BLOG CATEGORIES

Improve Your Property with Meaningful Property Inspections

Improve Your Property with Meaningful Property Inspections

Property inspections done right can be an extremely effective tool. Unfortunately, many inspections are performed without clear direction and end up a rather passive routine. Use these tricks to see direct tangible improvements from your inspection.

Find out how to improve safety and reduce costs at your property

Our best-in-class emergency phone + monitoring solutions provide peace of mind and are backed by decades of expertise

Learn More

2022 ELLIES WINNER
Best Supplier -
Communication System

As a property manager, you likely know that property inspections are essential to maintain your buildings’ quality. However, it’s easy to find ourselves in the habit of treating inspections as another item to check off of our lists without really using the information that we find to our advantage. Simply running through forms and spreadsheets without meaning or purpose doesn’t do much for the property manager, besides keeping them busy (something they need no help with!). On the other hand, successful property inspections can significantly improve PR/public opinion, building quality, sustainability/ efficiency and safety while preventing huge costs in terms of lawsuits, property damages, insurance coverages and more. Here are some items to keep in mind to see your property inspections make a difference.

Think big picture.

The term “property inspection” can be a bit misleading, as it sounds like a singular action item to perform. In reality, property inspections should be a continual process that consist of tracking and analyzing building conditions, maintenance measures, property costs, safety/non-compliance issues and progress on improvements.

Keep your property ADA compliant with this free guide >>

How can this help me? Like we said, it’s easy to walk through your property, mark up a checklist and consider your property inspection done without ever thinking about it again. On the other hand, if you actually store record of this data and use the information that you find, you are likely to see the following benefits:

  • Preventing unhealthy and dangerous conditions for residents
  • Avoiding costs by catching maintenance hazards, safety issues and code infringements early on
  • Cutting back on resident disputes due to thorough documentation
  • Catching on to trends in cost upticks and building issues by reviewing and benchmarking data over time
  • Raising damage recoveries and insurance payouts through documented evidence
  • Improving building sustainability by identifying system inefficiencies early on
  • Preventing damaging and costly lawsuits by providing evidence that disputes negligence

Now that you have an overview of what your property inspection goals should be, let’s get a bit more granular.

Cover your grounds.

It’s likely that to most property managers, the most top-of-mind aspect of the property inspection is the property walkthrough, but that isn’t the only key action item to look at. Here, we’ll highlight some tips and action items for the walkthrough along with the other necessary elements of the inspection process.

Property walkthrough:

  • Key systems to check:
    • Safety and security systems
    • Property exterior
    • Landscaping
    • Sprinkler system
    • HVAC
    • Lighting
    • Plumbing
  • Items to look out for:
    • Hazardous conditions (i.e. fire hazards, slip and fall potentials)
    • Wear and tear
    • Code violations

Public area inspections: If your property has any of the following areas, it is important to perform inspections in those areas, unique to the special risks and conditions that they present:

  • Pools
  • Parks
  • Gyms
  • Walking trails
  • Public laundry areas

Checkups by unit: Perform regular unit inspections to prevent unsafe or unhealthy conditions for your residents. Common unit issues include:

  • Faulty fire alarms and other fire hazards
  • Mold
  • Favorable living conditions for pests
  • Faulty plumbing
  • HVAC issues

Move-in/out processes: Be sure to perform both inspections along with your resident to avoid misunderstandings or disputes. Many properties will provide a cost replacement sheet at the time of move-in as a precautionary step against cost disputes at the time of move out.

Perform necessary action items to reduce liability.

By completing the inspections and noting observations from the areas mentioned in the previous section, you are getting the appropriate information that you need for documentation and putting yourself in a favorable position to take the reins on your property’s overall quality, but an effective inspection takes more than just observations. Here are the pertinent action items to take during inspections:

Always take photographs during all inspection processes and store them by date. THIS SHOULD BE TOP PRIORITY. Why? Written documentation is one thing, but photographs provide undisputed evidence for any litigation issues. It can also be especially useful in the event of a disaster (weather, building fire, etc.) to ensure appropriate payouts from insurance companies.

Document any issues that you find along with measurements that will be taken to correct these shortcomings. Not only will this help you take a proactive approach to improving the state of your building, but it can be used to disprove negligence in the event of a lawsuit.

Get signatures. Did you complete a move-in inspection with your resident? Get a signature. How about conducting a unit inspection and finding no issues? Yup, you’ll want a resident to sign off on that. Did building personnel or a professional service company correct a property issue? Get that in writing. Again, the more documentation you have, the better off your position in any future disagreement.

Repeat, repeat, repeat. Repeating is what makes this process effective. It shows due diligence and allows you to see trends necessary for making improvements. Once you make these practices habit, you’ll see the magic start to happen.

For more information on how Kings III can improve your property’s overall safety and reduce your liability, visit www.kingsiii.com.

 

The Property Manager's Guide to ADA

KEEP LEARNING

2024 Brings Increased Adoption of Codes Requiring Video and Two-Way Messaging for Elevator Communications

As 2024 progresses, the adoption of safety codes mandating video and two-way messaging capabilities for elevator communications is gaining momentum across the United States.

What an Emergency Dispatcher will Most Likely Ask You

When suddenly faced with an emergency, you may immediately feel frightened and helpless. An emergency communications system can help reduce or eliminate those reactions by providing immediate assistance. Here's what you can expect on the other side of a call you place from an emergency phone.

Kings III Makes The Dallas Morning News Top 100 Places to Work List Becoming a 4x Winner

We're honored to be recognized by our employees and The Dallas Morning News by making the daily newspaper’s Top 100 Places to Work list for the 4th year in a row, falling in at 26th in the midsize companies category.

January 2024 Elevator Code Updates in Florida

Florida property managers have finally completed DLM requirements in their elevators (hopefully). But wait, there's more! Florida will adopt ASME 2019 starting January 1, 2024. Learn what this means, how you can comply, and get guidance from our code experts.

Survey Reveals Gaps in Building Emergency Communications Plans

A recent survey of property management professionals revealed that while more than 60 percent of respondents were aware that telecom companies are phasing out POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service, also known as analog copper land lines), nearly half reported their elevator emergency communication systems are still based on this endangered technology.

Successful Hotel CO Inspections

A CO is a vital requirement before opening your new-build/renovated hotel. One area we often see overlooked within the process is telecommunications. To help get you started, we’ve compiled a checklist of key telecom-specific items to consider that may be subject to inspection.

How is Elevator Liability Defined?

One of a building owner’s worst nightmares: a passenger gets into an elevator in perfect health but ends the ride with a serious physical or psychological injury. Thankfully, this is an extremely rare scenario, but all those involved in building management should know exactly how to define elevator liability and take action if an incident occurs.

How is Your Premise Liability Law IQ?

A premises liability lawsuit holds a property owner responsible for any damages arising out of an injury on that person or entity's property. Keeping your property safe is, therefore, your number-one priority. Here's exactly what you need to know.

Kings III of America Announces CEO Transition

Kings III today announced that as part of a thoughtful succession process, Dennis Mason will be stepping down as Chief Executive Officer and transitioning to Senior Advisor. Norm Nelson, who has served as Chief Operating Officer since 2018, will succeed Mr. Mason as CEO.

Kings III makes it easy as a single point-of-contact for all your emergency response needs. With expertise in line connectivity, compliance codes, equipment maintenance and safety protocol, we offer the total package.