Assetsoft - Blog #property inspections

Common Problems found in Home Inspections that you can avoid to increase sales

Fri, 29 Jul 2022 07:58:00 -0500

It is an obvious fact that homeowners will do a home inspection before they move in. But as a property manager and real estate business owner, it is wise to conduct your inspections before you onboard an old property to sell or rent it. This will save you the cost of losing tenants due to uninhabitable living conditions, and you will be fully aware of the condition of your properties and sell them accordingly.

A licensed inspector can find many minute problems that the naked eye can overlook, and you need to be aware of these to not onboard any bad properties.

We have put together a list of typical home inspection troubles that real estate business owners face that can adversely affect their sales. We also speak about how you can solve and better manage them for better business. Read on to find out.

Why shouldn’t you skip a home inspection?

Yes, we mentioned that a home inspection would save you money, but it does a little more than that when you dive deep. Take a look.

It saves you legal battles with future tenants about undisclosed uninhabitable living conditions.
Ensuring the health and safety of your tenants.
Ensuring your company's reputation and brand image are maintained at all costs.
Forecast future costs of repairing or maintaining the properties you take onboard.
Find out what the deal-breakers are in each of the apartments you manage.

It will help you get ahead with your insurance providers, and you will know which areas can not function without proper insurance.

9 Problems found in Home Inspections: How to avoid them and increase sales

There are many minor issues like a broken window or minor repairs in woodwork or paint around the house. These might be highlighted in the inspection reports, but they are nothing to worry about. You can quickly mitigate these by scheduling regular maintenance work. But right below, we have listed out some of the major problems in homes that you need to pay closer attention to in order to get ahead of the problem.

Leaking or damaged roofs

This is a significant issue found in most old households, and worn and damaged roofs can be a major setback for property values. This happens more often if the house is in a humid place or storm-prone area. A home inspector will know where to look for roof leaks, damage, and places where it has become brittle and needs immediate attention. According to Forbes reports, even a minor roof repair can cost between $150 and $400, and a major repair can cost up to a whopping $7,000. If you see such damages in the property, you can quickly opt out of onboarding it and save later battles with your tenants about unlivable conditions.

Drainage and pipeline issues

There may be a hidden pipeline or drainage issue in the properties you onboard. Like there might be water backflow in the bathrooms, there might be pipeline leaks from the kitchen sink. If the property sellers cover these up, you might be scammed before onboarding them for sales if you do not do a thorough inspection through a professional inspector.

Faulty foundations and structural damages

Foundations and structural problems are the hardest to fix because they are at the core of the building and property owners need to tear down a lot of the building to solve these. It is best to steer clear of properties that show foundation or structural problems during an inspection.

Termites or other pest infestations

Landlords are entirely responsible for any termite or pest infestation in the properties. These can include ant infestations, wood termites, roach infestations, etc. If you find any of that in your inspections, ensure that the landlord takes care of it before you partner up with them to sell a property under your brand name. Plan your strategy and leadership in a way that the landlord is held accountable for such situations and the real estate company like you is not harassed in between.

Secret mold problems around the property

Mold is a hidden problem and is hardly ever visible at first glance. This is why a property inspection is crucial. Places below the carpet, behind furniture, and damp kitchen and bathroom corners can be affected by mold. They can be extremely costly to repair, and re-infestations can happen.

Incompetent heating systems

Survey findings say that it costs more than $6,000 for an average American household to change, repair or replace the house heating system. And such conditions can be a major turn-off for potential buyers. As a real estate property manager, you must thoroughly inspect and understand if the property has a failing and high energy-consuming system.

Faulty electrical wirings

Faulty electrical wiring can be a fatal thing for the whole community. Even if the faulty wire is in one property, it can risk the whole building, including all the residents. This is one of the primary things you need to have your home inspector get checked by to avoid any future problems.

Asbestos issues

Is the house you are looking to onboard built a few decades ago? There is a high chance that it might have asbestos roofs. Though the present construction of houses with such material is banned, many old houses still have this issue, and it is a significant health hazard for residents. Only a thorough inspection can help you detect such issues.

Lead-based paint

Any properties built before 1978 have a high possibility of having lead-based paint. Like asbestos, they are also a major health hazard, and finding them after a house sale can land you major legal problems with the residents. Hence, it is advisable to get it checked out before moving forward with a property.

Use property management to stay up to date with maintenance

A home inspection is only the first step in maintaining properties in your portfolio. Managing and maintaining them is a constant and daily task that helps you build your brand name and have cordial relations with tenants. But it is not a one-person job, and you need to have a proper selection of technology in project management to help you streamline the process.

