inspection is set up correctly, it only makes it harder to get the traction if your staff isn’t sure what to do. It’s not about dumbing it down — it’s about taking the guesswork out of the equation.
#3: Create checklists (or know where to get them)
Successful inspections have rock-solid processes. If you’re new to exterior maintenance, creating checklists can be a fun and exciting way to get better.
But if you want to do a great inspection, you need to pay your dues and learn how to make excellent inspection checklists. If that isn’t you yet, you can shortcut this by asking a contractor to help you.
You might supply the vision and property knowledge, and they bring their years of experience and expertise.