At Assetsosft, we will help you choose the best property management software for your business to cater to your specific needs. Talk to us today to understand how we work.

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10 Lesser-Known Yardi Functions You Should Be Using

Sun, 07 Nov 2021 08:48:06 -0500

Yardi is one of the best property management software in the market at present. A lot of companies in the United States in the real estate industry implement Yardi. It has been found that companies that have about 1 to 10 million employees make use of Yardi. A study discovered that Yardi enjoys a market share of approximately 17.6% in the real estate and property management segment. But implementation of such advanced software as Yardi may prove to be exhausting. As a consequence of this implementation fatigue, several features and functions of this software may escape your notice.

However, these functions are quite interesting and must be put to use by more and more users. Therefore, we have discussed lesser-known yet interesting Yardi functions that everyone should learn to implement.

1. Correspondence Management

Yardi’s correspondence management function involves efficient processing and disseminating tenant notifications. But there is more to this function. It enables you to merge information such as lease data, graphs, and reports into PDF files, letters, or emails generated automatically.

Correspondence tracking is a seamless, unique, and innovative way to communicate with vendors, tenants, and owners. It saves up your time and makes reports organized effortlessly.

2. Automated Notifications

With Yardi’s automated notifications, you will not have to worry about missing important dates. This function is customizable, and it lets your team remain on top of every process and workflow. You will also be notified about a wide variety of time-sensitive lease obligations as well.

3. Accurate Budgeting And Forecasting

Yardi’s advanced budgeting function, which is licensed at an additional cost, is quite revolutionizing for every property owner and operator. The advanced budgeting function of Yardi will allow you to incorporate future rent payments, recoveries, as also other revenues right from the lease level.

Based on your business outlook perspective, you can incorporate occupancy and leasing assumptions by type, or individual units, or even on a global scale. This function even empowers you to prepare good budgets and make business-related decisions based on their impact.

4. Accounts Payable

Automating the accounts payable workflow is possible with Yardi. However, this function is licensed at an additional cost.

5. Property Attributes

This function of Yardi will allow you to make property lists that are dynamic and are based on parameters that can be customized. This feature will also minimize the chances of property list maintenance being overlooked, and as a result, inaccurate analytics would be done away with.

The implementation of property attributes will enable the classification and organization of your properties in manners reflective of your everyday operations. And to use them, you won’t have to prepare custom reports. In addition, Yardi’s standard analytics engine will provide you with your attributes automatically.

6. Chart Of Accounts Validation

The Chart of Accounts forms the core of your Yardi system. It houses your general ledger accounts. Yardi comes with a validation tool that can be used to analyze the Chart of Accounts before importing, troubleshooting, and refining it.

This tool can read a CSV file and identify different problems about account mapping. You can use it to edit the Chart of Accounts, make corrections in problematic accounts, and even save the chart in the form of a CSV file that can be transferred into Voyager. It can also be used for validating the Chart of Accounts in the course of implementation.

7. Database Snapshot Report

With the help of the Yardi Database Snapshot Report, you can gain access to information about your database setup and configuration. You will be able to review it in the course of implementation to ensure that your structure is as per your plan.

It can also be used to detect and pinpoint errors related to the setup or configuration in the course of everyday operations. The report can be sent via email or saved on your network in a Microsoft Excel or an Adobe PDF file.

In the case of affordable housing properties, the Database Snapshot Report interface consists of: database accounts and options, general ledger accounts and inter-company setup information, charge codes, property and property control information, project information, certification information for each housing program, and affordable accounts and options.

8. Intercompany Accounting

This lesser-known feature of Yardi allows an entity to handle accounting tasks on behalf of another. This feature can be made use of by properties or investment management entities. It lets you manage all “due to/due from” relationships between entities owned and operated by you.

9. Purchasing Made Simple

The purchasing functionality of Yardi consists of purchase requisitions, purchase orders, change orders, and recurring purchase orders. It will permit you to make use of approval workflows. It will also let you control spending limits by expense types.

Purchase requisitions provide an extra layer of approval to the purchase order process, enabling employees to request but not purchase products and services of their choice.

On the contrary, a purchase order is an authorization essential for making a purchase. A purchase order has zero impact on the general ledger. However, that is true until it is accrued or pulled into a payable.

10. Construction Management

The Yardi Voyager Construction Cost module, also known as the Yardi Job Cost module, is a full-service web-based job costing and receivables solution. Its function is to manage the finances for a construction project of any size. The projects may be commercial, office, industrial, and residential as well.

With it, project and property managers, developers, and general contractors can keep track of budgets, job budget revisions, job bids, expenses, funding sources, draws on construction loans, subcontracts, contract and purchase order commitments, and retention.

Need a Yardi consultant to help you with Yardi functions? Contact the Assetsoft team today. We can help you implement the right property management solution for your business. Know how you can streamline your work productivity and manage all your property management needs - from a single dashboard.

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The Complete Guide to Property Inspections

Mon, 01 Nov 2021 10:42:47 -0500

Property Hunting is undoubtedly a difficult task when there are so many options to choose from. But no matter how much time passes by, they’ll always be expensive. And to make a decision where you’ll be spending a lot of your money, some expert advice is needed.

Property inspections play an essential role to determine, if needful maintenance of a place is carried out. Our brief guide to property inspection will help you better understand the concept and the considerations to be taken into account while arranging for a property inspection.

Importance Of A Property Inspection Report

Before buying a house, you must get hold of a property inspection report from the seller. The purpose of this report is to allow buyers to make rational decisions regarding the purchase.

A property inspection report consists of all that you should know about a house or property. It contains vital pieces of information about the place. This report can inform you whether the property or building is in a good condition and also if it is safe to be used. A property inspection report can tell you if there is any problem with the property which needs to be resolved.

When Should Tenants Ideally Be Notified About The Inspection?

According to the laws, a landlord must give their tenants a notice of at least 24 hours if they want any property inspection carried out. But it's better to notify the tenants at least a week before the examination since the idea may seem quite daunting to them. The inspection must be conducted at a time that both the tenant and the landlord may deem fit.

In What Way Should Landlords Request Permission For A Property Inspection?

According to the legal standards, the landlord should request permission for a property inspection in writing. They may ask for a handwritten note, an email, or even a text message. The document must include the following points:

●The address of the property to be inspected

●Who will be carrying out the inspection

●Date and time of the inspection

In some tenancy agreements, clauses scheduling in-house inspections throughout the year can be found.

Can A Landlord Enter A Property Without The Permission Of Its Tenants?

A landlord can enter a property without permission in the event of an emergency only. Emergencies of this kind may include gas leaks, ruptured water pipes, and similar instances. In all other situations, entering a house or property without permission can be regarded as trespassing. If a landlord enters the property without the tenant accompanying them, they must have the tenants' permission to do so.

What Happens If A Tenant Does Not Allow The Property Inspector To Enter?

Most tenants will likely have no problem with a property inspection as long as the landlord has followed all the rules. Sometimes, however, a tenant may simply not allow either the landlord or the property inspector to enter. That is why it is important to properly understand a landlord's right to gain access to the property.

But a landlord may issue an eviction notice in the event of a complete lack of cooperation of the tenants. In this notice, a landholder formally requests the tenants to leave the property when their fixed term comes to an end. But to issue this notice correctly, some procedures have to be followed. Otherwise, the statement will be treated as invalid.

A Property Inspection Checklist For Landlords

If property inspection is conducted thoroughly, it might detect problems that might turn out to be a major issue later. But a timely detection of these problems would ensure their timely resolution, and the process will not involve a lot of expenses if detected in its earlier stages. But a landlord must be watchful enough for these problems to remain unnoticed.

To find out if every nook and cranny of the property is maintained properly and is in good condition, it is important to follow a checklist. Both the interiors and the exteriors of a house must be carefully examined to check if they need to be repaired or not.

As far as the exterior portions of a property are concerned, the landlord must ensure:

If the gutters are overflowing
If the paving slabs are loose or not
If the fencing is in a damaged condition or not
If the outdoor area is maintained or not
Whether a lot of garbage is not being left outside
If the outbuildings, like the shed doors and garages, are safe or not

For the interiors, the landlords must be on the lookout for the following:

Damp and mold
Leaky faucets or pipes
Whether smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms are functional or not
Conditions of items such as electrical, furniture, and so on.
Condition of permanent fixtures and fittings such as bathroom suites, carpets, flooring, and light fittings.

Normal wear and tear should, however, be expected. There might be scratches and other marks on the furniture. Carpets might appear to be shabby as well. Even some electrical items might not be working anymore and will have to be replaced.

Property inspection thus helps landlords find out if their property is in a proper condition. It also helps buyers decide if they should invest in the property or not. Therefore, property owners need to carry out an inspection of their property before they consider putting it up for sale.

If any part of the property is found to be in a bad or poorly maintained condition, necessary steps may be adopted in time to counter the problems caused by it. However, for a property inspection to be carried out expressively, the tenants’ permission must be sought in the right way following the right procedure.

Have property management needs? We can help you find the right property management software, from Yardi to MRI Software. We can also help you automate common tasks easily through robotic process automation. Talk to the Assetsoft team today.